PS Audio BHK Mono 300 Power Amplifier

Description

The PS Audio BHK Mono 300 Power Amplifier

The audio performance and build quality of the BHK Mono 300 Power Amplifier has been refined, honed, and polished over the past half century of design work by industry legend, Bascom H. King. They are mono block amplifiers that produce 300 watts into 8Ω, 600 into 4Ω, and a whopping 1,000 watts into 2Ω. The BHK Signature 300 Monoblock designs are built upon two proven topologies: a zero-loss vacuum tube input stage coupled to a high bias differentially balanced MOSFET output. If you are uncomfortable with compromise and seek the finest performance, reliability, and build quality, the BHK Signature 300 series is a perfect fit that can drive any loudspeaker to musical perfection.

• DESIGN – the hybrid vacuum tube/MOSFET design of the BHK Signature Amplifiers provides stunning musical performance through any loudspeaker. The Signature 300 Mono doubles the output current of the 250 Stereo, and doubles the tubes, power supplies, transistors, capacitors and resistors. The results are hard to put into words. Your first listen to these extraordinary monoblock amplifiers will likely be a revelation. For perhaps the first time you’ll discover all that has been long buried in your musical collection. You’ll know this amp was the right choice from the very first note you play..
• APPLICATION – the BHK Mono 300 Power Amplifier is one of only a rare handful capable of uncovering music’s rich tapestry in a lush, uncompromised, effortless presentation. If you haven’t any barriers to perfection, the BHK 300s are perfect for any size system in the world, producing a minimum of 300 watts into 8Ω, a minimum 600 watts into 4Ω, and an astonishing 1000 watts into 2Ω. Enough linear amplifier power to bring life to music as you’ve only experienced with live music.

 

View Owners Manual >>

 

Awards

• 2019 Class A Ranking from Stereophile
• 2018 Recommended Component Award from Stereophile
• 2017 Recommended Component Award from Stereophile
• 2016 Recommended Component Award from Stereophile

 

Technology

The importance of the power amplifier in the 2-channel system chain cannot be overstated, yet it’s often overlooked. It’s the rare few music lovers that truly appreciate the power amp’s critical role in preserving music’s nuanced details, because most amplifiers fail to preserve them. Overtones from plucked instruments, subtle cues defining placement, depth, soundstage width, and transient decays are often lost in the power amplifier. Suddenly revealed are the tiniest of details that now ring clear through the BHK, perfectly preserved through its low feedback, vacuum tube and MOSFET design. When it comes to musically controlling and powering loudspeakers, the BHK Signature 300 has no peer. The Signature 300 monoblock amplifier produces 300 watts into an 8Ω loudspeaker, 600 watts into 4Ω, and 1,000 watts into 2Ω, providing unfettered and unrestricted dynamics and musical ecstacy that only a rare few are able to enjoy.

 

Input Stage

A power amplifier’s input stage is a critical interface in the quest to preserve music’s essential details and vacuum tubes do it best. Hand matched pairs of Russian Gold Lion 6922s provide the perfect interface between the delicate musical transitions output by the DAC or preamplifier, transferring it without loss to the MOSFET output power stage and eventually the loudspeakers. The hybrid approach used in the BHK Signature takes advantage of the best traits technology has to offer, unavailable in traditional solid state or tube designs. While vacuum tubes are the perfect input stage, they cannot make the same claim on a power amplifier’s output. Conversely, solid state designs are correct for output stages, but suffer when used as inputs. Only a hybrid approach takes advantage of the best in both disciplines.

 

Output Stage

A power amplifier connects its reservoir of energy to the loudspeaker through a type of valve (solid state or vacuum tube) controlled by the input stage. If the input stage has done a good job of preserving music’s subtle details, textures, timing and phase information, transferring it without loss to the power stage and eventually the loudspeakers is best handled by a tube-like solid state device known as a MOSFET. Not all MOSFETs are the same, their differences characterized by their relationship with the input signal and the power supply driving them: N-types for the positive going signals, P-types for negative. N-types have lower distortion and perform better than P-types but N-channel-only amplifiers are rare. Using only N Channel MOSFETS in its output stage, the BHK Signature produces a near-perfect balanced waveform without the degradation inherent in a complementary design.

 

Features

• ZERO LOSS INPUT TUBE
• POWERFUL MOSFET OUTPUT STAGE
• THROUGH-HOLE CONSTRUCTION
• RCA SINGLE-ENDED INPUT
• XLR “TRUE” BALANCED INPUT
• 300 WATTS PER CHANNEL 8Ω
• 600 WATTS PER CHANNEL 4Ω
• 1000 WATTS PER CHANNEL 2Ω
• -3dB > 200khz
• < 0.1% THD 20Hz – 20kHz AT RATED POWER
• DAMPING FACTOR = 100
• FRONT PANEL STANDBY BUTTON
• BALANCED INPUT TO OUTPUT
• DUAL, COPPER, PLATED, OUTPUT BINDING POSTS
• INPUT 12 VOLT TRIGGER
• FULLY PARALLELED INSIDE
• EASY ACCESS FOR TUBES

 

Specifications

Unit Weight	83 lbs [37.6 kg]
Unit Dimensions	17.1” x 8.7” x 14” Chassis only. 15″ deep including connectors.
Shipping Weight	92 lbs [41.7 kg]
Shipping Dimensions	21”x 13” x 19”
Color Options	Black Silver
Voltage Options Factory set only	Japan 100V North America 120V Europe/Asia/Australia/New Zealand 230V
Mains Power Inputs	IEC C14
Fuse Compliment all Countries	4 – 10 amp fast blow H-Rated 5x20mm Rail Fuses
Fuse Compliment Mains	100vac Countries 1 – 2 amp slow blow H-rated 5x20mm 1 – 12 amp slow blow H-rated 5x20mm 120vac Countries 1 – 2 amp slow blow H-rated 5x20mm 1 – 10 amp slow blow H-rated 5x20mm 230vac Countries 1 – 1.6 amp slow blow H-rated 5x20mm 1 – 5 amp slow blow H-rated 5x20mm
Accessories Included	US (NEMA 5-15P) (all versions) Schuko (CEE7/7) (230V version) UK (BS 1363) (230V version)
Audio Inputs	RCA (Unbalanced) XLR (Balanced)
Speaker Outputs Signature 250	Gold plated copper binding posts (2 pair per channel)
Speaker Outputs Signature 300	Gold plated copper binding posts (2 pair)
Other	DC Trigger Input 3.5mm 5-15VDC
Warranty	3 years parts and labor on unit 1 year on vacuum tube
Power Consumption
@Ready	75 Watts
@Idle	175 Watts
@Rated power 8Ω	850 Watts
@Rated power 4Ω	1600 Watts
Signal
Gain	30.5dB +/-0.5dB
Sensitivity for rated output power of 250 watts into 8Ω	1.3V
Noise	100-20KHz <-85dBV
Input impedance Signature 250 stereo	Unbalanced 100KΩ Balanced 200KΩ
Input impedance Signature 300 mono	Unbalanced 50KΩ Balanced 100KΩ
Output Impedance	50Hz, 2.8VRMS <0.1Ω
Frequency Response	@2.8VRMS 10Hz – 20KHz +/- 0.1dB 10Hz – 200KHz +0.1/-3.0dB
THD&IM
1KHz, 1W/8Ω	<0.01%
20-20KHz, 1W/8Ω	<0.1%
1KHz, 200W/8Ω	< 0.1% (120VAC Mains input)
1KHz, 400W/4Ω	< 0.1% (120VAC Mains input)