runs hot.

I have been using this product since purchasing the amp new in 1993. This amp sounds great, hands down a spectacular performer for the price. My only compliant is that the amp does run a little hot, but considering I never shut it down. My amp has not been shut down for the past 6 years. What do you think about it's reliability.

Great soundstage, very musical, tube-like sound

hard to find on the used market

I purchased my B&K ST-202 amp to power my Hales Trancendence
5 speakers, and they make a great combination. This amp is
very musical and tube-like. I listen to a wide variety of
music, and this amp makes it all sound good. Compared
to my NAD 2700 thx, the B&K is smoother, especially in
the upper midrange and highs. I looked for a used one for
a long time. Most people that have this amp hang on to it!
I would only give this amp up for another more powerful
B&K model. If you can find one on the used market, go
for it!

Similar Products Used:

NAD 2700 thx,ATI 1506

Extremely musical for a low cost solid state design, very open and natural sounding; fine detail and nuance. Just amazing quality for the money! A real Winner here! Very, Very reliable!

No longer manufactured; hard to find used... no other real weaknesses given the price point

This was perhaps B&K's BEST amp for the money. Although Sam Tellig of Stereophile fame hawked the ST-140 for years, loving the tube-like tonality and bullet proof reliability, the ST-202 at around 140wpc was a clearly superior amp. It sounded more powerful, open, refined, and nimble than the ST-140.

You do not find it used very often but when they do come up, it is worth a serious look. It easily outperforms the similar models from Adcom such as the GFA-555 and 545. The treble is far more refined and it comes very close to the kind of holographic soundstaging that one could only expect to find in tube amps!

Indeed, this little underachiever has an uncanny ability to flesh out the instruments in a wide and deep soundstage while exhibiting a seamless quality. To put it simply, it sounds extremely musical. I would have to say this is one of the great bargains in audio since it appears to be built like a tank. In addition to the home version I had, I was exposed to the ST-202 in our college radio station. This unit was left on for over 8 years without power-down! I can literally report there was not one single problem during that time. As far as I know, it's still performing just as well today.

I had a system with a Stan Warren passive preamp running with a Cary Audio SLP-70's phono stage. The turntable was a Linn LP-12 with Basik Plus arm and Sumiko Bluepoint. The speakers at the time were Fried Q4 transmission line monitors. The sound was spellbinding and just plan so musical and open, it sounded like a fine tube amp with more guts! Of course, it didnt quite have the alive magic of a really fine tube design (such as the EICO HF-81) but I will always remember that system as one of the most musical I ever had. I now have all tube gear running into ProAcs and I still sometimes remember the feelings I had listening to the little B&K.

This amp is highly recommended and I would have to give it five stars based on value and listen quality for the money.

kh

Similar Products Used:

B&K M200 Monoblocks, Cary SLA-70, ASUSA A-4 EL-34 amp, Jolida 302B, NAD 3150, EICO HF-81, Adcom GFA-555 and others

Neutrality, power, soundstaging, clarity, non-fatiguing

Speaker binding post

I received the B&K ST202 as a loaner while my Chord was sent out for repairs. Well after 3 days of listening through the B&K, I was struck by its neutrality, natural portrayal of instrumental timbres, non-hyped detail and soundstaging. My associated equipment is a Krell KSL-2 preamp, Rotel RCD971 CD-Player, Pro-Ac Response 1SC speakers with Hsu Research 10 powered subwoofer, Rega Planar 3 turntable w/Stanton 881s cartridge, Marigo 3.1 speaker cables and Burmester 4 interconnects. So far I am enjoying spending time with my music system. I plan to upgrade the CD Player in the future. All in all I'm keeping the B&K ST202. For the value and performance.

Similar Products Used:

Chord SPM600, Bryston B-60