Magenta Audio is now delivering the new PS Audio Signature BHK250 Stereo Amplifier to its network of Australian dealers.
Mike Kirkham, Magenta CEO, describes this $11,395 model as
one of the best he has ever heard.
“The BHK250 may have a mid-fi price, but it’s a high end
model which had a design goal to be one of the top five amplifiers in the
world,” he says.
Manufacturer Paul McGowan owner of PS Audio readily admits
the new amp exceeds the kind of pricing he usually prefers for his high-end
sounding but affordable range of products.
But he wanted to challenge rival amplifiers selling way
above $50,000. So he invited close friend and legendary designer, Bascom H.
King, to come out of retirement and design a masterpiece.
King responded in style and the result is the Signature
BHK250 amplifier that blends a valve triode signal input stage with an
all-MOSFET circuitry.
Delivering a hefty 250 watts per channel into 8Ohms and 400
watts into 4Ohm loads, the new amplifier runs in pure class A mode for the
first 20 watts.
King design sees the Tube and MOSFET stages totally
isolated, with the valves off in standby mode. Initially it was planned to use
6H23 NOS tubes but King and McGowan felt Gold Lion 6922 gold [pin Russian tubes
sounded better, so these were the final choice.
Music lovers keen to hear PS Audio’s finest amplifier
registered plenty of interest in the new amp. Magenta Audio has organized
listening nights at many of his dealers and these have been packed out.
We got a chance to hear the BHK250 driving high-end PMC
speakers at Carlton Audio Visual recently. What we heard was an assured
high-end performance from an amplifier had transparency, detail, rhythm and
pace and musicality in spades.
The news for audiophiles just keeps getting better with
Magenta Audio also carrying limited stocks of a $22,795 Bascom H. King
Signature 300 mono bloc
version of the new amplifier.
PS Audio has also just released an affordable DAC (digital
to analogue processor) called the NuWave DSD.
The latest DAC is a breakthrough, affordable model with
the same approach to sound quality employed by the brand’s dearer DACs.
The technology onboard the NuWave DSD is based on the
famous Sabre 32-bit Byerstream architecture. The new model accepts inputs from
any digital source including 12S, coax, TOSLINK and USB. It also plays
asynchronous PCM up to 192/32 and single and double rate DSD.
It carries a call A valve/solid state output stage and we
think it sounds impressive for its $1795 price.
Magenta Audio, based in Adelaide also distributes, Audion,
Halcro, Palmer and Metro Acoustics products. There’s also a whisper it could
also be adding Sound-Smith cartridges and retipping services soon.
For more info: magentaaudio.com.au
