NAD: Harley Benton Block-800B MKII

[ReeV0]

Hi all,

So... I was looking for a cheap backup amp and saw the Harley Benton Block-800B had good reviews and was only £300, so bought one off Thomann which arrived yesterday. Interestingly the one they sent me is MKII.

Long story short, I think this amp is just too good to be sold at this price with 3 year warranty. I think I might actually use it as my main amp! I also currently own a GK Legacy 800, a TC RH750 and an Eich T900 (as well as many others in the past).
A few things I noted...

The good:

• Physically it is a very quiet unit, the fan doesn't always run and when it does it's whisper quiet. Can barely hear it.
• Ugly knobs are easily changeable.
• Heavy enough not to vibrate off a cab (3kg).
• I really like the EQ frequencies of the HB compared to the Eich and GK.
• Haven't noticed the amp getting warm at all, despite there only being two small vents on either side.
• Opened up the chassis and can see it has an ICEpower 700AS1 power amp. Very impressive considering the price. If I'm not mistaken, this power amp is more powerful than what is in the Eich, which is the 250ASX2 (700W vs 500W). I believe the 700AS1 is also used in the Genzler 800 and Darkglass Microtubes and possibly the GK Legacy 800 (it makes the same clicking noise on startup). These are all far more expensive amps... Although interestingly the 700AS1 is $65 cheaper than the 250ASX2, so not sure which one is better. The latter has lower output but louder dynamic range?

 

250ASX2

700AS1

The not so good:

• It seems to have a very constant high noise floor. By constant I mean it is present with no bass plugged in, plugged into the input or effects return, volume at zero or max, mute engaged/disengaged etc... It is worse than my GK Legacy, which I already thought was quite bad. There is lots of white noise even at zero volume, both through DI and headphones (worse through headphones). Haven't had a chance to try it through my BB2 cab yet. There is very little white noise from the TC or Eich. The TC actually has zero white noise when running through the effects return, even on max volume... But I guess that's because the power amp isn't very loud, presumably as it's only 236W. I suppose it's the magic in the preamp that somehow makes it sound much louder.
• The mute button doesn't mute the white noise or the effects return.
• DI out volume is pretty quiet (not necessarily a bad thing I guess).
• Onboard compressor adds a noticeable volume boost... not sure whether I'd use it.

Questions:

• Does anyone know the difference between the MKI and MKII?
• Is the amp protected from phantom power?

In summary, I think this amp is brilliant value for money. So much so that I am going to return the Eich which cost me over £900, and sell the TC. Might end up buying another HB as a backup to the backup!

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by ReeV0

[Downunderwonder]

Without the white noise they could ask proper money for it. With the white noise it's a non starter for me. There's no excuse for a brand new amp that sits there hissing at you with nothing plugged in.

[ReeV0]

3 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Without the white noise they could ask proper money for it. With the white noise it's a non starter for me. There's no excuse for a brand new amp that sits there hissing at you with nothing plugged in.

 

Maybe you're right... I might return it

[stewblack]

Thanks for the review. 

As far as the noise floor goes it might be worth getting them to exchange as you may have a faulty unit.

I'm not in the least bit surprised it's as good as you say. HB products tend to make a nonsense of the "you get what you pay for" cliché.

[stewblack]

Actually I just checked a bunch of reviews and there is no mention of noise nor anything audible on the demos so I'd definitely change it 

[ReeV0]

1 hour ago, stewblack said:

Actually I just checked a bunch of reviews and there is no mention of noise nor anything audible on the demos so I'd definitely change it 

 

Interesting, I remember reading a few posts a while back about it having an unacceptably loud noise floor but just thought I'd chance it.

[Sparky Mark]

This thread reads to me like another perfect example of "you pay your money and you take your choice".

For a pub gigging amp the noise floor is probably irrelevant; if you want a high quality studio amp then you likely already know £300 won't buy that.

[ReeV0]

12 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

This thread reads to me like another perfect example of "you pay your money and you take your choice".

For a pub gigging amp the noise floor is probably irrelevant; if you want a high quality studio amp then you likely already know £300 won't buy that.

 

Aside from the hiss (which could be a fault) I'd say it's on par with any other amp I've owned (Genzler 800/TC RH750/GK Legacy/Berg Forte/Genz 900)... I just think these manufacturers charge a lot for something that could be sold cheaper, which HB are doing.

[stewblack]

1 hour ago, Sparky Mark said:

This thread reads to me like another perfect example of "you pay your money and you take your choice".

For a pub gigging amp the noise floor is probably irrelevant; if you want a high quality studio amp then you likely already know £300 won't buy that.

It's almost certainly a faulty unit. The price of gear is pretty much irrelevant where quality is concerned 

[Sparky Mark]

3 hours ago, stewblack said:

It's almost certainly a faulty unit. The price of gear is pretty much irrelevant where quality is concerned 

You may well be right about it being a faulty unit but I'm not aware of a situation where higher quality isn't directly linked to price.

[Sparky Mark]

On 14/05/2023 at 16:48, ReeV0 said:

 

Aside from the hiss (which could be a fault) I'd say it's on par with any other amp I've owned (Genzler 800/TC RH750/GK Legacy/Berg Forte/Genz 900)... I just think these manufacturers charge a lot for something that could be sold cheaper, which HB are doing.

The companies that you mention employ R&D staff whos costs need to be recovered through their sales. Other companies may be able to cut corners and reduce their overheads but their products may be compromised as a result. 

Edited May 16, 2023 by Sparky Mark

[Chienmortbb]

Most of the technical details on this amp are on the German Bass forum and hence in German, I know they had significant mods to the original design. As for the hiss, the 700AS1 is not inherently noisy. It is also the power unit for the Mesa class D and Ashdown RM800 heads.

[SamIAm]

Did you ever resolve the high noise floor/hiss?

S'manth x

[ReeV0]

10 hours ago, Smanth said:

Did you ever resolve the high noise floor/hiss?

S'manth x

I just returned it

[stevie]

Nice review, by the way. As @stewblack suspected, the noise is unusual. I checked out a few detailed reviews of the amp on German websites (where they are more likely to call a spade a spade) and they specifically say the background noise is very low. This was most likely an outlier.