Hughes & Kettner CF200 Rack Amp

First off, it is a poweramp, ok? Basically it was built to amplify an incoming signal. Compared to some other solidstate poweramps it has lots of features:
-2x100W @ 4 Ohm (~2x70W @ 8 Ohm) or 1x200W
-1 rack space
-~3 kg
-front: 1 power switch, 2 volume knobs, 2 green and red clip indicators (1 for each channel), switch PA/guitar
-back: 2 outputs, 2 inputs (all 1/4 jacks), ground lift, fuse holders, mono-stereo switch

nothing useless, simple design, no feature missing

the amp basically amplifies the signal from the preamp though compared to the rocktron velocity and marshall 8008 poweramps this one seems to have more punch, more substance, more dynamics. i play it with an engl e530 tube preamp and they work together just perfectly. i play in two bands. for the first band i play from clean over slightly overdriven to slightly distorted. standard tuning.
the second setup is slightly different: drop c tuning and heavy distortion et voila: the poweramp doesn't really care. the sound is, though heavily distorted, very distinct and has still lots of punch. you'll have no problems in a band with this poweramp.
it's not a very noise poweramp, all the noise is coming from my preamp...

i've played lots of gigs with it, without any backup (but with some backup-fuses in my pocket which i've never used). it's built like a tank (yeah i know, everybody says that around here, but it is!!!)

no need

in my opinion this is the best solidstate poweramp there is
it's small and light but still powerfull and versatile.
i've played the marshall 8008 poweramp and the rocktron velocity 150. both are eeww good in their own ways. (well except the marshall 8008, i still have it as a backup, right now my little sister's using it, the sound is okay, the thing i hate about this poweramp is, that it's not switchable from stereo to mono and it's lack of power. i mean 2x80W (4 Ohms!!! otherwise like 2x60 or something) is not much but with a proper 412 stereobox it works fine, i just dont like the feeling when all the volume knobs are up to 9 or 10, maybe i am just paranoid.
the rocktron velocity 150 is bridgeable! so that makes it a lot better! i dont know why i prefer the h&k poweramp, the rocktron thing is okay, but hey, my first amp was a h&k attax 200, i was raised with h&k! maybe that explains it.
play it with a nice box (212 or 412) and you'll never run into trouble. i mean we dont have any roadies and i dont want to carry a 20kg tube poweramp (which costs 5 times as much!) couple times a day! i never had any volume/sound related problems. i've never played a tubeamp but many people told me that it sounds very "tubish". Whatever, i just like it.
you should spend more time in thinking about you're preamp, which i think is more important for the sound than the poweramp. the h&k just sits in your rack and works and works and works...

Features? Well, it's a solid-state, bridgeable, single rack space, 100Wx2 into 4 ohms (wuzzat, 70x2 into 8, mebe? Sounds about right...), 200W bridged into 8 power amp, with power switch, gain knobs, green 'n' red level 'n' clip lights, and a current feedback button on the faceplate; and some 1/4" i/o jacks, two binding posts, a bridge switch, ground lift, and fuse holders on the back. Nothing particularly new here, but useful nonetheless...

Very well-built inside. Robust toroidal tranny, beefy caps...

This is not a bad rating, just indicative of its basic features...with a point thrown in for the magic button...

Well, here's where it gets interesting! I A/B/C/D/E'ed it with my (stereo) rack, against a MosValve 962, a Marshall Valvestate 8004 (I reviewed mine here), a Yamaha reference monitor amp, and a Peavey Classic 50/50 (just to throw a little tubey luv into the mix). I didn't throw it up against the Engl 2x100 or the Peavey 60/60 (tweaked a little!). That would NOT be fair! The "guitar/PA" (current feedback on, Cap'n!) button was pressed in, because...well...BECAUSE!

I'd have to say that this ranks right up there close to the Peavey 50/50---a little different voicing, but there nonetheless! It's clean, and very punchy, bouncy, and un-solid-state-like with that button pushed in! Very nice dynamics! Panache! No "tube grit", but it really sounds good! The MosValve was close on its heels in its own way, definitely a worthy contender. But it's another rack space (no MV-982 available for test). The reference monitor amp is just that. The Valvestate? PTOOEY! I am now wrinkling my eyebrows at the Marshall schematic and trying to SPICE it up a little! It's very much at the bottom of the pile now that the H&K came to town! I think after some modding (changing a cap value here, recap there, op amp with more clean headroom in new socket here, "depth" knob stereo pot there, ok, this resistor here...dumdedum, *SNIP*...OOPSY!), Mr. Marshall may start floating upwards a little, but FOR NOW, it's FOR SALE! ;-)

Who knows, I may run out of things to do and open 'er up and try to make 'er sound more like the CF200...where there's a soldering iron and a big, mean, ass-kicking, determined techie geek weenie hacker...

I've also tried a Rocktron Velocity 100 (a couple months ago), and was not terribly impressed. It sounded a little better than the Valvestate, but that's all I'll give it. A little anemic. I hear the Velocity 150 to 300s with the reactance knobs sound pretty damn good, as do the Hafler G150 and 300, but I have yet to hear for myself...

This is officially my "NEW" and *IMPROVED* solid-state backup amp! And I'll happily even use it more often than just for backup! And I'm a tube snob! How's THAT for sound quality? I can see myself as I'm getting older (than the 40-year-old, mezomorphic pile of iniquity I am now) REALLY appreciating lugging my rack to gigs with just one or two of these puppies innit, instead of my usual suspects! Good thing I eat my Wheaties!

I'm rating it on a scale based on the number of power amps I own and have used for guitar or bass. Otherwise it'd get a 9 or 10 for its most acceptable sound! I think it's a great-sounding solid-state amp! SALAAM,I-LIKE-UM! It fits nicely into the one rack space left! I'm looking for another one, for my other rack...

OMFG, I just realized if I go onandonandon about how good it sounds, THEY MIGHT GET HARDER TO FIND IF SOMEONE TAKES MY RAVINGS REMOTELY SERIOUSLY!!! AAAAA! Me fix! See below!

Actually, no, it REALLY SUCKS, it sounds like UNWASHED ASS, WORST DAMN POS I ever heard, wouldn't even trade YO MOMMA for one, Marshall Valvestate SOOOO much better...bottom-feeding tripe, absolute CACK, WASTE OF HARD-EARNED, EMBEZZLED, COUNTERFEITED, OR INHERITED FUNDS or DRUG PROFITS! DON'T BUY ONE! ESPECIALLY NOT THE ONE I'M BIDDING ON! PLEEEASE!!!

It's solid-state, and it's been completely reliable, but I haven't had it long enough to assess its long-term dependability, so I can't rate it honestly. But so far, it's been great!

Nope, never spoke to 'em. Nothing good, nothing bad...nothing to see here, folks, please move along...hey, Alex Lifeson uses H&K amps on tour, and he sounds pretty good thru 'em, so there's gotta be SOMETHING there, eh?

Ayyy, I'm just not gonna go into all this AGAIN! Please don't make me type! My iddwe wistie huwts from stwoking my...rack! How about: more or less status quo since last review, except for new amps, house, girlfriend?

Nobuddy bedder steel dis foskin' thing! Or I KEEL dem! Den I bringem back to life jus so I KEEL dem again on slow turning spit over Sterno can! Den I EAT dem! Den dey end up in poopy-tank sleeping wit de blindfish! So dere!

Comparisons as stated above...

I wish it had TOOBZ! Ahh...erp...no, scratch that, please! Honestly, it's there as backup-and-then-some for the tube power amp living below it! Something I really actually look forward to playing thru, instead of the Valvestate that was there prior to its inevitable impeachment! Of course I'd rather have a single rack space tube amp that sounds better than a Mesa 20/20 and is more reliable than a Marshall 20/20---IOW that lasts forever with low maintenance, like solid-state, but this thing really rocks!

Speaking of sharing, I'd also like to share this congenital, occasional lip sore...so kiss me...you fool! (blecch!)

Two knobs for Volume and a switch for use with guitar or PA.I don't need other...

It sounds very good.In italian I say "pompa". A great punch!

Never give me a problem, just a fusible one time.I use it by about 6 month

I never use customer support but the web site is complete.

I'm using three kind of pre: ADA MP1, BOSS VF1 and Behringer V-AMP2.
With those pre I tryed the unit with classic marshall 8080, 8040, 9040....they are like toys compared with H&K.

Rack power amp
2x100 watt stereo / 1x200 watt bridge

clipping leds per channel.
Volume control
switch between guitar and PA modes.
Is anything else necesary in a power amp?

It has very natual sound, greath dinamics, very solid bass. Almost no noise.

It's built like tank. Only the guitar/PA switch seems a little bit week.

One of the best power amps.

One unit rack amps 2x100 watts on 4 ohms it's build like a tank... 17 cm diameter toroidal transformer inside, bridge mode option (1x200 w).. clipping led gain controls

Is anybody better ? If you have a great preamp you can " feel like heaven" ... Mine fitted with a Lee Jackson gp1000 is one of the more musical amps that I ever heard.. it sounds like your preamp/guitar every preamp.. every guitar... GREAT DYNAMICS

No troubles

no troubles

Have you ever seen paradise? (In fact now I'm a lucky guy)