I have owned a ST-202 Original model which was modified for 15 yrs.. Actually I blew a channel about a year ago,but it was considered the finest amp they ever made.
B&K I feel makes the best entry level gear you can purchase. There will always be exceptions,but they are made of good material and the only other gear I would consider at their price level would be used gear that hasa shown or known to be of great sonic quality. Forte ClassA amps(used) I would recommend other than the B&K's. Anthem is another good entry level amp ,but you will pay more. After that I would look at Coda,Plinius,Monarchy and a few others.
BTW I mated my B&K with an FT Audio Passive Controller and a Modified ART DAC which for the $$ was great to listen to. When you use a Passive you need to ensure that the output from the source is high.On the level of 6-7v. It worked amazingly well until I sold the DAC and a few other pieces in order to just use a Panasonic Digital Reciever which is also a remarkable piece for the $$.
The B&K you are considering I think is their entry level amp which might have less watts than the 200.2 or something and uses a few less output trannies.Still if you do not need the power they are good pieces.
It is hard to get good MOSFET amps as most people use Bi-Polars,but B&K make them or implement them well.
Anyway good luck and I cannot see anyone being offended by the B&K sound.WHen it comes down to B&K or Adcom I always would go with B&K because their sound is sweet as opposed to Dark.
Larry
www.nearsota.com
B&K I feel makes the best entry level gear you can purchase. There will always be exceptions,but they are made of good material and the only other gear I would consider at their price level would be used gear that hasa shown or known to be of great sonic quality. Forte ClassA amps(used) I would recommend other than the B&K's. Anthem is another good entry level amp ,but you will pay more. After that I would look at Coda,Plinius,Monarchy and a few others.
BTW I mated my B&K with an FT Audio Passive Controller and a Modified ART DAC which for the $$ was great to listen to. When you use a Passive you need to ensure that the output from the source is high.On the level of 6-7v. It worked amazingly well until I sold the DAC and a few other pieces in order to just use a Panasonic Digital Reciever which is also a remarkable piece for the $$.
The B&K you are considering I think is their entry level amp which might have less watts than the 200.2 or something and uses a few less output trannies.Still if you do not need the power they are good pieces.
It is hard to get good MOSFET amps as most people use Bi-Polars,but B&K make them or implement them well.
Anyway good luck and I cannot see anyone being offended by the B&K sound.WHen it comes down to B&K or Adcom I always would go with B&K because their sound is sweet as opposed to Dark.
Larry
www.nearsota.com