Who has switched from a PS Audio BHK Preamp to something else?

You guys need to be careful with the adaptor and 6SN7's as multiple owners on the PSA forum have had to send the unit back to the factory with board issues caused by this.  Just because BHK's "personal" unit works fine with them doesn't mean the production units have the same exact parts or tolerances as his. So do it at your own risk.  If you want a 6SN7 preamp their are plenty out there like the Sachs and the Supratek's. 

Ditto to Jackd's comment above on the BHK / SN7 tube rolling,.   depending upon the adapter used (and who made it),  the heater arraignment will not necessarily be complimentary to the circuit,..   for example I had purchased an noval>sn7 adapter but they had just grounded one heater leg but not the 9th pin on the Noval side,..  which is fine if the circuit in play uses DC for the heater V,..    not good if it's AC or if you have a switchable heater circuit like in the BHK that needs to ground the 9.    Just be careful and fully understand what you have and how the circuit will be completed with the adapter,..    I personally found that switching to a sn7 on the BHK did not make for a positive enough difference to leave in and take a risk of some type of failure.

I owned a BHK for ~2 years.   Sold the BHK and purchased a LCR Cortese (Supratek).   Really happy with the Supra.  A different sound for sure.   Alot more lively sounding than the BHK,  which sounded much less engaging or overly smooth by comparison.   Yes,  I rolled a number of different tubes in the BHK as well.   All in all a great pre but like anything in this hobby,  synergy will exist between certain components and room setups and there really is no 'one shoe fits all sizes' type of purchase at this level of gear.     Been my finding at least...

@jslateiv The Supratek is definitely one I’m curious about, nicely done. 

Regarding the 6SN7 adapter, I use a good one from garage1217.com. They’re not cheap at about $60/pair shipped but they are audiophile grade. 

http://www.garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_012.htm

hey @thiefoflight   I have that adapter and it's the one I had to rewire with a jumper in order to get it to properly work with a Decware unit that runs the heaters on AC,...   just be aware,..   They assume that most all modern tube gear runs DC heaters which is def. NOT the case.     I personally think the SN7 is not best suited for the BHK anyway.. BUT..  like anything in this hobby ymmv.  PM me if you want,   I can try to find the original correspondence I had with 1217 and exactly what I did,..  but essentially I had to cut the 9>7 trace and jumper  5>7,..   This is specifically for an AC heater circuit though, so just be aware.. 

The Supra's are excellent,   a very clear sounding and engaging pre.   Lifetime warranty,  built like a tank.  Not beautiful inside but purposefully built and the sound shows it!  The Cortese has an excellent phono stage if you need one.   I've had the opportunity to listen to a number of older Supra models (recently) verse my current Cortese and while they are all good and a little different,   Mick's current circuit offerings, in my opinion, are def. a step up in terms of clarity and instrumental separation within the soundstage.  Just very clear and concise without sound analytical.  Very lifelike.

@jslateiv Thanks for the info on both fronts!

I will definitely look into the safety of using these adapters.
  
Also, I do agree that in general 6SN7s can be a hit or miss with the BHK. I tried rolling a few, and the Sylvania VT-231 was the set that came out winning over the other 6V or 12V tubes. I’m not trying to recommend 6SN7 as a whole for the BHK - more just that it is possible (if done correctly, as you point out). And with tube rolling, it’s all system dependent. We recommend the things that work out for us, with the rest of our chain, in our rooms.


I’ll definitely consider the Cortese when I have the itch down the road, as it has come in my view in the past. I hear nothing but great things.