Thoughts regarding my BGW 250D

[SoundMann]

I have had a chance to listen to enough albums with this new to me amp to share a few thoughts on it compared to both the Onkyo M-505, and a Sony GX900ES receiver I have on hand. The rest of my system is listed in my profile.

I find this amp to be a cross between the Onkyo and Sony, with its overall balance being closer to the Sony, being on the warm and laid back side, but at the same time its cleaner and more noticeably resolved, with excellent control over the bass modules of my Acoustat Spectra 11's (Sonic Barrier added internally) which the low damping factor of the Sony and my now dead Accuphase E-202 cannot match (the Accuphase is otherwise an exceptional performer).

It also appears to be a particularly good match with my P.S. Audio IVH when the latter used in passive mode with the gain at full which in turn is controlled by the gain pots on the amp.

The Onkyo on the otherhand is more forward and aggressive, and completely lights up my rather underdamped room, and it did manage to sound ok nonetheless but with a flatter, slighty dryer sound overall.

So needless to say, I find the BGW to better match my room and listening preferences, with just the right amount of transparency vs. refinement to satisfy me.

 

[SoundMann]

One thing that continues to amaze me is its rock solid transparency and imaging while maintaining a totally neutral balance, producing no added fatigue or coloration whatsoever.

While it falls just short of the iron grip and totally fleshed out sound of my Accuphase P-350, it is most impressive for its class nonetheless.

 

[SoundMann]

To update this post, I replaced the main electrolytics that failed shortly after the last post. The caps on the boards had been previously replaced.

The originals were 2x 10,000uF, and I replaced them with 2x 18,000uF Nippon Chemicons. Both are rated @ 75v.

I also replaced my original 16-guage speaker cables that came with my speakers with 12-gauge cables terminated with pure copper banana plugs.

Not only did the bass performance of the amp improve with a new degree of solid, visceral control, the bass modules of my Acoustat Spectra 11's have never sounded as clean or tight while achieving almost electrostatic purity, just lacking the utmost transparency and detail of my Spectra 33's.

Although I have less than a week of burn-in on it since the cap and cable change, it is already proving to be one of the very best amps I have ever owned.

Also, I am using the amp without an active or passive preamp (my current one is capable of both) as the amp sounds best being driven directly by the source.

Instead, I use the recording out jacks so that the preamp only serves as a source selector.