Vandersteen M7-HPA competition

[singulaudio]

Can anything compete with these amps on Vandersteen 7 series speakers? I’m very intrigued with the much less expensive and highly regarded PS Audio BHK-600s, which I have not heard. On paper they seem like they’d work well - plenty of power and a somewhat similar topology insofar as they both have a tube input stage and a high power solid state output stage. Here are some differences I’m aware of: I know the M7-HPA has a unique output stage that puts the speaker in between output stages and eschews the emitter resistor, plus only has five parts in the signal path. The BHKs have a mosfet output stage and run class AB after a couple of watts or so. The BHK’s have tube rectification. I’m not sure about the M7-HPAs in that regard.

After having spent a lot of time with M5-HPAs, I’ve concluded that they are very, very good. Now I’m looking to employ more of that tube magic. I also feel that those 7” inch woofers need an iron grip to maximize the dynamic capabilities of my Model 7 Mark 2’s.
I would love to hear from anyone who has done this comparison or has heard other amps that can compete.

 

[dminches]

Unfortunately the only way to find out is to listen. I went from a pair of Ayre MX-Rs to the M7-HPAs and the sound improvement was huge. I do think there is a big difference between the M5 and the M7, especially for the Model 7s.

 

[Delkat]

Can anything compete with these amps on Vandersteen 7 series speakers? I’m very intrigued with the much less expensive and highly regarded PS Audio BHK-600s, which I have not heard. On paper they seem like they’d work well - plenty of power and a somewhat similar topology insofar as they both have a tube input stage and a high power solid state output stage. Here are some differences I’m aware of: I know the M7-HPA has a unique output stage that puts the speaker in between output stages and eschews the emitter resistor, plus only has five parts in the signal path. The BHKs have a mosfet output stage and run class AB after a couple of watts or so. The BHK’s have tube rectification. I’m not sure about the M7-HPAs in that regard.

After having spent a lot of time with M5-HPAs, I’ve concluded that they are very, very good. Now I’m looking to employ more of that tube magic. I also feel that those 7” inch woofers need an iron grip to maximize the dynamic capabilities of my Model 7 Mark 2’s.
I would love to hear from anyone who has done this comparison or has heard other amps that can compete.

Are you using the M5s now with Model 7 Mk2 and are thinking of upgrading amps? Just wanted to make sure I understand what you’re asking. It will probably be difficult to better the M7 as they are designed around the Model 7. I read on this forum where a member liked the Aesthetix Atlas amps with the 7s. Do you have a set of the high pass filters so you can audition any other amps?

 

[singulaudio]

Are you using the M5s now with Model 7 Mk2 and are thinking of upgrading amps? Just wanted to make sure I understand what you’re asking. It will probably be difficult to better the M7 as they are designed around the Model 7. I read on this forum where a member liked the Aesthetix Atlas amps with the 7s. Do you have a set of the high pass filters so you can audition any other amps?

Yes, I’m considering upgrading smps and I know I’d need the external filters, which I don’t have currently, if I want to try a different manufacturer.

 

[Delkat]

The M7s have gone up in price pretty significantly over the past 5-7 years but you have to consider they include the HRS isolation tech as well as high quality AQ silver speaker cables. These are worth about $10K. I have the M5/Kentos and am planning an upgrade to M7/XTRM and have the same questions as you but there seem to be very few Vandersteen users on the forums with experience on the topic. Richard’s products still seem to be good value for the features and performance delivered. I always wonder why they get limited coverage in the audio press.

 

[singulaudio]

Well, I went ahead and purchased a set of refurbished PS Audio BHK 600s and the necessary Vandersteen M7-HP-B external crossovers. The result is way beyond what I could have imagined. These amps are absolutely stunning. They have a limitless sense of drive, pinpoint soundstaging, unsurpassed in my experience holographic imaging, excellent clarity and, most of important of all to me, they are absolutely smooth on natural instruments, especially massed strings, which are so hard to get right. As good as the M5-HPAs are, they just sound comparatively flat and with limited bass extension, and are comparatively slightly tinged with distortion.

I have not heard the M7-HPAs in my system. But I can confidently say that the BHK 600s are a worthy contender for competitive performance at almost a third of the price new, and in my case, I paid only about a quarter of what the others would cost.

The performance I’m now hearing through these speakers is thrilling.

 

[Delkat]

Thanks for following up on this and congratulations on the new amps.

 

[HiJeffFi]

Singulaudio, Thank you for providing specific results and comparison. It is always extremely difficult to assess reality from paid reviews and even more elusive to find specific pairing of equipment. Hugely insightful and helpful. Really glad you have finally found what you have felt was missing and hope your mind relaxes to just the music and can forget about the gear!

 

[Holmz]

Well, I went ahead and purchased a set of refurbished PS Audio BHK 600s and the necessary Vandersteen M7-HP-B external crossovers. The result is way beyond what I could have imagined. These amps are absolutely stunning. They have a limitless sense of drive, pinpoint soundstaging, unsurpassed in my experience holographic imaging, excellent clarity and, most of important of all to me, they are absolutely smooth on natural instruments, especially massed strings, which are so hard to get right. As good as the M5-HPAs are, they just sound comparatively flat and with limited bass extension, and are comparatively slightly tinged with distortion.

I have not heard the M7-HPAs in my system. But I can confidently say that the BHK 600s are a worthy contender for competitive performance at almost a third of the price new, and in my case, I paid only about a quarter of what the others would cost.

The performance I’m now hearing through these speakers is thrilling.

Do you have some “go to” tracks to recommend sir?

 

[singulaudio]

On vinyl, here’s a few reissues:

Brahms 3rd, Sir John Barbirolli, HiQ Supercuts

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Nights Dream, Decca SXL 2060

Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet Suite, Anatole Fistoulari, Everest

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky, Decca SXL 2107-8

With the exception of the Khachaturian, the above will make your ears bleed from harsh strings if your system is not up to the task. The Khachaturian is notable because on a holographic, highly resolving setup, the variety of composition, the sweet melodies and the spacing between instruments becomes magical for me. It’s just all connects and becomes satisfying.

For digital via Qobuz:

Lucky Man, Emerson Lake and Palmer
- listen for depth of soundstage with that synthesizer and the explosiveness and fast transients from the drums and the realism from his voice.

The Girl from Ipanema, Stan Getz
- when she sings, she can sound like she’s in the room. The sax solo should bowl you over.

Rachmaninov: Vocalise, Elissa Lee Koljonen,
Heartbreak: Romantic Encores for Violin.
- listen for nuance and variety of tone in her violin playing

All the above are additionally aided by tight, tuneful and power bass response which I’m now hearing.

I hope this is informative.

 

[leyenda]

iirc bhk helped design the vandersteen amp so I believe the ps and vandy amps are more similar than different. One thing I learn about the 7 is that it needs huge power despite being high passed at 100hz. Congrats and enjoy the 7.

 

[singulaudio]

iirc bhk helped design the vandersteen amp so I believe the ps and vandy amps are more similar than different. One thing I learn about the 7 is that it needs huge power despite being high passed at 100hz. Congrats and enjoy the 7.

Is that so? So Dean Klinefelter also collaborated with BHK?

 

[dminches]

Dean was the designer. I did not think he had any association with BHK but he could have.

 

[Huang]

There is a wealth of Vanderseen knowledge on his forum, accessible via the Vandersteen website.