whoa!

W

willspeed

New member
I finished putting together my amp last Friday, and found I had no sound in the left channel - ended up being one of the RCA jacks - small short between the center post and the outside.

I have to say, the sound is amazing. I have a pair of the SEXy speakers (8" front firing subs instead of the 10") which I had tested with another amp (Technics integrated amp) and I thought the speakers sounded good. I was not prepared for the sound that this amp puts out. This is one helluva product!

Now, to install the C4S boards. ;)
 
No kidding! My girlfriend walked in from work and sat down to listen with me. Her first comment was "wow, that sounds amazing". Looks like we're heading in the right direction.
 
willspeed said:
No kidding! My girlfriend walked in from work and sat down to listen with me. Her first comment was "wow, that sounds amazing". Looks like we're heading in the right direction.
Click to expand...

That is a keeper!
 
Thanks for the positive words! And, just wait until the parts are broken in!!

Seriously, many people find that caps and transformers actually get a little worse over the first 10 hours or so, sounding thin and weak - kind of constricted, if that means anything. Then it opens up, often seemingly in steps, until 50 hours of music have passed. It will open a bit more after than, and exotic caps can take longer, but that's been my most common experience.

It was some 16 years ago that Dave D. first made a 6DN7 amp, slapping it together at a VALVE club meeting, and it blew us all away. It morphed into the first Bottlehead product, and we've always had a great fondness for this tube. I call it the "poor man's 45". There was actually a run on the tube, and prices got pretty high, after the first SEX amp became popular; fortunately the tides of fashion have drifted in other directions since and there's a pretty reliable supply of them out there these days.
 
Ok, my dumb @$$ fried a tube. Connected the C4S upgrade to A6 instead of A5 (d'oh!) and severely crippled a tube. I just got a matched pair to replace, and I'm enjoying the glorious sound. :)

Lesson for me: TEST THRICE! Plug in once.

Current source: 160GB Classic iPod, playing Seasick Steve, "Doghouse Music".
 
I don't think your dumb @$$ is the first to do this!

With the understanding that it is relatively new, how are you liking the C4S in the SEX so far?
 
I really like the upgrade. I had an almost imperceptible amount of noise in the background without (not saying that it wasn't awesome), but with it I hear (or don't?) the improvement. With a source plugged in an in pause, I was turning the amp from 0-Full Blast and I could hear *nothing* from the speakers. The bass response is a bit crisper - the sound is more balanced.

I'm still at a stage of burning in the components - especially since I just installed the new tubes. Another good listen after 8 hours or so will let me get another feel for the sound.

However, I had a buddy over tonight and he was floored. I know I still am. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Another Kaiju or Stereomour II post!
Replies
4
Views
4K
Dzrout
D
D
Output transformer specs for S.E.X. 2.0 Iron Upgrade
Replies
5
Views
3K
Paul Birkeland
Paul Birkeland
M
[HELP] Bottlehead Crack 1.1 + Speedball 1.1 - Only Mono Sound & Possible Wiring
Replies
3
Views
2K
Paul Birkeland
Paul Birkeland
N
Balanced Output
Replies
2
Views
8K
nick
N
M
Crack as preamp
Replies
4
Views
2K
mcrushing
M
Back
Top