New PS Audio Amps

[edorr]

No doubt plenty hype here and not exactly an unbiased opinion, but I was sufficiently intrigued to order a pair (beta) of the new PS audio monoblocks for a shootout against the Spectral 360 MKII.

Stay tuned for report of performance.

http://www.psaudio.com/forum/bhk-power-and-pre-amp-forum/bhk-mono-first-listen/

 

[still-one]

I ordered the mono's also. I have a gut hunch that these will be like the Constellation Inspiration mono's, maybe even better....nothing to lose here as return is very easy

That is a pretty nice target to shoot at.

 

[edorr]

That is a pretty nice target to shoot at.

Bascom King (designer of the PS audio amp) co-designed the Constellation Centaur Monos. His mandate at PS audio was to build a cost no object amp. I'm hopefull they hit it out of the park and this turns out to be a giant killer. We will see.

 

[Bruce B]

Aren't these tube/mosfet design??

 

[edorr]

Aren't these tube/mosfet design??

Hybrid design. Tube input, mosfet output stage.

 

[DonH50]

Shades of Counterpoint... Be interested to hear how y'all think the bass is on these amps.

Edit: Review is of BHK amps by PS Audio founder; are these really PS Audio amps? Sorry, dunno' the relationship between BHK and PS Audio.

 

[edorr]

Shades of Counterpoint... Be interested to hear how y'all think the bass is on these amps.

Edit: Review is of BHK amps by PS Audio founder; are these really PS Audio amps? Sorry, dunno' the relationship between BHK and PS Audio.

PS audio contracts with a designer to do the design. Ps audio brands, manufactures and markets the amps. Smart model. THey did the same with the DirectStream DAC.

 

[rockitman]

PS audio contracts with a designer to do the design. Ps audio brands, manufactures and markets the amps. Smart model. THey did the same with the DirectStream DAC.

The price is right...hopefully they are over achievers...

 

[knghifi]

PS audio contracts with a designer to do the design. Ps audio brands, manufactures and markets the amps. Smart model. THey did the same with the DirectStream DAC.

Edorr, when are you expecting the amps?

Most boutique companies outsource parts of their development. I think MW outsource their SS and digital designs.

 

[edorr]

Edorr, when are you expecting the amps?

Most boutique companies outsource parts of their development. I think MW outsource their SS and digital designs.

I have been told they would ship later this week, so I would have them next week.

I believe Paul McGowan tried designing a price/performance breakthrough amp (NCore based) himself and admitted failure - was not happy with the prototype and admirably pulled the plug. He then established a full blown partnership with Bascom for the design and also had Arnie Nudell involved evaluating the sonic performance. I even believe Arnie suggested using tubes for input stage.

 

[Bruce B]

I have been told they would ship later this week, so I would have them next week.

I believe Paul McGowan tried designing a price/performance NCore based amp himself and admitted failure - was not happy with the prototype and admirably pulled the plug. He then established a full blown partnership with Bascom for the design and also had Arnie Nudell involved evaluating the sonic performance. I even believe Arnie suggested using tubes for input stage.

Paul told us at the audio meeting that it was Bascom who was adamant about tubes if he were to design it. That was the stipulation that Paul cringed about.

I did video for the meeting, so hopefully I can get it posted in the next few days.

 

[edorr]

Paul told us at the audio meeting that it was Bascom who was adamant about tubes if he were to design it. That was the stipulation that Paul cringed about.

I did video for the meeting, so hopefully I can get it posted in the next few days.

I stand corrected. More plausible. I know Paul cringes at a lot of stuff, but ultimately eats crow and goes with what his ears tell him. He was an adament not believer in preamps and come around after finally trying one (tubes). He will be releasing a tube preamp himself now.

 

[knghifi]

I stand corrected. More plausible. I know Paul cringes at a lot of stuff, but ultimately eats crow and goes with what his ears tell him. He was an adament not believer in preamps and come around after finally trying one (tubes). He will be releasing a tube preamp himself now.

Sometimes I can't believe how something can get better but it does. I always keep an open mind.

I'm familiar with Spectral so looking forward to your comparison. I find Spectral too lean for my taste. I need a little more weight and warmth.

 

[edorr]

I'm familiar with Spectral so looking forward to your comparison. I find Spectral too lean for my taste. I need a little more weight and warmth.

That is precisely what I will be looking for. I am hoping PS audio amps will add weight and warmth while keeping the speed and phenomal dynamics and transparency of SPectral. Also want to ditch the MIT cabling and go back to Transparent, and go back to tube pre.

 

[rblnr]

A favorite amp that has stood the test of time are my Llano Trinity amps that were among the first to use a tube input stage and mosfet output stage. They operate entirely in Class A and while I've gone on to some better (and more expensive) amps, they beat a lot of current amps IMO for equal and more money.

 

[Orb]

Did Paul give any indications of expected price for the Stereo and Monos?

Looks interesting, shame Benchmark did not do a more powerful AHB2 amp (and built to a higher engineered price) to compare it with.
To me the THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier technology is also one to watch out for this year.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...nchmark_AHB2_Reprint.pdf?10048035991299387752

Seems both that and PS Audio should create a buzz in hifi this year.
Definitely looking forward to reading more about the PS Audio, and its price.

Thanks
Orb

 

[edorr]

Did Paul give any indications of expected price for the Stereo and Monos?

Looks interesting, shame Benchmark did not do a more powerful AHB2 amp (and built to a higher engineered price) to compare it with.
To me the THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier technology is also one to watch out for this year.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...nchmark_AHB2_Reprint.pdf?10048035991299387752

Seems both that and PS Audio should create a buzz in hifi this year.
Definitely looking forward to reading more about the PS Audio, and its price.

Thanks
Orb

It is $7,500 for the stereo, and $7,500 a piece for the monos.

 

[Orb]

Really nice price.
After what Paul experienced with the monos, will they consider if possible modifying the design of the stereo model?
Appreciate that could bump the price up a fair bit though.

Cheers
Orb

 

[edorr]

Really nice price.
After what Paul experienced with the monos, will they consider if possible modifying the design of the stereo model?
Appreciate that could bump the price up a fair bit though.

Cheers
Orb

Why would they. The amp was desinged as a stereo from the ground up. They appeared to have hit the jackpot running it as mono, but putting all circuits in parallel. The results is similar power rating of monos as stereo version, but much improved sound. Not sure what they could change in the stereo.

 

[Orb]

Well I was assuming the monos were not just a bridged design of the stereo, considering the improvements Paul mentions.
Cheers
Orb