MonAmour, our new premium 2A3 monoblocks kit
- Thread starter Doc B
- Start date
Thanks Paul
Doc, I understand you have choose the components meticulously. I have no mean of disrespect in changing parts.
But I'm just want to build it in one go and don't want to de-solder and re-solder. Maybe the stock would already really good and I can't really hear the "upgrade". But its more for my peace of mind, fooling myself that I put "better" what ever component in and not wondering "what if".
Doc, I understand you have choose the components meticulously. I have no mean of disrespect in changing parts.
But I'm just want to build it in one go and don't want to de-solder and re-solder. Maybe the stock would already really good and I can't really hear the "upgrade". But its more for my peace of mind, fooling myself that I put "better" what ever component in and not wondering "what if".
johnsonad
New member
Doc B. said:
I’ve listened to Doc’s system more than many out there and can attest to the sound. The builds are stock and sound fantastic. Not once did we ever swap a component during a listening session. We moved speakers around plenty but the constant was always the outstanding sound from the quality stock builds.
Natural Sound
Active member
I learned to solder more than 40 years ago in a formal 2 year electronics class. My instructor taught us the importance of a solid mechanical connection prior to soldering. Whether I'm building a kit or a scratch build a little extra planning is prudent. With a kit build I'll build it stock but also think about what parts I might want to experiment with. Those components, coupling and parafeed caps for example, will just get tac soldered in place. That way it's super easy to try different components without the hassle of ripping mechanical joints apart. Then when you settle on something you like you can install it permanently.
I've been building Bottlehead kits for a long time. In the early years there were some areas where you could improve the quality of the components. Those little brown interstage caps an speco autoformers come to mind. But over the years Bottlehead has refined their designs. The prices of their kits have gone up a little but component quality has gone up a lot. I can't tell you how many times an "upgrade" that I thought would be better actually made the sound worse. But you wouldn't know that unless you built it stock first. My recommendation is to build it stock. Let it break in for a good hundred hours or more. Get familiar with the sound. Your journey might just end there. If you get the bug to experiment, go for it. Just take your time, only replace one component at a time and enjoy the music along the way.
I've been building Bottlehead kits for a long time. In the early years there were some areas where you could improve the quality of the components. Those little brown interstage caps an speco autoformers come to mind. But over the years Bottlehead has refined their designs. The prices of their kits have gone up a little but component quality has gone up a lot. I can't tell you how many times an "upgrade" that I thought would be better actually made the sound worse. But you wouldn't know that unless you built it stock first. My recommendation is to build it stock. Let it break in for a good hundred hours or more. Get familiar with the sound. Your journey might just end there. If you get the bug to experiment, go for it. Just take your time, only replace one component at a time and enjoy the music along the way.
Credit to Josh and PB for the manual. They've been doing them for many years now and have it down to a science.
A little update on getting the first kits out -
I've been getting parts bags kitted as the last few small parts come in. The holidays always throw a wrench in the works regarding shipments from our vendors, and so we have a couple of things left to show up before we can finish the packing process. Chokes and output transformers should be coming soon and some of that $$$$$$ Teflon wire seems to be temporarily lost in the shipping void. Those things will all hopefully arrive over the next week and we will be boxing things up.
A little update on getting the first kits out -
I've been getting parts bags kitted as the last few small parts come in. The holidays always throw a wrench in the works regarding shipments from our vendors, and so we have a couple of things left to show up before we can finish the packing process. Chokes and output transformers should be coming soon and some of that $$$$$$ Teflon wire seems to be temporarily lost in the shipping void. Those things will all hopefully arrive over the next week and we will be boxing things up.
You can also plug 6A3s into a BeePre or 6B4Gs with an adapter.Keta said:
fullheadofnothing
Moderator
The manual was released a week or so ago. At that time I emailed all purchasers of the kit directly with instructions on how to download. I just resent the email to the only person who has not downloaded the manual now.
fullheadofnothing
Moderator
From posting your invoice number I can tell that I have correctly identified you. I sent both the email a week ago and the one from this morning to the hotmail address that you provided with that order. Since you received the tracking and order confirmations, that means that the address is correct, so perhaps my messages were caught by your spam filter?
I have now resent the message through the shopping cart system. Hopefully that will go through.
I have now resent the message through the shopping cart system. Hopefully that will go through.
Hi Josh/Paul,
I've been studying the manual as build preparation and try to understand the steps/circuits.
I just have one thing that I don't understand : on page 62, one of the step is to connect red wire from A6 to Kreg on A side of circuit board. Isn't the A6 the anode of the tubes that should be connected to OB instead? I think Kreg should be connected to Cathode A8?
Thanks
I've been studying the manual as build preparation and try to understand the steps/circuits.
I just have one thing that I don't understand : on page 62, one of the step is to connect red wire from A6 to Kreg on A side of circuit board. Isn't the A6 the anode of the tubes that should be connected to OB instead? I think Kreg should be connected to Cathode A8?
Thanks
You are correct, we will get that revised. Thankfully the photo shows the correct procedure and there's no wire poking up from A6 at that juncture.
Hi,
MonAmour build finished!
I decided not to use the power trans cover and showing painted transformer bell instead.
There is some faint hiss that I can hear 2 meter away from the speaker. I suspect its due to TL431 in the cathode. The Stereomour also has the same hiss until I change to simple cathode resistor. Note that my tweeter is very sensitive (Fostex T90A, 106dB/W/m). There is no hiss if I connect the amp to Harbeth P3ES (LS3/5 variant)
The sound : its very clean sounding. Treble is very nice and extended.
Using Sovtek, I thought the mid is slightly harsh at the beginning (relatively, compare to Paramount, not harsh at all in the absolute term). After some break in and switching to JJ 2A3-40 it smooth out and very clean sounding. I think its less forward compare to Stereomour 45.
I can't comment on bass since my speakers have active bass from 200Hz down.
MonAmour build finished!
I decided not to use the power trans cover and showing painted transformer bell instead.
There is some faint hiss that I can hear 2 meter away from the speaker. I suspect its due to TL431 in the cathode. The Stereomour also has the same hiss until I change to simple cathode resistor. Note that my tweeter is very sensitive (Fostex T90A, 106dB/W/m). There is no hiss if I connect the amp to Harbeth P3ES (LS3/5 variant)
The sound : its very clean sounding. Treble is very nice and extended.
Using Sovtek, I thought the mid is slightly harsh at the beginning (relatively, compare to Paramount, not harsh at all in the absolute term). After some break in and switching to JJ 2A3-40 it smooth out and very clean sounding. I think its less forward compare to Stereomour 45.
I can't comment on bass since my speakers have active bass from 200Hz down.
