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Excellent Solid State or Hybrid Monoblocks Recommendations

I am interested in staying under 15k for a pair of high performing monoblocks, sold state or hybrid, to acquire. 

My current system is an Aric Audio Motherlode preamp, a Space-Tech super tube rectifier, Teac NT-505 modded dac, outboard clock, Aerial Acoustic 7T modded speakers, ENIGMAcoustics Sopranino supertweeters, Grover Huffman Pharoah biwire speaker cables, Zavfino Silver Dart interconnects, Melco 6TB server, Melco CD transport, Waversa Reference USB filter between the cd transport and server, Waversa Reference LAN filter, Synergistic Research active grounding block, and Synergistic Research Ethernet Switch UEF.

My modded JC1 monoblocks sound heavenly.  However, I am having issues with no sound coming out of 1 channel.  My modded PassLab X250.5 amps sound really good but lack the top end sparkle, air and litheness of the Parasounds JC1s.   I am gonna fire back up my Canary CA-160 modded tube monoblocks but am not wild about the tube maintenance requirements.

 

So, I seek another pair of monoblocks that excel in clarity, balance across the frequency spectrum but also present upper registers with delicacy, spaciousness, and nice instrument separation.  I am looking at Audio Van Alstine 750 wpc monoblocks and the Thrax black monoblocks up for sale here on Audiogon.  Other suggestions? 

Thanks in advance.

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xjaymark
pynkfloydd
44 posts
 

Have there been many changes to the PS Audio BHK 300 monoblock amplifiers over the past few years?

@jaymark Seems like there were some revisions that affected early units.  In case you're interested, PS Audio has a good forum where you can even find old posts from BHK himself.  Here's the thread about revisions:

PS Audio Forum: How To Tell If You Have The Latest Version Of BHK Signature 250, 300 or Preamp???

 

Do PS Audio BHK 300 monoblock amps require a 20 amp line?  If not require one would the sound better with one? Or is a 15 amp line sufficient?

15amps should be okay, but 20amps would likely be preferable if you're running off of a single circuit.  I run through a few conditioners and the Furman SPR-20i averages ~2 amps for the BHK 250 at moderate listening levels.  I'm assuming with all equipment powered and running BHK 300s, you could be pushing ~10 amps continuous draw for everything, but, for reference, the BHK 250/300 uses 10 amp fuses so you'd never surpass 10 amps per amp even at full throttle.

jaymark's avatar
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jaymark OP
515 posts
 

@pynkfloydd many thanks.  I was going to pick up a pair of used PS Audio BHK 300 monoblocks used then got cold feet when the seller did not know how old they were and the serial numbers were non-sequential.  So I ordered a brand new pair from P SAudio and traded in one of my amps in my collection.   Glad to know I should be OK with 15a lines.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,992 posts
 

I suspect that the gan fet is a chunk of this progress assuming it is well implemented.  I am gonna pick up some class D monoblocks in the near future.....

@jaymark What GaNFETs bring to the table is low noise. You really do want a class D amp to be low noise because that noise can leak out through the air or on the AC power line. It can get into other components and mess with them. So its not enough that the class D amp meet EU Directives for low noise (or in this country FCC 'part 15'); it needs to be a lot lower so things like digital audio, FM radio, a phono section, don't get upset by the operation of the amp in proximity.

A major source of noise in class D is something called 'parasitic inductance' which is might be a lead of a part or a trace on a board that is long enough that its able to resonate and transmit noise like an antenna. GaNFETs typically don't have leads making them inherently lower noise than MOSFETs, which usually do have leads.

GaNFETs also tend to have a very low 'On' resistance, so low that a lot of the time they don't even need a heatsink, because with lower on resistance there is also less energy dissipated in the device. The inherently faster speed of the devices also means less deadtime to accomodate their operation. Deadtime is a period of waiting in the circuit so time is given for one device to turn off before the other is turned on (otherwise the devices can heat up very quickly and fail). Deadtime contributes to distortion- reducing it can make the amp smoother and more detailed.

pynkfloydd
44 posts
 

many thanks.  I was going to pick up a pair of used PS Audio BHK 300 monoblocks used then got cold feet when the seller did not know how old they were and the serial numbers were non-sequential.  So I ordered a brand new pair from P SAudio and traded in one of my amps in my collection.   Glad to know I should be OK with 15a lines.

@jaymark Any time and congratulations!  Bascom King's designs are so well-regarded that you can't go wrong, especially since these ended up on many "best of" lists.

You may also enjoy the tube rolling threads on PS Audio's forums:  PS Audio - BHK 250 / 300 Tube Rolling Thread

Something really nice about the BHK amps is that they accept the 6922 variants without any special configuration.  Bascom replied on one of the PS Audio threads and recommended the Tungsram PCC88, but it's a very laid-back tube.  I went on a tube binge and have tried ~15-20 different sets, so let me know if you'd like any tube suggestions.  I also had a positive improvement from Acme's silver ceramic fuses, which were ~$130 per amp for the set of 6.

 

Hope to hear your impressions after you're able to set your new monoblocks up!

jaymark's avatar
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jaymark OP
515 posts
 

@atmasphere thanks for the above explanation!  Great talking with u recently as well.  I am still interested in your class d amps as I rotate amps thru 4 two channel systems at two homes.

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