CONNECTION OPTIONS, POWER

YES IT IS A LITTLE BLAND LOOKING

I am just breaking in this new amp and so far I am pleased with the amplifiers strong bass and smooth mid range. The amp does have a humming noise that is slightly audible from the top of the amplifier and I also get a steady buzzing sound from my speakers with just the amplifier turned on and no signal from my pre amp. It is not loud enough to bother me listening to music; however, any high quality power amp should not deliver ANY audible noise to the speakers with the Pre Amp power turned off! I have been told by a friend not to expect perfection from amps in this price range; however, my 20 year old NAD 2140 power amp does not have any audible noise with the power on and the volume control all the way down on the pre amp!! I am not too worried about it right now since the B&K people are supposedly easy to deal with. I may let them check it out after I use it a while. I still believe it is a very strong and smooth amp for the money.

Similar Products Used:

AUDIO RESEARCH, MARANTZ, CAL AUDIO

great sound and build

NONE

this is an outstanding amp. im using it to bi-amp my klipsch klf-30s and i can say for the price of this amp you wont find one better than this. the highs are not harsh like many other amps and the bass is tight and deep .i just sent out my amps to b&k for the level control upgrade and the customer suport is GREAT to deal with. i wish i could say that about alot of ohters but i cant. this amp is a must listen too if your in the market to buy one.

Similar Products Used:

carver, adcom

Value, sound quality, build quality, customer service

None

I purchase this amp to outboard it to my Yamaha DSP-A1. I was not much of a believer in separate components and felt that the amplifier section of DSP-A1 was quite good. In fact, my local hi-end dealer agreed and suggested that if I were to hear any sonic improvements that I would to a Parasound, B&K, or similar quality amp rated at 200 wpc or greater. I borrowed a floor sample Reference 4420 and connected it to my DSP-A1. I was immediately impressed by the dramatic improvement in overall sound quality. This amp is very detailed in all of the octives and provides a very punching and tight base. In fact, I had to lower the gain on my powered towers after connecting this amp to my DSP-A1.

I was so impressed with this unit, that I ordered it from Sound City along with the three channel Reference 4430. I have not heard the 4430 but its specification are nearly identical to the 4420. This truly a great amp. To get better performance, be prepared to spend twice as much.

The Parasound HCA 1500 is a very good product and is priced $200 less. I thought the 4420 offered better detail in the mid and upper ranges and provided a clearer lower end. I would rate the Parasound a 4.7 and the B&K a 4.9.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound HCA 1500, Yamaha DSP-A1

Very musical, powerful, smooth sound

NONE

This amp has a wonderful sound, no matter what type of music I play. Plenty of power to bring any recording to life. Smooth pleasant sound, recreates the soundstage wonderfully. Bass is tight and controlled, the highs are not harsh, mids are great.

Very solid build, not a pleasant looking fellow, but that is not what I bought it for.

Smooth sounding,Tight bass,great soundstage,dark

none

The Ref 4420 is an excellent sounding amp . I matched it with B&W DM603. The imaging is 3D and very large.I have this amp with the Ref 4430 and I must say they do not seem to be alike. The Ref 4430 is more detailed and less bottom heavy as to the Ref4420.Overall I think the pair is quiet smooth and dark to sum it all.
Assocated equipment:
Act 3
Ref 4430/4420
B&W 603/601/CC6
Synergistic ac coupler
Audioquest corals

Similar Products Used:

B&K AV5000,EX442

It just sounds sweet, just so sweet.

The slightest, tiniest lack of upper frequency detail.

Probably one of the sweetest sounding amps i've ever owned. I have owned Adcon (to much detail and a bit harsh, made listening a bit to analitical) Rotel ( nice all arounder and affordable, just behind B&K in my book) Onkyo ( Not sweet or detailed inough but O.K, it is the least expensive.). I fell in love with B&K becouse it finally let me just enjoy listening, it never wares me out like my old adcom. I was always a very analitical listener, never just sitting down and listening to the music.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom, Rotel, Onkyo

I have been using my B&K amplifier for the last 2 monthes and could not be happier. The 225 wpc is enough to drive my speakers into the floor (Def Tech BP-30's)Value/power/cost there is nothing to compare with it.The souund is very clean, and I have not heard any hum. If you haven't given this unit a listen and you are looking for something in the $1K-$3K range check it out.

Neutrality, connection options, build quality.

Bland styling.

Very nice amp. Well built, plenty of power. I particularly enjoy its sound quality. You can feel the music, but the amp does not add its own personality. At the same time the sound is not flat (which I experienced w/ the Marantz MA 700). My only gripe is that the amp is not a pleasure to look at, but the sound more than makes up for the lack of beauty.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz MA 700. Adcom GFA 5500. Krell KAV 300i.

Sound. It's all about the sound.

???? It the Reference 4420!!!

I traded up to the Reference 4420 from the Adcom GFA-5400. There was nothing really wrong with the 5400 save for that I wanted more volume and the 4420 was on sale for $850 at Tweeter. Adding the Reference 4420 to the rest of my components resulted in sound that always manages to bring a smile to my face. Power and purity are what this amp is all about.


Chris Troianello

B&K Reference 4420
Adcom GCD-750
Adcom GFP-750
Mirage OM-10s with MIT Terminator 2 cabling

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFA-5400

It took some searching, but I think I found the ideal amp to match with my Magnepan 1.5's. This amp provides scads of good, *CLEAN* power with a clear sound. When I bought my Maggies used, the owner hooked them up to his 150 watt YBA integrated and we listened to the end of Mahler's 2nd - a magical sound with these, until we tried to listen to the loud parts at full volume, where 150 watts doesn't cut it. Getting the speakers home and hooked up to the B&K, the Mahler sounded just as magical, and didn't get harsh at the climax. Authentic timbral color, deep and wide soundstage with precise imaging, plenty of bass with my Maggies, plenty of headroom for dynamic contrasts, what else could one want? You'd have to move into the "price is no object" category to find a better sound with more power. No other amp I tried could make my system sing like this one.