Clean, Warm, Power

I've noticed that one of the amps tends to get slightly hotter than the other. I don't know if that is normal or something to worry about. There is no loss in power or sound quality so I'm not sure why that is???? That is the only weakness/strangeness I've found so far. The new Ref 200.1's don't have the option for level controls. But, seeing as B&K has gone balanced, not a big deal I guess.

I bought two of these slightly used in Silver with the option level inputs from a friend in the A/V business. He was very sad to see these go, but he got into some debt etc. These were a godsend when matched to my Klipsch CF-3s (100db efficient). These speakers are so efficient that during quiet scenes or passages a distinct hiss could be heard using my old Marantz MA700 Amps. It was especially noticeable on the Bladerunner DVD. That DVD is very quiet and you know what I'm talking about if you own it. Switching to the B&K nearly eliminated the Hiss and tweaking the level controls on the 220Ms eliminated it completely! I was planning on going to less efficient speakers to eliminate that annoying Klipsch Hiss. I found out it was the amps I was using rather than the speakers. They are much cleaner sounding than the Marantz and sound wonderful on SACD/DVDA. Warm and that is a good match to tone down the brightness of the Klipsch horn. Very nice combo and I'm definitely keeping these Klipsch monsters now thanks to these B&Ks. I've recently purchased a B&K REF 200.3 to replace the MA700s running the C/SR/SL speakers. The current 200.1 is basically the 220M renamed from what I see on the specs sheet. I'll probably pick up a 200.1 in the future to go mono across my front 3 speakers. Too bad they don't have the level control as an option. I'm very impressed with the improvement in sound vs my previous MA700s. I highly recommend them for music/home theater. I know there are better amps out there, but for my needs/experience they are awesome amps. Give the 220M/200.1 a listen if you can!

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Marantz MA700s. Various crappy receivers. I've only recently stepped into the world of seperates.

These will push your speakers to the limit. Sweet.

Have these guys set on staggered switching when you turn on your setup. Otherwise, they will make the lights on the same circuit dim.

I bought three of the 220M's to run my front three and the Reference 2220 for the rear two. More clean power than anyone really needs. They really made a diference in my setup. Playing the same music before/after the installation of these amps was a real eye-opener. Much cleaner than any integrated amp I've ever heard.

Similar Products Used:

Reference 2220