B&K ST 202+


Hello,
I am new here and I have a few questions. I have an old B&K St 202+ amp and a matching Pro 5 pre. The amp works great and in fact, it is too powerful for the PSB B25's that I used to test it. The preamp has a burned out power light and the lettering on the units is blue. The RCAs on the back of the amp are not marked and I have no way of knowing how much power there really is. These units were built by a B&K employee for my former neighbor. I do not need this much power and I am leaning toward a smaller Arcam and Rotel system in the near future. This equipment seems in pretty good shape and does it have any value? How do I know the wattage?
frisco64
Hello again,

If you decide to switch speakers, the Dynaudio lines, Vandersteen's, and the Theils (expensive and require very good amplifiers to really "sing") are good, but for the money, have a look at B&W's 600 or 700 series line, they are very good- depending of your choice of music of course. If you are into jazz or classical, give the Maggies or Martin Logans an listen they are more real then ANY speaker I have ever heard, however, for live output levels they will require a sub and good amplification.

What exactly are you looking for? What type of music do you mostly listen to? Consider this before you buy.
Hello Again Alpha,

Yes, I am on a budget right now and I am hoping to get a deal in the $750-1000 range. I am looking at the PSB Stratus Mini's, Dynaudio Contours (older ones) Thiel and Dali. B&W's remain a dark house but I need to hear them. I hear mixed reviews about them. I simply don't like Paradigm so its all still up in the air. I am in my early 40's but as I get older my music taste is more jazz, acid jazz, classical, some Sinatra, and of course I am still driven by some rock. I had a house last year with more room and what I am looking for now is a high performance larger monitor with good soundstage and transparency. I just acquied a Pro 10MC to upgrade my pre so everything should sound even better. My source has been lacking too because I am using a Sony Progressive scan for music. I bought it just for movies but its been a stop gap measure. That is obviously a weak link. I am trying to find a good source. I could pay up to $500 for a DVD/CD and I keep looking for a deal on a Rotel or Arcam. What is your opinion of a Pioneer Elite DVD Player int he $400 range?Also, I need some good interconnects and speaker cable under $100. See how bad it is. No wonder I am back in college for a career change.
Having had 3 of your amps, they are slow, and the bass is way too warm, but I still like them a great deal, and built very well. If you like a "quicker" sound, then the 202 is not the amp for you..IMHO
Tunes4me,
Guess what?, I have decided once again to sell the units and move onto something else. They do sound good though. I want to actually "downgrade" to a lower watt unit and pre. I have a smaller living space than last year and besides I would like something new. I was also thinking of getting a real good integrated amp. I am spending the next two weeks deciding.