karister

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This amp is Awesome, very musical and I'm using it with the pro-5 pre amp. I've used couple of other well known amps but I been driving them with my Vandee's excellent. Very detailed and awesome low end very tight and precise bass response. I like the fact they have the front handles and never overheats, as it has plenty of ventilation. The other thing I like about it is it's real raw power and can make older quality speakers sing goood.

gbr1964

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from ebay

Summary:
i live in canada. i purchased these amps (dedicated mono blocks) from the U.S. on ebay last fall, but didn't hook them up until recently. i have owned mono'd bryston 4B's, & 7B's before, but have downsized my system for practical and economic reasons (read: new baby !). i was using my old dynaco briefly before hooking these up. the 4B's always sounded 'gainy' to me. the 7B's not so, but still very powerful. these amplifiers are musical. subtle. i was wonderfully surprised.

i did separate them from one another (on the floor), and noticed an immediate improvement in every aspect.

i listen to older popular music. as i started to listen to these, i was soon back to my favorite CD, 'Famous Blue Raincoat' by jennifer warnes. this CD was, and still is, wonderful. as it played, i was drawn in to the songs, listening to four tracks, instead of just the one i had intended. i noted that my girlfriend had also been drawn in, as she stopped doing what she was, and joined me on the love seat.

jennifers' voice was pure, and instruments were in place in the soundstage. the soundstage itself was excellent in width,and depth. my girlfriend made comments about the songs now, even though she had heard them many times before. the bass was full, with less authority than the bryston's, and maybe better because of it ?

i next put on 'brothers in arms' by dire straits. 'your lastest trick' sounded very good, prompting me to bring out the album version. the record promptly outdid the CD. the soundstage had good depth, much deeper than the rear wall. again, everyone was placed well within the soundstage, and you could 'see' them move around.

i will say that the amps present a more refined, relaxed quality, to certain songs. they are very easy to listen to, with no fatigue.

other equipment:
esoteric cd player
counterpoint sa-7.1 pre amp
canare interconnects and speaker cable
magnepan mmg's
hsu research sub

Strengths:
musical. very good soundstage. can bring out some of the passion in a recording.

Weaknesses:
power cords. mine came with cheap ones. i replaced them with shielded 14 ga. ones from volex @ allied electronics.

Similar Products Used:
bryston

jgrooves

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $595.00 from Oceanstate audio

Summary:
A peach, an absolute peach!!! I've owned this unit since new (1985), yep 20 years ago, with never a lick of trouble. It has driven, with astonishing musicality, Boston, Vienna, Quad 57 and 63, and Martin Logan loudspeakers. Smooooth baby smooooth. Yes I've owned more expensive amps but have always returned to the ST140. This is a VERY natural sounding amp, if there is such a thing. It just sounds right to these ears, never harsh or etched, not bloated or muddy, just right. I love this little gem!!!!

Strengths:
Natural, neutral, smooth, reliable and affordable!!! Tube like sound without the hassels or the expense, and there's a nice weight to bottom end as a bonus.

Weaknesses:
Does not have the "status" of the ultra expensive high end units, which are more about glitz and face plates than music anyway.

Similar Products Used:
Audio research, Quicksilver and VTL

donbagley

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Neal's Speakers, Sac

Summary:
I bought mine in 1989! Haven't been using it lately because I'm into five channel sound. I'm using a receiver, and I miss my B&K's warm sound. That blooming bass! Someday I hope to get it back into the system with a multi-channel pre-amp, but for now it rests in dry storage in its original packing. Long live the ST-140!

Strengths:
Tubescent.

Weaknesses:
Addiction leads to more spending.

Similar Products Used:
Nothing like this one.

Theresamarie1

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $550.00 from City Stereo

Summary:
I've had this amplifier for around 18 years or so, so it must be one of the first models. It didn't come with a removable power cord and the outputs are on either side of a center heat sink. It runs fairly hot, but this hasn't effected the reliability as it's been left on for most of the 18 years and still going strong. The only thing ever to go wrong was the lighted power switch, which I have replaced. One of only weaknesses IMHO is the power cord which was the size and weight of a typical table lamp. I understand later models had an IEC. I suspect that this is why it's transient response on the bass end was little weaker than it should be. In my renewed quest, of recent, to upgrade my system I thought I'd put bigger power cord on it and put on a custom 10 gauge homebuild cord. Wow, what a difference. The soundstage and overall bass response improved dramatically. Now it's not just a great amp, it's supurb and I think I'll be keeping it for a few more years. In fact I may buy a second one and have it converted to mono just to get a little more "oomph".

Strengths:
Very smooth and sweet sounding. Lots of power. Outstanding high end, Great mids, Wide soundstage with improved power delivery.

Weaknesses:
Very small non-removable power cord which was replaced. Lighted power switch died.