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How about BK power amps?
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Should it be B&K instead? https://hometheaterreview.com/bk-components/
Audioraven
Well-Known Member
B&K ST-140 is a great amp. Especially for the price you can get one for. $200ish
stereofanboy
Addicted Member
Burger King sells amps?
It's a nice sounding MOSFET amp... especially for the money ..
Multiple versions over the years .. goes by the color of the label on the face to tell which version that you have ..
Silver label, Gold label, and Red & Blue label ..
Mine is pretty much always hooked up to something ..Right now it's doing a nice job with a pair of Snell Type K's
Very musical and easy to listen to ..
They were common and you can usually find them right around $200 - $250
Multiple versions over the years .. goes by the color of the label on the face to tell which version that you have ..
Silver label, Gold label, and Red & Blue label ..
Mine is pretty much always hooked up to something ..Right now it's doing a nice job with a pair of Snell Type K's
Very musical and easy to listen to ..
They were common and you can usually find them right around $200 - $250
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twiiii
Lunatic Member
We sold B&K for 5 years or more. I liked the sound, but they all ran to hot for me, which mean premature failure down the road. All their integrated HT units failed which I contributed to heat. The 200.7 and .5 if kept cool with external fans were OK. The integrated stereo units had less difficulties, but weren't trouble free. The 120.2, .3, amps worked great. Stereo pre-amps were Trouble free and the HT processors seem to be OK. The sound was nice, but could be dry on the bottom but nice on top. Better than Crown and Bryston and Krell for sure. Its a shame they didn't hold up well. Thats why we dropped the line. You'd probably be happier with big Denon or Marantz, but they can both be a little edgy. some times. Depending on which speakers you prefer Mac is always a good choice. You just need to know which amps to choose. With autoformers old style, or new style, amps without autoformers, or old style tube amps or the latest tube amps. All sound a little different from each other. My speakers prefer Mac amps without autoformers and solid state. Other speakers I have used or installed preferred the older Mc amps with autoformers or in some cases tube amps. Speakers like Magico S5 mk II seems to like the new 275, where a 2301 or a 2152 just aren't quite the right. I tried 601's and 611's and the sound just wasn't to my liking. As my better half remarked reed instruments sounded all wrong. She was a professional reed player so I bowed to her expertise. She preferred the little 275. So don't go running off looking for the perfect amp with out an audition, you maybe unpleasantly surprised! I usually am.
Here's a couple threads about the different versions of the ST 140 ..
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/which-b-k-st-140
http://6streetbridge.blogspot.com/2010/08/visit-with-b-st-140-amplifier.html
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/which-b-k-st-140
http://6streetbridge.blogspot.com/2010/08/visit-with-b-st-140-amplifier.html
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Audioraven
Well-Known Member
I had a ST-140 for over 10 years. Yes it ran hot, but I never had a single issue with it.
Bkphoto
Super Member
My days of Mötley Crüe at 3:00 on the dial came and went many moons ago....these days it’s jazz at 9:00
I was able to peek inside mine before buying, nothing was discolored, no signs of anything overheating...
For 400 beans it’s a lot of amp...having it recapped sometime this winter...pairing it with a newly restored HK 17
I was able to peek inside mine before buying, nothing was discolored, no signs of anything overheating...
For 400 beans it’s a lot of amp...having it recapped sometime this winter...pairing it with a newly restored HK 17
Maybe hot is a relative thing ..
My HK integrated runs hotter than the B & K and it's been around for 35 years ..
Neither of them run hot enough to need a fan ...and most of these ST-140's have been running warm for a very long time .. they're old amps.
What temp is hot ??
My completely subjective method is just to lay my hand on the top of the case .. If it's warm, that's completely normal for a lot of amps .. If it's hot enough to make me move my hand, I'd call it hot..
Heatsinks are a different thing .. If they're hot they're doing their job ..
Kinda depends on the amp and it's bias .. some run warm, some run cool..
And if reducing the bias lowers the temp, but negatively affects sound quality, then I'm turning it back up and asking myself why would I want to listen to a crappy sounding amp for a longer period of time ???
My HK integrated runs hotter than the B & K and it's been around for 35 years ..
Neither of them run hot enough to need a fan ...and most of these ST-140's have been running warm for a very long time .. they're old amps.
What temp is hot ??
My completely subjective method is just to lay my hand on the top of the case .. If it's warm, that's completely normal for a lot of amps .. If it's hot enough to make me move my hand, I'd call it hot..
Heatsinks are a different thing .. If they're hot they're doing their job ..
Kinda depends on the amp and it's bias .. some run warm, some run cool..
And if reducing the bias lowers the temp, but negatively affects sound quality, then I'm turning it back up and asking myself why would I want to listen to a crappy sounding amp for a longer period of time ???
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I really like my ST-3030 ..... paired with my B&K Pro10-mc preamp. --Somewhere-- here on AK is a thread that contains a nice chart listing all the BK amplifiers complete with specs. If I can find it I'll re post here.
ST-3030 info.
http://www.audioreview.com/product/amplification/amplifiers/b-and-k-components/st-3030.html
General B&K component info.
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/bk-components.shtml
ST-3030 info.
http://www.audioreview.com/product/amplification/amplifiers/b-and-k-components/st-3030.html
General B&K component info.
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/bk-components.shtml
They're good amps for the money .. and to my ear the ST140 is more musical than my Aragon ..
The Aragon is more accurate, and can't be beat for it's bass note, and power into low impedance loads, but I put a lot more hours on the B&K than the Aragon ..
FWIW MOSFET outputs require higher bias (for low distortion) and run hotter than BJT, but are not subject to thermal runaway and are quite reliable. As one person said, heat is relative, and they handle the heat better. All the B&K amps I've seen schematics used MOSFET outputs...Hitachi MOSFET, Hafler, and a few others also use MOSFETs and run on the warm side. Even the PA users don't have high failure rates. My 2 cents.
