Owner’s
Reference
4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301
15-070-01-1
PH: 720.406.8946 [email protected] www.psaudio.com
Rev A2
Owner’s Reference
©2015 PS Audio Inc. All rights reserved.
®
Owner’s Reference
BHK Signature Amplifiers
Once your BHK is unpacked, you’ll need to find a convenient place to set it. We recommend
floor mounting on a platform or shelf mounting as close to the speakers as possible. If the source
equipment (preamp or DAC) is far away from the BHK, it is recommended to use balanced
interconnects if possible.
Once you have chosen the location for the BHK you can use the supplied AC power courtesy cord
to connect it to the AC power or you can use an aftermarket power cord. Power cords make a
difference and we do not recommend using the supplied power cord for critical listening or long term
use. We strongly recommend the use of a PS Audio PerfectWave
®
Power AC cable or any excellent
aftermarket power cable for best results as it is always preferable to feed your equipment with the
best power cables possible. Choosing an excellent power cable will make a significant performance
improvement over the stock power cable.
The BHK should be fed from a P10 Power Plant
®
to improve its effectiveness. Use of other power
conditioners with the amplifier is fine as long as you make sure the unit benefits from their use. We
do not recommend using a passive line conditioner as most tend to rob the BHK of its rich sound
qualities.
The BHK, as with all PS Audio products, is country specific to its incoming AC voltage. This means
the units can only be operated at its preset voltages, such as 230 for most of Europe and Asia, 100
volts for Japan and 120 for the US and other similar countries.
Immediate damage can occur if you try and power the BHK on a voltage it was not designed to
operate on.
Connecting cables matter. Carefully choose your speaker cables and connecting cables to the
equipment. Our preference for input cables is balanced, XLR type, but well built single ended RCA
cables are fine as well. Speaker cables can make or break the performance of an amplifier and great
care should be taken in using only the best match for your loudspeakers and BHK amplifier.
Burn-in is important. The BHK Signature has been tested, burned in for 24 hours, then fully tested
again before shipping to you. Additional extended on-time for the unit is important and its sound will
change over time in a process known as burn-in. We recommend turning the unit on for at least 24
hours before critical listening begins. Many users report 100 to 200 hours of runtime is needed for
best performance. We find that several days of runtime is sufficient to enjoy the majority of audio
benefits.
We recommend leaving the rear panel power switch active at all times, but placing the unit in its
standby mode when listening has been finished. Standby can be activated by pressing the front
panel PS Audio logo button, located on the upper left hand corner of the BHK Signature front panel.
When the logo standby button is not lit, the amplifier is in standby mode, and the vacuum tubes are
turned off. Standby mode keeps the solid state circuitry of the amplifier in a reduced power mode,
maintaining excellent performance benefits while consuming little power.
Power Cables
Location
Conditioners
Cables Matter
Country Specific
AC Voltages
Burn-in
Standby
1
