B&K Components ST-140 Amplifiers
B&K Components ST-140 Amplifiers
[Apr 02, 2002]
Tommy G
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Not as detailed as some other amps, good to tame bright speakers and electronics.
Weakness:
see above Not as detailed as some other amps Similar Products Used: Harman Kardon, Parasound, Kenwood, Luxman |
[Mar 12, 2000]
Peter
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Power
Weakness:
Can be bright if used with the wrong interconnect or speakers that are bright to start with. I used this along with the B&K pro 5 pre amp and found it had a really nice sound.can play real loud.A touch bright at higher volume.Really great bottom end with good depth and clarity.The real test was pluging the source,Mcintosh MCD 7008 CD Player directy into the unit and bypassing the pre amp.Wow can this amp sing.I am a big beliver in lsess is more and the less equipment in the singnal path the better.If tyour source allows you to adjust the volume.this is the way to go.More detail greater depth better channel seperation and lots of power.use this amp by itself you will be very surprized at the sound.I have heard many more expensive amps than this but few that match it without spending 1500.00+.highly recomend this amp. |
[Jan 27, 2001]
Dean Martin
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Power,excellent channel separation,Price for used units of this type on e-bay
Weakness:
Gets hot I have to agree with many of the other reviews on this unit I find that it is powerful,clean sounding and has excellent channel separation.It drives my 4 ohm speakers effortlessly.The sound stage is much wider and deeper than the Yamaha receiver that is preamping for them.My rig consists of Yamaha RX-V800 receiver,B&K ST-140 amp,Yamaha cd changer,Toshiba SD-3109 DVD,HK turntable and analog tape deck,Panasonic and Magnavox VCR's.Speakers Ohm Walsh 2's in front Celestion DL-4's in back Atlantic Tech sub. Similar Products Used: none |
[Apr 13, 2000]
Andrew Fisher
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
build quality, design, power and separated output channels.
Weakness:
coz it is Class A, it runs hot, it can be good or bad for someone. I must say that I agree with what James said about this bk piece. I've own the st 140 for about 12 years now, and it is still very strong and powerful. This is a solid state amp and it will not die on u. Similar Products Used: b&k 4420M, Anthem, Bryston 3B-st |
[Jul 18, 2001]
Steve D
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Soundstage, midbass, smooth, very smooth, built like a tank
Weakness:
being very nitpicky - upper frequency detail, small hisssssss when not being fed source, no gain control I've just replaced last night my B&K ST-140 for my main L/R with a B&K Ref 4420. You know what? Even though the Ref is more detailed and a little more open, I'm not sure (yet?) that I prefer its sound to my ST-140. My speakers are Paradigm 40v2 which tend toward bright, and I found the St-140 with its slightly dark sound and laidback upper freq presentation, coupled with its mid-range smoothness, is an excellent sounding amp which can help tame brightness. Similar Products Used: B&K Ref 4420, Marantz MA-700 monoblocs |
[Jan 26, 2001]
Bill
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Soundstage, warmth and stereo seperation
Weakness:
You got to be kidding me at $225.00. I got the bargin of the year. This amp totally blows away(and I mean BLOWS AWAY) the Hafler DH-200 I was using. The soundstage IS my living room. I can't believe how much better this amp is over the highly rated hafler, I just can't believe it. The Hafler was awesome, I don't know what adj. to use for the B&K. Similar Products Used: Rotel 985mkII and Hafler DH-200 |
[May 01, 1999]
Fred
an Audiophile
The ST-140 is a classic that has seen many revisions in its lifetime. I first owned a ST-140 in 1984 along with several subsequent versions. When I saw this posting, I had to contribute based upon past experience with its use and familiarity with its circuit design. |
[Jul 03, 1999]
Richard Schneider
an Audio Enthusiast
This Amp was the first "good" amp I had ever owned. I recieved it as a Christmas present (best one I ever got) along with a B&K preamp, JSE Infinite Slope Model 1 Loudspeakers, Linn Axis turntable, and Creek tuner. Previously I had owned an all-in-one Sony entertainment system. When I first powered-up my new stereo (listening to, "The Spanglemaker" by the Cocteau Twins) it was like a whole new world...it was an incredible experience. I remember my ST-140 fondly -warm, a little bit bottom heavy, with a fairly deep soundstage. Like the commercial says, " you never forget your first amplifier". |
[Sep 12, 1999]
Joe
an Audio Enthusiast
I've had the pleasure of using this amp for @ 3 mos. now. I agree with the general tone of the reviews to date. It isn't the last word in detail, but it offers a very enjoyable, non-fatiguing sound. I have it setup in my office system with a CAL DX1, Musical Fidelity X-Act DAC, Adcom GTP500 preamp tuner, PSB Alpha speakers, and Audioquest cables. I bought it used for @ $250 on eBay and I couldn't be happier. I was able to assemble this whole system used for under $1000 and I'm hard pressed to spend more on it. It's not my main system, but I enjoy listening here almost as much as my main system. 4 stars on price:performance. |
[Feb 14, 1999]
Frank Iacone
an Audio Enthusiast
I just received these amps purchased on the used market. The BK ST 140 are an 8yr old mossfet design which is rated at 150 watts into 8ohms and 225 into 4 ohms. Not being very familiar with BK products I didnt know what to expect. I immediately substituted them in my reference system swapping the CJ Premeir 11a. |