Separates Baby..!!!

[jakelm]

Stepped into the world of separates for my HT system.

Sami has, very generously, sold me his B&K AV5000. Hooking it up tonight, with my newly built cables.

I am very excited to hear the difference, between the internal HK's amp and B&K amp.

[GV#27]

Congrats,looking forward to your impressions of the new powerhouse vs the HK.

[jakelm]

Congrats,looking forward to your impressions of the new powerhouse vs the HK.

Funny thing is that, this might sound weird, but I'm hopping the HK holds up well, being I have been singing HK praises for years now...lol:p

[tcrossma]

Congrats. I too will be interested in what you think. When I moved into separates, I started with my B&K amp. It wasn't a night and day difference, but it was an improvement. Every upgrade since has been about the same: an incremental upgrade (including cables, source, and pre). But the results of all the upgrades taken as a whole is a very noticable and enjoyable sound that I simply couldn't achieve with my AVR.

[jakelm]

Congrats. I too will be interested in what you think. When I moved into separates, I started with my B&K amp. It wasn't a night and day difference, but it was an improvement. Every upgrade since has been about the same: an incremental upgrade (including cables, source, and pre). But the results of all the upgrades taken as a whole is a very noticable and enjoyable sound that I simply couldn't achieve with my AVR.


What was your original pre w/ what B&K amp?

[tcrossma]

I was using my AVR as my pre. I then added my Adcom GFP750 and use it as my 2-channel pre. It has an HT bypass, so I still use my AVR as a pre for HT.

[jakelm]

I was using my AVR as my pre. I then added my Adcom GFP750 and use it as my 2-channel pre. It has an HT bypass, so I still use my AVR as a pre for HT.


I'm sorry , let me clarify. Which model B&K amp did you have when you first started out? Was it 5 channel or 2 channel? And which AVR did you have?

[tcrossma]

Oh, oops, misread your question. I bought my B&K Ref 200.5 (5 channel @ 200w) as my first and only amp. I am currently using it for my fronts (bi-amp'd) and center, and using my AVR for my surrounds.

[DannyD]

I recently added my first separate amp for my HT as well. I bought a used 5 channel Marantz MM-9000 that is rated at 150wpc. I'm using it to bi-amp my RTI10's and have my center hooked up to it. I can honestly say there is a definite improvent in 2 channel stereo mode. The bass from the 10's is much tighter and they overall really seem to sing better with more power. I can't really say there has been a night and day improvement in regards to movies. I've had it for only a week and have'nt really been able to do much testing. I am using really junk interconnects that the seller of the amp threw in for me. I'm going to change those for signal analog two's very shortly. I will hopefully have more insight in the near future. Have fun with the B&K. One thing is for sure, it can only make your system soung nicer!!

[jayman_1975]

You will definitely notice a difference when you put some good IC's in the mix. I just finished discovering that IC's do make an improvement.

[jakelm]

Well after about 2 hours of playing with it. There are noticable improvements.

First the factual:

1. After driving hard for an hour, the amp never misses a beat. Pun intended...:p

2. The temp on the HK has cut in half and with the B&K warmed up , its still cooler than the HK.

3. The HK would output 80dB's at a setting of -14 on the volume. With the exact same calibration, 80dB's was reached at -17 on the volume. Not a big difference in amplification, but a big enough difference to me.

4. The amp is big, as big as the HK. And the HK635 is no little toy. I was suprised at first that an amp, of this size, would have no heat sinks, but I guess it doesnt get hot enough. The transformer is freakin huge.

Opinion:

All I can say is WOW!!! The overal sound quality has improved. The mids are more pronounced. There is twice the ambient noise, from the increase in detail in the mids. The depth, is much more 3D like. Was watching Lost, they were on a ship, the creeking and cracking of the ship noise in the background, just seemed farther back, making the intire audio more 3D.

All in all, it was a great addition to my HT, it does outperform the HK. Not by much in amplification. But a good bit in sound quality.

I should be very please with this amp for a good, solid 6 months...lol:D

[heiney9]

Congrats...........there is no going back now. Separates always tend to be more "musical". :)

[jakelm]

Congrats...........there is no going back now. Separates always tend to be more "musical". :)


Yeah, I didnt even get into the serious 2 channel yet. Will do that this weekend, when the rest of the family is busy and not wanting to watch movies. I'm curious to see how it will compare the the HK and Hafler in 2 channel.

[venomclan]

Congrats.

[john22614]

One of the things I noticed when I got my Anthem was an impressive improvement in the vocal richness and clarity of dialogue from both movies and TV along with the crisper discreet sounds and, of course, vastly improved stereo musical performance. Congrats! B&K makes very nice amps.

[jakelm]

Just finished listening to Loreena Mckennit on Parndora radio. Absolutly fantastic, even though its rated @ 128kbs.

[heiney9]

Absolutly fantastic, even though its rated @ 128kbs.

Not sure how that could be........yuck mp3's :eek:;)

[jakelm]

Not sure how that could be........yuck mp3's :eek:;)

I have questioned the 128kbs rate. I have many songs @ 128 with iTunes. Pandora sounds 10 times better than iTunes.