PS Audio BHK Signature Preamp?

I have one. It replaced a Rogue RP-5. The BHK is more refined sound and nicer build to the Rogue. I purchased mine before PSA went direct and one could get great prices. You may find one of PSA’s former dealers have some stock or a demo unit still left. 

Appreciate the tip. Will see what I can turn up out in the field. A "bargain" would be most welcome as new prices are soaring.

PS Audio has their own forums, I'm sure you could get many opinions there.  Of course, most would probably be positive. 

I'm not complaining about you posting here.  I'd be interested in what others here have to say too.

I’m running mine with Gold Lion 12au7s. The stock PSvanes sound wonderful as well. Not too much difference in sound between the two that would really make one take notice. 

I bought the BHK on 3/23/2020 and later on replacing with two brand new NOS telefunken tubes, wow, I can hear the sound is more beautiful. It is a good preamp.

Hopefully, that will help.

Purchased mine in 2021and extremely pleased

The input stage is tube based and the output stage is solid state

I've experienced deeper, wider, sound stage, an increased separation of instruments and an overall wider dynamic range of highs and bass

Good products made by a good company, IMO

@stevewharton An impressive endorsement. Which preamp(s) are you comparing with the PSA?

I had the PS Audio BHK about 2 years ago.  It replaced an Ayre K5xeMP.  The stock tubes were awful IMO.  The preamp was bright and I found awful with stock tubes.  Rolled in NOS Tunsgrams and it was sweet and engaging.  Step up from the Ayre.  It was paired with VTL MB185s and a Rogue Audio Hydra.  

I have since had a few preamps that I think are as good or better.  The AVM PA 5.2 is as good with a better feature set like tone controls and optional cards.  The Art Audio Conductor (much more expensive SE preamp) was significantly better with my Art Audio and Rogue amps.  

The PS Audio is best in a fully balanced environment with fully balanced DAC and power amps.  I would not bother if you have SE amps.  You will almost certainly want to roll tubes.  You will find quite a few different choices but I had great luck with the NOS Tunsgrams.  You should be able to find this used for ~$3500 and is a strong value at that price point.  

I've used a BHK preamp in balanced mode with a PS Audio BHK250, PS Audio Stellar M1200 monos, and a Zesto BIA 120 and it has been wonderful with all three amplifiers. I've found the professional reviews to accurately reflect my experiences with the preamp so no need to repeat the litanies of praise found there. My Tidal Piano Cera speakers are rather revealing and I found the choice of preamp tubes considerably affects the sound of the preamp in my system. I also did not care for the stock Psavane tubes and Gold Lion 12au7's are a fine modern replacement. Older tubes from RCA, Raytheon, GE, etc. offer different flavors. You can also run 6dj8/6922 family tubes in it with a switch of jumpers on the circuit board. Telefunken 7dj8s were my favorite in that family of tubes. That said, I generally found 12au7 family tubes to be a bit quieter and with less of a tendency to exacerbate unpleasant sibilance in recordings. Unlike many other components, I haven't found different footers to affect the sound very much. Power cords are a different story, I've tried a dozen or more and they all sound different. I agree with the prior post that it's a strong value at used prices. 

Thanks to all for sharing your experiences and buying tips. Definitely want to try this one if I can score it at a decent price. Will be prepared to roll tubes as needed.

Keep an eye out of The Music Room's inventory in Erie, Co. They regularly have BHK preamps for sale at the $3500-3600 price point and they give you 14 days to try it at home to see if it works for you. I've bought from them multiple times with no issues. 

@photon46 Sounds like just the ticket. 😎

@hickamore great question on what other preamps I've compared to the BHK

Your question provoked a run down preamp memory lane

Full transparency I've only compared it with other preamps that I've owned, which happens to be all PSA since 1993

That's not because I'm a PSA evangelist, bigot or schill but more to do with the performance and reliability of the products 

My first sperate was a PSA 6.1 preamp and was my primary from 1993-2006

In 2006 I upgarded to the PSA Trio P-200 and in 2021 the BHK

With each upgrade the SQ improvements were immediate and impactful and left little doubt that the increased performance exceeded the increased cost, thus I didn't quibble or look at other manufacturers 

The current MSRP of the P-200 is slightly more than I paid for it in 2006.  Though this is currently influenced by post pandemic supply chain constriants and rising costs of new gear, not many products can make that claim

Also if you look at the background of the engineer that designed the BHK, I find it impressive and extensive.  Bascom has been designing longer than I've been listening, when he says 'this is the best preamplifier I've ever designed or heard'

I liked the idea of benefitting from his experience

Lastly I align with the guiding principle of the product design objective at PSA

Per the PSA founder himself - What we hope for in any piece of hi-fi equipment is sonic transparency. We get there by practicing the Hippocratic oath, ‘First, do no harm’,

Some may debate that I've developed blind faith in PSA products, or a sucker of brillant marketing tag lines, or have a soft spot for engineers who's best work is behind them

I prefer to think that the SQ quality of my kit has evolved as PSA products have evolved, but what I know for certain is these products have served me well and have brough great joy to my listening experience for going on 30 years

Thanks for the trot down memory lane😀

@stevewharton Whatever other mfrs may be doing, at least we know PSA has been constantly improving. Thx for sharing.