Warm, detailed sound, lots of power, lots of prescence, luscious midrange, tireless listening, tighter & richer bass than I ever imagined from my DQ 10's, wonderful detail at low volume levels, huge dynamic range, amazing sound quality from pedestrian souce material (FM, cable TV signals)

large, heavy cabinet (75 lbs), treble a bit harsh on some material

Was looking for an amp that would work very well for HT, but also, I didn't want to sacrifice my audio enjoyment. I have been very happy with the B & K. Not only does this amp rock on movies, but it does very well with my power-hungry speakers. The best of the others was my old Phase Linear and the rest just sound thin, tinny, and couldn't drive the speakers (including the Adcom & Krell). Not so with the B & K: it has brought new life to my old speakers and I am as happy as I have ever been with them (will upgrade the caps & wiring from Regnar soon).

My system:

Sony TAN ES A/V preamp
B & K 7250 amp
Dahlquist DQ 10's
REL Stetnor II sub
Vienna Acoustics Theatro center
Vienna Acoustics Waltz surrounds
Audioquest granite speaker cables
MC Interlink interconnects
Sony DVP ES DVD/CD/SACD player
Revox turntable (remember vinyl?)

Similar Products Used:

Phase Linear Series 2, Sony ES amplifiers, Adcom, lower-end Krell amp

drives my mirage om-5 effortlessly....

hurts my back when i carried it : )

this is definitely more than your average amp...

weaknesses..

1. a little bit on the harsh/bright side

strengths..

1. superb amp for the price

it's not the best amp i've heard, but for the price i paid for it, it's certainly a 10 star for value for money.

i played this amp continuosly for 5 days and 5 nights and it never fails... heat is reasonable, so i don't understand when some of the other reviewers mention about heat problem...

how to make this amp performs better???

use power line conditioner, change the power chord and everything changes for the better...

last but not least, grab this amp when you have the chance...

Warm, Smooth, Wonderful sounding

Get somewhat warm if you want to call that a weakness

Well I switched preamps at the same time as I did amps so it's hard to quantify how much difference the preamp is making and how much difference the amp is making but all I know is now I love the sound of my system. I was using a Denon DD decoder as a preamp for a while and except for an occasional movie I really didn't listen to my system that much. I'm now loving the sound of my system and relaxing to just enjoy the music instead of the "sound" which is one of the best compliments I can think of.

Similar Products Used:

Anthem, Hafler

Power, detail, soundstage, lack of harshness.

Binding post covers troublesome when using large spades.

Wow. That is what needs to be said first. Upgrading from a Rotel RB985 was a huge jump, but I did compare the Rotel 1095, Classe CAV150, and Krell KAV 500 to this amp, and I must say this, with the right speakers it blows the Rotel away (and I am a loyal Rotel buyer), and pulls almost even with the Classe and Krell which both were realistically out of my budget (aside from a used Classe I could have picked up for roughly what I paid for this unit new).

Dynamics, detail, soundstaging, and tonality are all first rate. I have it paired with B&W CDM7nt's and this combo is awesome! I think this pairing comes very close to the Nautilus 804/Mark Levinson pairing I have listened to several times at my dealer at less than half the price!

I listened to the Rotel 1095 wanting to love it, but it just does not have the top end detail, controlled bottom end, and incredible soundstage that this amp does. The Rotel seemed to have a bit more on tap for ultra loud passages, but I have never had the B&K run out of steam in my home as I never approach the levels I demoed at my dealer.

My only quibble is the matter of the binding posts, which make it hard to insert large spades like I have on the MIT Bi-wires I use. Lifting the back of this 75 pound beast while trying to fidget the spade into place took some doing. This however is not enough to reduce my 5 star rating of this amp, and the plasic casing does ensure that shorting speaker wires is almost impossible.

DYNAMIC RANGE CLARITY

NONE

INCREDIBLE AMP . USED WITH NHT VT2.4 TOWERS TO PRODUCE INCREDIBLE SOUNDSTAGE WITH MUSIC AND INCREDIBLE DYNAMICS ON H/T. ABSOLUTELY KILLS BRYSTON 9BST IN LOWER BASS.ALL THIS FOR 2500$? IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER.

Similar Products Used:

CINEPRO

Powerful, dynamic, refined, strong build

needs air to keep MOSFETs cool

What can one say about an amp which simply gets it right in every way? Straight wire with gain. Perfect tonal balance. Power to spare. Deep tight bass. Clear but refined highs. The Bryston sounded great, but lacked the bottom end... a little anemic compared to the Rotel and B&K. The Rotel was also great, and $500 less. But, I found the sound of the B&K more involving and less fatiguing -- more tube-like. The Rotel was just a bit forward. The MOSFETs in the B&K are more akin to tube character than the bipoars in the other amps. They do make it run warm. The B&K is built better, too. The RCA inputs are chassis mounted (Rotel's are on the curcuit board)and the binding posts are rugged and sheathed. It's mostly a matter of preference though. I can't see any need to upgrade this amp for a looooong time. B&K proves that a great amp doesn't always come at a high cost. If you're in the market for a 200x5 amp, check out the B&K and the Rotel. You can't go wrong with either. The Bryston seems to offer less at a much higher price.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel 1095 , Bryston 5B-ST

Warmth, Soundstage, Detail, Power!!!

None

Got this amp after auditioning the above three amps, and I must say its the best sounding amp for even twice the price I paid for it. The Parasound came close, but was slightly grainy in the highs, and the Rotel colored the highs as well, the Adcoms were a bit harsh for my tastes. The B&K was sweet sounding and had an enormous soundstage, as if I was hearing to a live performance. I could hear the fingers hitting the guitar string rather than just the string. Thats the amount of detail this amp is capable of delivering. The more I crank this amp the more I want to crank up. It never sounded harsh at any volume levels. The only reason I had to listen to moderate levels was cos my wife was freaking out at those volume levels. Mentioning of my wife, even she was able to tell the difference in sound quality from my previous Denon Amp. Guys this is a must buy amp for any price below $4000!!!

Similar Products Used:

Parasound HCA2205, Rotel RMB1095, Adcom (5500+5503)