PS Audio BHK signature preamp

@signaforce Lol we need to have some fun once in a while

Hopefully you guys are old friends! 😏

Here I sit, cheeks a-flexin’, giving birth to another Texan…don’t worry about our power here in jersey we got plenty…

Power must really suck in Jersey 

Had TT2. It’s very different from Qutest. Was actually a bit quirky with my N200 requiring frequent reboots (used USB to connect the two). Sound was OK but sensitive to power quality. Overall good but not my cup of tea. You might like it though so give it a try if you can pick it up cheap. 

Possibly, or a new TT.  On the DAC side, leaning towards Hugo TT2. I like the Chord sound and footprint, and that may be their sweet spot above the Qutest. Don’t want Chi-Fi, Weis is too industrial looking, etc… but we shall see! The journey is a fun part of our hobby.  
 

Happy to hear you’re enjoying music! 
DAC next?

@audphile1 The 760A is discontinued and replaced with the 761 at $14K… the model @yyzsantabarbara was high on. Nope.  
@luvtubes69 Dual mono would be very nice, but no room, and VERY happy with one stereo. Nice that I potentially migrate though!  
Thank you for all your outstanding advice! My system is very close to my nirvana. 

@audphile1 I know I own 2 of them and the Moon 390 Preamplifier. Dual Mono the only way to go. 

@luvtubes69 that little amp has plenty of juice. Drove my Wilson Sabrina no problems. Cool thing is when you go up the line the you don’t just get more power, design gets better

The 760a is great…although I never heard it but can imagine the improvements you get

vs 330a here

I mean on, not standby

@audphile1 He needs a second 330A and run them as mono's LOL

@luvtubes69 Thank you. I agree. When listening last night, I would have sworn my HT rears were on. I was enveloped in the sound.

@audphile1 Thanks. By on, you mean standby or full on?

Going to stand pat for a while, unless I discover another deal i can’t pass on. But probably a P10, then a DAC.

Great news @signaforce !

It’s a nice little amp. Keep it on for few days straight it will sound even better. Hope there is synergy and you can enjoy it!

So what’s next in 2025? New DAC? Hehehe  You got to hear your system properly! Lol

Simaudio/Moon is top shelf gear. Congrats. 

Received my 330A amp today. I know I was supposed to give it time, but could not wait. It sounds beautiful, very clean, very crisp & concise, detailed, with sparkling highs, tight bass & great soundstage. Hearing subtle passages I have never heard before! It has a perfect form factor & is as nice looking as an amp can be. I think it pairs well with my BHK & R11’s. Time will tell, but I think a keeper! Thanks!

@signaforce congrats!!! Keep us posted. 

@audphile1 @dokosan Purchased the Simaudio Moon 330A, arrives Thursday. I am excited to hear it in my system. 
@sandrock The tube recommended by PS Audio and used by many in the forum is the Tungsram. I may give it a try. Thanks. 

See what I mean? But don’t be discouraged’ there are tubes that will suit your sound very well. It just takes some (and money) to select what works best with your system! But, again, check in with PS Audio’s website and check out the tube rolling thread………

Simaudio is excellent. It will be purely a matter of synergy - hope you like it!

@audphile1 @dokosan Thanks for the feedback. Think I am buying one. Love the form factor for my limited space. If I am not comprising too much, maybe a keeper! 

FYI, running the Simaudio 330A.  Unit is compact and gets only slightly warm.  My experience is that it is neutral and detailed. 

Go for it! Definitely worth a shot. It’s a great little amp. 
Keep it on 24/7 if when you get it - this amp needs a day to open up to full potential after it’s been off for few days. 

@signaforce I mentioned the KRELL because someone posted a bit earlier about KRELL and CODA. The price of the AHB2 can be had for about $2.5k or less on USAM. Though you can get a 30--day home trial with Benchmark and some other venders for MSRP. With your BHK I think you may really like the pairing.

Benchmark AHB2 amp For Sale - US Audio Mart

@audphile1 Very sound advice, as it always is. However, I may try the 330A, as there is a used mint listing for $2,700… then resell if not to my liking with limited loss. I am finding it very difficult to ignore its perfect form factor.
@yyzsantabarbara Thanks. I am somewhat confused how Krell came into this discussion. Also, the 761 at $14,000 is not in play. The 330A at $4,200 is an appropriate comparison to the AHB2 at $3,500. Both have great form factors for my application. Sounds like your preference between those 2 is the AHB2.
@sandrock Thanks. I agree, the BHK pre was a perfect choice and am very happy with that decision. With the break in period over, I swapped out the stock tubes with my favs from my Rogue, NOS Siemens nickel/silver plates. While perhaps a little bright, their crispness, clarity, smoothness and bass slam is excellent. A significant improvement over the stock tubes. Will try the Brimars next for their warmth. Didn’t like the Tele’s on my Rogue… we shall see on the BHK. Fun stuff!

So Signaforce, first let me congratulate you on your PS audio purchase. You got a great product at a great price and will be happy with it for years to come.

in regards to tube rolling,I need to tell you that rolling is an “art” you see, tubes change the sound, sometimes greatly and sometimes very little. It’s all system dependent! What works best in your system might now work/sound as well in say my system. It comes down to trail and error! I went 5hrough a number of different tubes before I found something that improved the sound over 5he stock tubes and at 5he same time improved my listening quality. The best way for you to find out what might work best is to go to the PS Audio website and look at their forums. There are a number of threads on the preamp as well as tube rolling for the BHK specifically. I am not versed in tubes so the information I gleaned was very helpful.

wheather you got black or silver, you did good and well bought!

@signaforce I am a bit conflicted in recommending the KRELL 300i integrated or the KRELL Duo 175XD (I see my old one up for sale). The reason being that KRELL is a ___show as a company at the moment, so you are taking a risk. Though people like George Myer Audio in Los Angeles can repair KRELL. Since I am close to LA I would likely go with the KRELL.

I liked the KRELL Duo 175XD more than the CODA #8 v1 and the CSiB. I like the CODA #16 over all of them. I have not heard the new CODA S5.5 but it only has 50 watts (with curent) and I always want more power with KEF.

The amp I would like to experiment with you BHK preamp is the new SimAudio 761 from the North Collection. They may sound great together. It is a better Benchmark AHB2 to my ears. The AHB2 would also sound good with the BHK. I used the AHB2 with a Schitt Freya+ tube preamp and KEF LS50 Meta and I really liked it. Though the Freya+ was not my fav gear.

@signaforce 330a is a nice amp. But I believe it might be a bit forward with your Kef. When I compared it to Pass XA-30.8 in my system I preferred the Pass. And my speakers are probably slightly warmer than the Kef.

I would stick with Coda. It has the right amount of sweetness up top and plenty of  resolution without getting cool or forward sounding.

@audphile1 @yyzsantabarbara & anyone else

I was looking at the Simaudio Moon 330a. It is the perfect form factor for my existing space. It probably would be a compromise over the Coda (less class A etc) but would (I believe) be a significant improvement over my Warp 1. Not sure of its sound signature, but it appears to be neutral in reviews. 
The question I have is how much of a compromise would it be? How would it match with my BHK pre & KEF R11’s? 
Thank you!

@digilog5 Thanks!

The below info is direct from the late Bascom King when i was looking into the preamp and asked the same questions to my dealer. Direct from BHK: "No problem! 10K is an easy load. it can drive loads down to 1K. There are no series output coupling capacitors to roll off the low bass either."

Also running all my gear balanced and tested the Coda 8 balanced as well.

Re. the 250 vs Coda, frankly I would be super happy with either. By a touch sweet I meant its not dry or analytical. It will dig in and show up tremendous detail and depth, just not in a sterile way. Its polished like a top Hegel kind of sound. It might not have 100% of the "bloom" or kind of halo-space of the tubed BHK but its insanely good and from the moment you have the pre with tubes in there should be totally fine. I am contemplated actually to change to the Coda as in the future will be driving electrostats. BHK has nearly twice the filtering capacitance of the No.8 but 1/3 of the 8’s power supply. Would joke that the Coda has its own gravitational pull! hhaha.

@digilog5 Thanks for your observation confirming the Coda was very good & compatible with my BHK PRE. But it sounds like you prefer the BHK 250… wish they had one in black, I might overlook the size, weight & heat. Sorry to ask but what does it mean to be “a touch sweet”? Thanks!

Congrats on the BHK preamp. Great piece. I have the full PSA stack with the BHK250 and DSD and am very happy. That being said I did get a chance to try the Coda 8 mated to the BHK preamp for a week. Nothing to be afraid there. I think it was a great match and the Coda is a phenomenal piece too. Super resolving, without being sterile, a touch sweet, dead quiet and about the same big soundstage as the BHK250. Its bass is in one word subterranean. Fast and deep. Superb quality too and able to drive very low impedance loads (single ended bipolar design vs differential balanced mosfet for the BHK). I would seriously listen to the Coda especially with difficult loads. No issue being driven by the BHK preamp.  

Congrats on the BHK preamp. Great piece. I have the full PSA stack with the BHK250 and DSD and am very happy. That being said I did get a chance to try the Coda 8 mated to the BHK preamp for a week. Nothing to be afraid there. I think it was a great match and the Coda is a phenomenal piece too. Super resolving, dead quiet and about the same big soundstage as the BHK250. Its bass is in one word subterranean. Fast and deep. Superb quality too and able to drive very low impedance loads (single ended bipolar design vs differential balanced mosfet for the BHK). I would seriously listen to the Coda especially with difficult loads. No issue being driven by the BHK preamp.  

Perfect you’re set!

@audphile1 Already own the tubes that fit the BHK from my RP-1. Matched NOS Tele’s, Siemens & Brimar’s.
Won’t be spending any money on more tubes, nor fuses. Thanks.

@signaforce glad to hear you’re enjoying the nee preamp! Not sure what tubes are used as stock but may be better to direct the funds towards amplifier and DAC upgrades and tackle the tube rolling after? I wouldn’t waste money on fuses. At least not until you have all the components in place. 

@yyzsantabarbara Now you need to not read the forums so that you stay happy wilt your gear. 
Much easier said than done!
A side note, I will probably replace my turntable next. Given the same cartridge, it is probably the least sonic improvement I can make. I am a vinyl guy at heart & the joy of vinyl is not only its sound, but also the process of playing albums. My Pro-ject even though part of an analog that is slightly sonically superior to my digital, gives me no joy. 
@sandrock Thanks, mine is black. Not as attractive, but love the solid utilitarian look. I know tubes are very system dependent, but what tubes do you most enjoy? I will be rolling tubes, but unless someone can convince me otherwise not fuses. 

I am also a BHK Preamp owner and it had been one of my best accusations for about 5 years now. One of the best things I like about the pre amp is “tube rolling” aspect as well. I have also enjoyed changing out the safety fuse (3] times to get what is best for my system. Really, is are you getting the unit in silver or black? Personally,I have silver with the shiny black top. And the final close of the sale is the (THE SPECIAL SALES PRICE”  So there it is! All your questions and thoughts all answered!  So go enjoy the sound.

cheers,

sandroc

Congrats on the great purchase.

Now you need to not read the forums so that you stay happy wilt your gear.

BTW - I spoke with my friend who had my Yggi+ OG for the past month. This guy has incredible hearing, and I am buying his new speaker line. One reason being because of his hearing. He and some audiophiles compared my Yggi+ OG with the Dave and also the Mola Mola Tambaqui with the best headphones in the world.

The Dave and the Mola are in the $15k region and maybe $20k for the Dave if you add the upscaler (not sure if that was used). He liked the Mola Mola the best but given the price delta he thought the Yggi+ was incredible and the easy choice for him.

I was watching a video with one of the Schitt founders and they are going to release some new features on the Yggi+ lineup in 2026. The existing Yggi+ units are all upgradeable.

Thanks! It’s cooking! 

For my sanity, I was doing some research to try to understand the significant perceived improvement from the RP-1 to the BHK. I found 4.

1. The RP-1 is a very good entry level pre. The BHK is a very good high end pre. Design, weight, components etc all superior. Obvious but…
2. This ties into #1. The published THD distortion of the RP-1 is <1%. The published THD & IM distortion of the BHK is <.03%, That’s more than 3x the THD distortion for the Rogue and the IM distortion of the Rogue is not even published. 
3. Capacitance mismatch. From another audiogoner: “the RP-1 is very sensitive your amp's input impedance. My amp's is around 40Kohm and it sounded lifeless....an obvious loss of high frequency air and detail”. My Warp 1 is 47Kohm, and suffered the same issue.
4. As i stated earlier, my amp is designed to run balanced. The BHK accommodates this.

End result, my ears were not deceiving me! Thanks!

@signaforce awesome news! Let it cook for two weeks and it should get even better.

OK, the BHK arrived yesterday and did a push-pull with my RP-1, with no changes other than new balanced cables (Mogami 2549 XLR, replacing Mogami 2549 RCA) running from BHK to Warp 1. 

Hopefully I am not experiencing confirmation bias, but out of the box, with new cables & stock tubes, the BHK sounds wonderful. Dead quiet, tighter, fuller, crisper highs, tight solid bass, darker backgrounds, improved decay/harmonics, soundstages/separation... all the accolades we have heard so many times seem to be true. Almost like a veil has been lifted. My Aurender/Qutest digital no longer sounds lean, but great! My Hana ML sings.

The slight phono hum I experienced at higher volumes is gone. Symbolism gone. (These cannot be confirmation bias). Unbelievable! 

I am sure some of it is utilizing balanced in my Warp 1 (according to Stereophile, it was designed to be used balanced) (BTW, just discovered the Warp 1 is rated as a Class B amp by them... my only other Class B product is my Hana ML). But the rest has to be this wonderful BHK pre making everything better. 

I have never experienced sound improvements like this in all my many changes. I would not believe it possible for non-source electronics. Could not be happier... set for a while! Thank you for all your recommendations.

@signaforce I have 2 Yggi+ DACs. I got the very last Yggi+ OG sold by Schitt last year and also the Yggi+ LIM.

I have the LIM up for sale and I am also in the queue to get the LIM converted to the More Is Better by Schitt. Whichever happens first will dictate what I do.

I am selling off a bit of gear to buy a new open baffle speaker a friend is releasing.

The quote above is for the OG.

Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC - The Absolute Sound

Awesome! Looking forward to read your impressions. 

@yyzsantabarbara 

Thanks. I probably should have bought the Yggi instead of the Qutest. I liked the Qutest size. Your Yggi+ OG, is that less is more or more is better? 
 

@jayctoy @audphile1 

Thanks  Tracking says it is out for delivery. 

Signaforce  congrats, Keep us updated.

@signaforce The following link has a comparison of a rather cheap DAC with Chord Dave, which I assume is better than the Qutest. The cheap DAC was mine and it was at a headphone show in Colorado over the weekend (I was not present).

Headphones can really show the ability of a DAC.

https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2653214  (link is messed up)

 

Another Head-Fi’er, @yyzSB, sent his Schiit Audio Yggdrasil+ OG DAC with Danny, and I got a chance to listen to it not only driving my Immanis through my Zahl HM1 and VM-1a, but also through Danny’s Feliks Audio Envy. It has great tonal density—more than my Dave. And it does bass drum better than I think I’ve ever heard. Not only with the impact of the drum strikes, but the hollow reverb (I mean hollow in a good way here) of the sound of that strike bouncing around inside the drum. Timbre across the rest of the FR, and technicalities, were a touch behind my Dave, with the Yggi+ sounding a hair more digital. But the Yggi+ is also much less expensive and offers insane SQ per $.

@signaforce hope FedEx comes through!

as to DAC replacement…I’d tackle it after the amp change is in and everything had settled including your ears adjusting to new sound. 
Many choices there in DAC space.

@audphile1 @peter_s @yyzsantabarbara 

I don’t think anyone has ever accused my R11’s of being warm. I agree the Benchmark would not be a great pairing with my KEF’s, both from a power and sound signature standpoint. I am completely in on the BHK pre, and 90% on the Coda #8. Thanks.
@audphile1 My BHK has still not arrived due to continued FedEx ineptness. I got PS audio (as the shipper with much more influence) involved yesterday evening, since FedEx was completely unresponsive to me. They set up a 3 way call with FedEx. FedEx assured us the pre would be delivered between 2-4 today. Excellent service from PS Audio!  We shall see on FedEx … 
BTW, we need to talk about my Qutest replacement… and/or buying the chord upscaler Thanks!