Hi, I just joined the Bottlehead family!

[mediumjim]

Okay, I hooked her up and put her through some paces.  I only had time to listen to a couple of CD's with the first being Steely Dan "Everything Must Go" and then Buddy Guy Live with the Saturday Night Live Band.  

Let me say that my new FP is dead quiet.  First impressions can be a little skewed, but I will say that I'm really pleased with it.  There was so much inner detail and air, I was hearing things that I hadn't before in both CD's.  The bass was deep, tight and very fast, no sibilence at all even when it was hitting 102db in the listening position.  The soundstaging was huge and deep and with excellent placement of the instruments.  What I really liked was that there was no harshness or straining when pushed.  

I will have to toss on some classical, female vocals, jazz and rock to put it through the rest of its paces, but if it performs as well as it did today, the McIntosh MX-110 will be used for the 2nd system.  

Before I go on, I want to apologize for one of my posts as it was out of line.  

Here's some images to tell the tale under the hood:

 

[mediumjim]

 

[Paul Joppa]

Sweet! I was hoping that would turn out to be the 369AX transformer, a very good choice. I see lots of shielded wiring, Dale RN resistors, and fat Orange Drops - the good ones, film and foil, I expect.

 

[JC]

Ooh!  Ooh!  A lot of extras!

I have a feeling with the 6FQ7s, you may like it on female vocals a bunch!

 

[mediumjim]

JC:

I plan on a little Billy Holiday, Fiona Apple, Diana Krall and the obvious Norah Jones for the Female vocal tests.  Again, I'm still digesting how good the soundstaging is with it.  It will only get better as the tubes have less than 200 hours on them and still are opening up.  I have to think there's some synergy going on as my Mono Amps have 6CG7's as the Inverter/Driver Tubes and are the same as 6FQ7's. 

Again, I'm not a solder meister and it was divine intervention that led me to Bottlehead to begin with and then to get lucky to get one where the builder knew his craft.

Thanks again to Doc his due diligence as he's the guy who made true Audiophile available at a fair price.  I've always known that Speakers were way overpriced.  A good friend of mine has Avant Garde Speakers that cost over $70,000 that don't sound any better than my humble KEF 104.2's with B&W Subs.  He also has a Nagra Preamp that cost about $20,000 and I now have to chuckle as my little DIY Bottlehead sounds every bit as good (to my ears). 

The only thing I splurged on in my system was my Marantz 9's and while I really love them, I now have to wonder if there isn't something out there that sounds as good for a lot less dough...nah!

I really like Grainger's signature as it really is true!

Jim

 

[JC]

Well, if you're looking for something to do some time, check out all the Foreplay posts at the old forum site.  It can give you some insight into some of the mods yours has that were really pretty much a result of the community interaction here with a few key players.

I had some friends who worked at a hi-end shop in my town who spoke of a customer with $50k speakers with $5k worth of speaker wire to feed them.  Everything in his listening room was bolted to the floor, including the chairs!  You weren't allowed to be off axis!

And, yet, I think I've had more musical enjoyment from an FP2 feeding a Stereo 70 I cleaned up than anything I've ever owned.  Just good, simple designs done well.  Very good parts, but not the ultimate be$t by any means.

In fact, it was for the Stereo 70 that I bought the FP to begin with.  Its ownership history was unique to my town, and I felt it needed a good mate.  I had been aware of Bottlehead through magazines, so I hunted up their forum and liked what I read.

Sound familiar?


Enjoy!  And, by all means post your impressions after you've had a chance to listen some more.

 

[mediumjim]

Jim:

Yes, I do find a lot of similarity, except my friend hasn't bolted anything down! I will go back and gander the archived forum for those who provided the mods that mine is priveledged to have.

Jim

 

[JC]

Good deal.  I expect it will be clunky, as Doc said, due to the mass of posts there, but if you have the time and patience to slog through, I do think you will be repaid for your efforts.

It may also give you the opportunity to dig up a shot of the original $99 special, wood base optional!

 

[mediumjim]

2nd Impressions are when you usually come back to earth...

Today I gave it some Diana Krall Live in Paris, a bootleg version, and Billie Holiday, the Millennium Collection.  The only problem with the Diana Krall Bootleg is that it was directly off the board and there was no mixing.  The quality was there and the placement was more as it would be live.  There was never a quiver or any sibilance.  In fact, it was smooth and sweet.  Nice overall presentation. 

The Billie Holiday CD is harder to get a grasp on as it is a little over mastered and from old source material, but it also was pleasing and with nice presence. 

Even though the MX-110 has better S/N, it is more strained sounding when it is asked to go over 100db and the FP2 is effortless even as I have to get it to 3:00 to get it there.  My Speakers are rated 92db, but since they're 4ohm I would guess they're really 89db.  My listening room is about 16x14' and is somewhat dead acoustically. 

Thanks,
Jim

 

[mediumjim]

Let's see, Bottlehead has been around for over 10 years and here walks in a newbie and trying to tell you all how good it is!  I really don't think what I listen to is important.  The facts are my humble little FP2 sounds really good and is allowing me to hear my favorite music in a new light.  There really isn't a weakness that I've detected.  I will be doing some cosmetic upgrades and possibly roll some better tubes in her, but that's it.

If I ever decide to put together a SET system I know where I will be going to do so. 

Thanks for all the excellent advice, especially Grainger.  Thanks for not tossing me out with the bath water and for listening to my prattling. 

Jim

 

[Doc B]

Let's see, Bottlehead has been around for over 10 years

If you include the other names the business had before it officially became Bottlehead Corp. around 2000 (Classic Radio of Liberty Bay, Electronic Tonalities) it works out to about 19 years, during 17 of which we have been offering kits.

 

[Grainger49]

I didn't konw about Classic Radio Of Liberty Bay!

 

[mediumjim]

I was going to make a cabinet for it out of some exotic endangered hardwood and though twice about that and ended up using very light colored Bamboo.  I feel really good about this choice as it doesn't have a big carbon footprint and it didn't support the ruination of some pretty wood for my self gradification.  Besides, the Bamboo looks pretty cool.  

It only needs the Bottlehead Badge (ordered) to complete it.

Happy Holidays to one and all,
Jim