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Nikko alpha 440 vs BGW 750B and other Pro amps

S

SPOautos

Active Member
What do you guys think of the Nikko Alpha 440 or the Nikko Alpha II as compared to a BGW 750B, Yamaha Pro 2500

All of these make plenty of power but I'm more interested in sound quality between them all and especially how a Nikko amps rank against other high power amps.

Thanks!
 
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Theres not a lot out there about Nikko amps, should they be on my radar? I'm looking for the 150wpc+ range and have seen some of the Nikko gear seems to fly under the radar where it may be great deals if it has a good sound to it.
 
SPOautos said:
What do you guys think of the Nikko Alpha 440 or the Nikko Alpha II as compared to a BGW 750B, Yamaha Pro 2500

All of these make plenty of power but I'm more interested in sound quality between them all and especially how a Nikko amps rank against other high power amps.

Thanks!
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That's a very broad question.

Nikko makes good stuff, although the components they used were of cheaper quality.
I've restored two Alpha II's and was blown away.

However, the BGW is also a great, well made amp.
 
ivandezande said:
That's a very broad question.

Nikko makes good stuff, although the components they used were of cheaper quality.
I've restored two Alpha II's and was blown away.

However, the BGW is also a great, well made amp.
Click to expand...

Were you blown away because during the restoration you used higher quality components that sounded better or did you just restore them to how they would have sounded originally?

I've never heard of Nikko so dont know if they were entry level, mid grade, high end, etc. Just wondering how they stack up sound wise to BGW and Yamaha pro equipment.
 
SPOautos said:
Were you blown away because during the restoration you used higher quality components that sounded better or did you just restore them to how they would have sounded originally?

I've never heard of Nikko so dont know if they were entry level, mid grade, high end, etc. Just wondering how they stack up sound wise to BGW and Yamaha pro equipment.
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Only lower grade components were the caps that I replaced. I think I heard them sounding as they were when they were sold.
Only way to answer that question is to buy both and test them on the same pair of speakers.
 
Nikko had limited/restricted distribution. For example in the northeast they were only available at Tech HiFi - it was essentially their in house brand and couldn’t be cross shopped.
Internally they tended to use cheaper quality parts but they did represent a high value (and high profits).
I’ve had several Nikko setups and always enjoyed them sonically.
Cosmetically I always felt they excelled.
 
IMO the 440 should be better sounding (it will measure better) than the BGW or the Yamaha pro, as it uses a high speed outputs, non switching bias circuits and a very low distortion topology. However, it will not take the abuses that the other 2 amps will, and is (again in my opinion) not desirable for any PA or high stress type applications. Outputs are expensive and hard to find.
The Alpha 2 on the other hand, relatively easy to work on and repair parts are easily repairable. But its only 110 watts per channel. Dual mono and nice real meters. Sound quality and measured performance is on about the same range as the BGW and the Yamaha. My 2 cents.
 
sregor said:
IMO the 440 should be better sounding (it will measure better) than the BGW or the Yamaha pro, as it uses a high speed outputs, non switching bias circuits and a very low distortion topology. However, it will not take the abuses that the other 2 amps will, and is (again in my opinion) not desirable for any PA or high stress type applications. Outputs are expensive and hard to find.
The Alpha 2 on the other hand, relatively easy to work on and repair parts are easily repairable. But its only 110 watts per channel. Dual mono and nice real meters. Sound quality and measured performance is on about the same range as the BGW and the Yamaha. My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the very detailed info! The way you've described it, it sounds like it's been well engineered....I'm kind of surprised because my research seems to suggest Nikko used mediocre parts. I'm glad to hear more specifics and discussion of actual hardware and what makes it a good amp!

Thanks!
 
The Nikko Alpha I, II, III, VI, 440, 450, 650 and 2000 are all well engineered, excellent quality and great sounding amps. All but the Alpha I, 440 and 450 were dual mono block designs. Sonics for these amps are excellent and on par with most other amps of their era. They are now moving up in price but a still cheaper than other similar amps of that era. However, It is difficult to compare any of the amps of that time period with Pro amps. I agree with @sregor that that aren't the right application for a PA system. I've had many many amps over the years and my two Alpha VI's aren't ever leaving the house.
 
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