BHK Signature Preamplifier

BHK Signature Preamplifier

Product Reviews:

	威達影音頻道 (Radar Audio YouTube Channel)
	影音极品 (Super AV) Vol.282
	影音生活 (Foyer) Vol.69
	發燒音響 (Audiophile) Nov 2016
	音响技術 (Audiotechnique) No.421
	影音生活 (Foyer) Vol.68
	發燒音響 (Audiophile) Aug 2016

Hear more than you ever imagined!

Perhaps one of the most common exclamations we’ve heard when auditioning the BHK Signature for the first time is one of surprise at the extraordinary level of missing nuance and details revealed. There’s an old saying that we don’t know what we’re missing until it’s gone. Perhaps the corollary of that chestnut might apply to the BHK Signature. You don’t know what’s been missing until the sound is revealed.

First time listeners to the BHK preamplifier remark at how much better the space around instruments and vocals appears. Most are gobsmacked when they hear nuances like those found in subtle hall reverb cues, extended harmonic richness and detail, depth and extended soundstage width. Perhaps even more remarkable is the improvement brought by this preamplifier when placed between a DAC that had once been connected directly to the power amplifier. One school of thought suggests that fewer pieces of equipment in the signal path offer the greatest chance of achieving sonic purity. It is, after all, a logical thought that makes great sense. And, depending on the quality of the instrument added to the signal path, can often be accurate. But the BHK Signature changes that dynamic, and not in a small way. Placed between even the finest DACs in the world – with zero loss digital volume controls – the improvements in sound quality are nothing short of ground breaking. Openness, transparency, increased space around instruments and voices come alive in ways most never thought possible. Music becomes convincing, part of the soul of the listener, rather than living on the edges – appreciated cerebrally, but felt less in the tapping of one’s foot.

The BHK Signature is the culmination of one man’s quest for musical perfection, coupled with one company’s obsession to bring musical truth to as many people as it can. PS Audio has consistently sought out the finest design talent both from within and from outside, for the benefit of music lovers around the world. The BHK Signature embodies the lifelong design experience of Bascom H. King, and executed by PS Audio’s chief engineer, Bob Stadtherr – responsible for mechanizing everything inside that makes it work. A strong engineering and production team, lead by Dave Paananen, coupled with the ears, experience, and design chops of one of the legends of high-end audio, Bascom H. King, help make the BHK Signature one of the finest preamplifiers the world has ever enjoyed.

Features:

• Zero-loss vacuum tube input stage
• User accessible switch allows both 12 volt and 6 volt tubes to be used
• Differentially coupled balanced MOSFET output stage
• All through hole construction (no surface mount parts)
• PRP resistors in signal path
• 5 RCA Single ended inputs
• 5 XLR balanced inputs
• Single ended and balanced outputs
• Single ended and balanced outputs can be used together or separate
• Fully balanced input to output
• High current oversized power transformer
• Fully regulated power supplies using BHK designed MOSFET discrete voltage regulators
• Full BHK designed zero feedback, discrete MOSFET headphone stage
• Remote control
• Front panel standby button for vacuum tube stage
• -3dB greater than 200kHz
• Volume and balance through a revolutionary new combination of gain and attenuation control
• Two output DC control triggers
• Easy access to tubes if you want to roll with different ones
• Each input can be configured as a HT bypass
• Proudly built in Boulder, Colorado by hand.
  

Specifications:

 Physical

• Unit Weight22 lbs [9.97 kg]
• Unit Dimensions17” x 14” x 4” [ 36cm x 43cm x 10cm]
• Shipping Weight31 lbs [14 kg]
• Shipping Dimensions20.5”x 24” x 10” [52cm x 61cm x 25cm]

Power Requirement

• Input Power: Model specific 100VAC, 120VAC, or 230VAC 50 or 60Hz
• Power Consumption: 60W

Audio inputs

• Coaxial RCA single ended 5
• XLR Balanced 5 
• Input Impedance
• Unbalanced (RCA) : 33KΩ minimum
• Balanced (XLR): 66KΩ minimum
• Sensitivity: Unbalanced 1.3V/33KΩ / Balanced 1.3V/66KΩ

Audio Outputs

• Coaxial RCA single ended 2
• XLR Balanced 2

Analog Audio Output

• Output level: 4.0 Vrms
• Output Impedance: <100Ω
• Frequency Response 20-20KHz : +/- 0.1dB
• THD&IM @ 1KHz (full scale): <0.03%
• Bandwidth: -3dB 0.1Hz - 200kHz

DC Triggers

• +12V: 2

Headphone Performance

• Output Power300Ω16Ω >: >200mW 4.0 Watts
• S/N Ratio: >90dB (1KHz)
• THD & IM 1 volt out: <0.02%
• Output Impedance: <0.5Ω