Customize

It won't be too much longer before we release our newest power amplifier, the Stellar M1200. Hopefully, we'll be able to unveil this beauty in March. When engineer Darren Myers came to us with the idea of a 1200 watt monoblock power amplifier with a vacuum tube front end, it wasn't in the form of an idea. No, he had already built it and was listening to it at home. It doesn't get any better or more personal than that. Because the sound of an amplifier is so dependent on its input stage—something obvious to those lucky enough to own BHK power amplifiers—it was fun to experiment with different vacuum tubes. Every variety of tube we played changed the sound of the M1200, just as you'd expect. Of course, tube rolling is nothing new. In fact, customizing the tubes in equipment is just part of the experience many expect when acquiring a vacuum tube-based product. Yet, more than a few are just as happy leaving the customization to others. In fact, despite what many think, the vast majority of vacuum tube equipment owners never customize their products. I still run our stock tubes in all my BHK equipment. Customizing can be fun, but it's not for everyone. Sometimes, just the fact you can customize is enough of a feature to keep us happy.