Stellar 300 / AHB2 / Brooklyn Amp+ Choice to be made

[Darkscience]

So I recently have been demoing the amps listed above. The quick background to the story is I have a Brooklyn Bridge that I love and ordered a Stellar 300 to pair with it. Production on the Stellar was backed up two or three weeks and I really missed having my music playing so I kept looking for options. Came accross the AHB2 and saw the measurements on it and it got me thinking I should try it. I also ordered a Brooklyn Amp+ while I was at it as those are the three amps that most made sense to my needs. The AHB2 and Amp+ both arrived within two or three days, the Stellar had yet to ship so I was thinking if I really liked one of these I would cancel the Stellar order. First I tried the AHB2, I immediately hated it and it lasted about 5 minutes and I switched to the Amp+. The Amp+ immediately had that wow factor but the more I listened something just felt off, things were somewhat muddy sounding. So I switched back to the AHB2, double checked my connections and realized I had the wiring wrong the first time. It sounded much better but still lacked that "wow" factor, but the more I listened the more I realized that the sound was crystal clean, voices and instruments sounded like they are suppose to. I switched back to the Amp+ and it could not compete anymore, not even close. At this point I was sold I was keeping the AHB2 and on certain music I could not contain my joy on how amazing it sounded to me.

I was going to cancel the Stellar order at this point but it had already shipped, so I figured I would try it as well and see. Well it came in and when I got it going, I was literally blown away but the sound. It sounded exactly like what I thought a good amp would sound like. My dilemma is, and this will probably happen to you as well, is I now know, without a doubt in my mind, the AHB2 is a superior sounding amplifier. The AHB2 sounds like you are in the studio with the musicians, the speakers "disappeared", but the Stellar is so good at thumping electronic and dance music, but when I play Tom Petty, I can hear the distortion now, once you hear it clean with the AHB2, you will hear the distorted sound of other amps. I honestly am in love with both amps, but can only keep one realistically.

So I have been going back and forth with both amps and it has been driving me insane but I decided to keep the AHB2. It had to grow on me initially but that was because my brain was use to hearing the music with a slight distortion from my vintage amps, (they all eventually broke and that is what started this journey). I am convinced now that the AHB2 is as neutral and correct sounding as you can get and I highly recommend it. I also highly recommend the Stellar 300, my only advice is to be careful with the AHB2 because it will spoil you and no other amp will ever sound proper ever again. For a while I even thought the notes in the music sounded out of tune with the AHB2, but realized that, nope the other amps distort the sound and have some strange decay that you do not hear with the AHB2. I will leave it with the fact that I am a guitar player, and I know how my live amp sounds and there is not strange decay or anything like that, the AHB2 makes the music sound like its live coming from a real guitar amp etc. The final thing that sold me is the speakers are dead quiet with the AHB2 and with the Stellar I can hear an audible hiss/hum with my ear to the speaker, I assume that has to have some effect on the sound.

What I am wondering, as blasphemous as this is, is if I tweak the EQ in Roon, if I can get a similar slam/thump with the AHB2, (for times I want to really party). Mind you, it has some, but its not like an instant party like the Stellar 300 was. Anyways, love to talk about these things so feel free to chime in!

(I still have both amps in my possession it is so hard to let either one go!)

Thanks for reading!

 

[Vini darko]

Intresting write up. Getting the benchmark to sound like the stella may not be simple. If I remember rightly the stella has a tuned by ear tube buffer stage. So simple eq may not do it. But adding a db or two to the low bass and upper treble may get some party going on.

 

[Darkscience]

Intresting write up. Getting the benchmark to sound like the stella may not be simple. If I remember rightly the stella has a tuned by ear tube buffer stage. So simple eq may not do it. But adding a db or two to the low bass and upper treble may get some party going on.

Yea I am going to try that but I have a feeling this rabbit hole is going to lead me to owning two amps. Another interesting thing is with the AHB2 I can crank the volume and it maintains the same clear sound to the max volume setting. I can't get the amp to clip, and I have no theory on why or how that is or is not affecting the sound.

 

[Darkscience]

Can't believe I posted this in the wrong place...sorry everyone. Anyways the final verdict is this, the AH2B sounds better on every genre of music except music with artifical drums in it, like the kind found in planet rock and the song I always feel like somebody's watching me. When you play that kind of music the Stellar sounds incredible to me. For everything else from Heavy Metal to what finally pushed me over the edge was classical music, a song came on with Bassoon and it sounds just so freaking good. On everything but dance type music the Stellar sounds fat to me, like its bloated. I had a theory going into all this that the more accurate the amp I find the better Heavy Metal will sound which is my favorite genre/style and I was correct. With the AH2B I can hear that guitar growl/crunch and I can hear its signal give off like mini firecrackers going off, that sparkle and pop. Also for the song One by Metallica, when the Kirk plays his intro solo, he does not really add any vibrato when he ends his phrases, and that artistic touch he adds is lost with the Stellar. With the Stellar the note decays, fades out, it does not sound as staccato how it is suppose too. You can also hear on the AH2B when a record has been with headphone because you can tell the balance of the instruments and musicians is unrealistic, but even though its that way, I still prefer it because I can actually make out what the different parts are even if they are kind of blended. On the Stellar it just sounds like musical noise, harder to tell what is what with maybe one instrument kind of dominating. So I get it if people like that sound, but for me I just never knew it could be as good as it is with the AH2B. I am also convinced that the measurements matter, they to me, and if they did not before, they do now, this amp is clean and the background so black that everything is carved out in space for you with texture. Again if anyone has any questions let me know. CYA