Other than the balanced inputs
Is there any sonic difference between the 26 and 17 that is very noticeable
Sold the 26p to upgrade to McIntosh C220,I find that the solid state is more for me so will try the 17
Any feedback will be great
I have a BP-17. I had a BP-25 previously.
First of all, I bought the BP-17 for it's convenience. You can operate everything with the remote.
It has 6db of gain which I believe is less than the BP-25. I changed the input on my 4BSST2 from 2V to 1V and that works better.
Sonically, I cannot fault the BP-17 at all. It's difficult to compare it to the BP-25 because I've made some cabling upgrades since the switch but I am completely happy with the 17 and have no interest in a BP-26 or anything else. I cannot say if balanced inputs would make a difference. I've compared the headphone output between the 17 and the 25 and I much prefer the 17. I've also compared the 17 with the BHA-1 used as a preamp. In this case the BHA-1 was being fed directly from the BDA-2 using Cardas balanced cables and it didn't take long to decide that I preferred the 17.
I have Magnepan 1.7's which haven't much of a bottom end. It's possible that the BP-26 with the big power supply might do better in the bass...I doubt it.
Even if the 17 had balanced inputs it would make no difference to me since I use the balanced output from the BDA-2 for my headphone amp.
I have no buyer's remorse concerning the 17. I'd buy it again in a NY minute.
Bud