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Overall Opinions Of B&K Amps How's The ST140?

Stanton681EEES

Stanton681EEES

Addicted Member
If I was to get one say an ST140, it would be driving a set of Genesis Model II's and either a PS Audio 5.0 pre or Adcom GFP 565 would be the preamp.
As I'm looking for a second amp to run in a second system.
Thanks.
 
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The B&K ST-140 and the Adcom amps, at the time, were the darling budget amps of Stereophile, odd as they are two totally opposite, opposing sounds.

While the excellent Adcom was crisp, clean, sharp and some may say a touch bright, the B&K was warm, fluid, cozy.

The only issue found with the ST-140 was it's slight softness in the bass regions- a little more "oomph" there, and the amp would have appeared flawless by all the glowing praise and reviews.


A hint- for nearly the same investment, just spending a bit more, one can get an ST-202 or ST-202+ that adds a higher power rating and increased current capabilities.


I have an ST-202 and ST-202+.


Even nicer and one that can be found sometimes at foolishly good and cheap pricing is the relatively unknown behemoth the EX-442/442 Sonata. A true dual power supply, dual mono design, and plenty of grunt.

The 200 series monoblocks add a smidge more performance, but as they are not common, and carry the "Mono" designation, they sell for a higher price.
 
I had one new in the 90's, as stated above but a little dry in the mids.
Check the DC output on these, it was on the rise with mine when I sold it 10 yrs later. The ST 140 also benefits from more modern and just slightly larger caps, and I wired in another diode bridge to make it dual mono back to the power transformer.

Russellc
 
Russellc said:
I had one new in the 90's, as stated above but a little dry in the mids.
Check the DC output on these, it was on the rise with mine when I sold it 10 yrs later. The ST 140 also benefits from more modern and just slightly larger caps, and I wired in another diode bridge to make it dual mono back to the power transformer.

Russellc
Click to expand...


Russell, what were you running for speakers with these? Curious as to your midrange impressions.
 
I bought my B&K ST-140 amplifier new, in 1988.
I used them for 13 years with a pair of little B&W DM-12 speakers.
I thought they matched up really well?
In 2001, I gave the B&W's to my oldest daughter, when her and her husband moved to Wisconsin.
From 2001, I used a pair of Phil Jones designed Platinum Audio HT-801 speakers.
The original pre-amp, was a B&K Pro 5.
I replaced it a few years ago, with a DIY series/shunt passive pre-amp.....sonically, a big improvement, IMO.
I've been quite satisfied with the B&K ST-140's reliability and performance, for going on 21 years now.


Steve
 
I still use one. It's been very dependable and is not a bad sounding SS amp. Sounds more like tubes than SS, IMO.
 
Ancient thread, new update. Very musical amp, vocals and imaging are spot on. As others have mentioned, a bit "light" in the bass area, perhaps it could benefit from larger caps in the power section? Would be interested to know if anyone has experience with that.
 
Part of why the ST 140 sounded special was the pair of Hitachi TO-3 outputs for each channel. Don't ask too much of it and it's a decent old SS amp. ( Cool to see some of the old AK names on this thread.)
 
Title asks for "Overall Opinions Of B&K Amps", then narrows to one model, ST140. I can only comment on one B&K, the ST1400II. Definitely "warm and fuzzy", too fuzzy for me. Seems to be "the house sound". Internally, I noticed all connections are made by plug-in connectors. This makes for quick and easy assembly, and lower prices (hence the "budget audiophile" tag). I think hard-wired (soldered) connections would clean up that fuzziness. I would do it to mine as a test of my theory — but frankly I don't care enough to devote the time, I have better amps and use those instead.

I like the power (140W I think) and the warmth, but the lack of clarity and definition ruins it for me. For example, when the many different sounds of a drum-set on a well-recorded Jazz track just merge into a cloud, the amp isn't doing it's job. I never use the amp, which is a shame.
 
I had the ST-202 for a few yrs and now my nephew has it. Never had to do anything to it. It's a work horse. A VERY good sounding amp!
 
I picked one up on a whim, after reading several online reviews. Musically? I'm very happy with it. Matched with the right speakers, and/or maybe a powered sub (time to drop in a velodyne that's been gathering dust)? I think it would give my Onkyo 506 a run for it's money. Hmmm, time to re-arrange a bit of gear.
 
gearhound said:
I bought my B&K ST-140 amplifier new, in 1988.
I used them for 13 years with a pair of little B&W DM-12 speakers.
I thought they matched up really well?
In 2001, I gave the B&W's to my oldest daughter, when her and her husband moved to Wisconsin.
From 2001, I used a pair of Phil Jones designed Platinum Audio HT-801 speakers.
The original pre-amp, was a B&K Pro 5.
I replaced it a few years ago, with a DIY series/shunt passive pre-amp.....sonically, a big improvement, IMO.
I've been quite satisfied with the B&K ST-140's reliability and performance, for going on 21 years now.


Steve
Click to expand...
I’m also having B&k st140 power amp which is the best matching preamp for this ?
 
I recently picked up a secondhand ST-140 in a package deal with a PS Audio 4.5 pre - from the original owner. I have to honestly say that my old Dynaco A-25’s have never sounded more alive than they do with this combo - very detailed.
 
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