KitR

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $228.00 from ebay

Summary:
About 2 years ago bought a Bellari VP129 tube phono preamp and was absolutely delighted - especially after swapping the original Sovtek Tube for an Electro-Harmonix. Began to think that tubes were the answer to my perrenial search for a satisfactory sound - as close to live as possible. So when this B&K Pro5 fitted with a tubed output stage came up, I jumped at it. I was not disappointed! Even so the comments about the superiority of the passive mode still hold true. Although that superiority is subtle - except for CD play. With LP and SACD it is not very marked;it has to be listened for. But in Passive Mode that irritating CD glare is GONE!Result: CD's actually become listenable over periods longer than an hour: why I returned to Analog in the first place!I'm particularly pleased since I expected to have to get a Musical Fidelity X-10D tubed unit for the CD. To in effect have it integrated is a real bonus. However, I've found that in order to listen to headphones I have to put a metal cassette in my tape machine, hit record/pause and control volume via the record-level knob. Works, but...

Strengths:
Warm balanced sound on all types of music. Dynamics: very much there but by no means spectacular. I'm actually enjoying my CD's which had languished when compared with LP or SACD: definite bonus for me. I'm using it with a B&K ST120 - the ST-140's baby brother; synergistic combo.

Weaknesses:
Having difficulty listening to Headphones - see summary. Care needs to be taken with the rear RCA's. This unit seems to experience some sibilance which is a bit annoying. VERY sensitive to interconnect location - will hum at the slightest provocation. Keep it well away from everything else! Not for the inexperienced I'd venture, but worth care being lavished.

Similar Products Used:
Another B&K Pro5 which imploded - see other criticisms! Adcom GFP-555 Musical Fidelity "The Preamp" Meridian 204 pre-amp Naim 42.5(MM) pre-amplifier Quantum 2??preamp

Price Paid:  $165.00 from Echo hi Fi

Summary:
I had a previous Pro-5 until the rca connectors fell apart, one after another. I enjoyed the sound, but the rca failures were a terrible nuisance. Echo Hi Fi (www.echohifi.com) had one used with upgraded, stronger, gold rca connects. I thought, what's the worst that can happen and if it does it's not much money. Strangely enough I simply swapped one problem for another. While the RCA connects eliminated one problem, the improved gold conductivity was like putting rocket fuel in a Chevette. Only after downgrading the cables to old Monster cables did it all smooth out. After a lot of work, it's working well. Thugh there's an occasional crackle out of one channel. I'm just going to put my dollars aside, get a Magnum Dynalab 208 and call it a day. Lastly, Echo Hi Fi is a great shop. They would have taken the preamp back if I'd asked.

Strengths:
It is a very nice sounding preamp after you fight through the problems.

Weaknesses:
Those rca connectors start a cascade failure that is tough to overcome unless you're really into solving problems and are good with a soldering iron.

Similar Products Used:
Used with Rega Planet 2000, B&K ST 202+ amp and some homebuilt speakers.

Price Paid:  $250.00 from Recycled Audio

Summary:
My brother owned this preamp back around 92/93. It drove his Vandersteen 2Ci speakers through his Coubterpoint SA-100 amplifier. It is very good for the price, but does not equal the PRO-10MC in sound or parts quality. Buy this one if you are under severe budget constraints, otherwise the PRO-10MC at around $100-$150 more is a much better deal as it is truly a high end preamp with cleaner and more involving sound. The PRO-5 is for people with associated mid-fi gear that need a little smoothing out of the sound. Great as a first serious preamp and it has a full set of controls to allow versatility in listening.

Strengths:
Nothing better I know of at the price point, but it is op-amp based and does not equal discrete designs.

Weaknesses:
The PRO-10MC clearly better in performance for only $100-$150 more on the used market.

Similar Products Used:
B&K PRO-10MC and my own homebuilt tubed preamp.

Price Paid:  $350.00

Summary:
I had not used the unit in quite some time because the
sound kept getting static in it. B&K kept telling me to
clean the terminals and twist all the dials to lubricate
them - nothing worked. In the meantime, I bought a
Rotel 995 pre-amp that I am happy with. I finally got
around to sending back to the factory for repair and was
informed that the whole back piece containing the RCA
jacks has to be replaced - the outlets are all shot. The
new replacment would be Tiffany RCA's and should last
forever. But the cost was $150 with labor - more than I
think it is worth. I told them to junk it. He said that
this model did use cheaper jacks and have given problems.
Surprisingly, I still have the B&K ST140 amp I bought
at the same time and it works just fine. Go figure! But
the technician at B&K did say that that unit uses much
better RCA's. I would not rule out a B&K product in the
future, but I certainly insure that the RCA's are of top
quality before buying again. So much for made in America
being top quality.

Strengths:
Good sounding unit at the time I bought it(1988). Was
considered very good value for the money at that time, not
state of the art but definately more that mid-fi. Had a nice
warm sound.

Weaknesses:
As other reviewers have mentioned, the jacks on the back of
the unit started giving problems maybe six or seven years
ago.

Summary:
Don't buy anything from B&K....Cheeep construction negates any thrill from the sound.

Strengths:
Great neutral sound. Well conceived controls. The ablility to bypass tone controls.

Weaknesses:
The incredibly cheesy, cheap, gawdawful, crappy connectors on the back that don't always yield a good connection. Believe it or not, I have to jiggle them around to make the sound come through. Lately they are dying.