kyle Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Bottlehead S.E.X power amp/headphone amp. http://www.bottlehead.com/et/adobespc/S.E.X./SEX.htm Next week I'm going to order their Seduction preamp. I'm stoked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desensitizedbyu Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 God I wish I knew about Amps and things. Looks nice, but I would have no idea what to do with it.. That's what she said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaps Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 The site is horrible, but I think I would be interested in something like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmonaut Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 That's a kit, right? God, it would take me about 5 minutes to completely fuck up a project like this. The amp looks super nice tho. I love me some tubes. That's what she said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostatsea Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 so you do build it yourself? I am too lazy to read all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 15, 2008 Author Share Posted November 15, 2008 Yeah, it's a kit and you build it yourself. They can refer you to an expert on these amps who will build them for you but he charges another $200+. Bottlehead is known for their extremely detailed instructions, which are written in plain English, and most of their kits require little to no knowledge of electronics to build. Here is a picture of another one of their kits disassembled just to give an idea of how they arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 15, 2008 Author Share Posted November 15, 2008 More info on the skill level required to build their kits. http://www.bottlehead.com/et/skill_level_ratings.htm The only downside is I need to get new speakers. This amp is only 2 watts per channel so I need to get some high efficiency speakers that can take very little power and produce very loud sound. Probably going to have to build them myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iliketurtles Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 I know how to solder and I could get naked like the ladies on the website if you want help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minty Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 WANT. DO NOT WANT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostatsea Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 ^^Backed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhythmgtr5 Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 give us an update when it's finished. I'd like to see pics and your opinion on how challenging it was to make. I've been wanting to try something like this for awhile but am not skilled with electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmonaut Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 WANT. DO NOT WANT. That's funny as hell, Minty. And I totally agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryvc Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 I'm interested in building it but I'm afraid it will turn into all my projects like this, which of course is not finished. I have three guitar pedals half built in my room and all of them have had more construction of dust than the construction of the actual pedal. This is absolutely gorgeous though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 This is considered a one or two night project, so 5-8 hours for most users. Read the link I posted on the skill levels and then check out the forum. You'll find a lot of posts from people who say they've never used a soldering iron in their life who have successfully built their kits. These really are designed with the n00b in mind. The Bottlehead products are said to rival storebought amps that cost $2,000 and more because they come in kit form and use simple parts (wood base) rather than fancy casings. Anyways, within the next thre weeks I'll also be ordering my new turntable. A Rega P3-24, I'm just waiting on my dealer to get the new colors in stock. Now I just need to figure out which color to get. http://www.rega.co.uk/html/p3-24%20colours.htm That also means I'll have my Rega P1 for sale and a set of really nice Epos ELS-3 speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesack18 Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 id go for the white dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coryvc Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Yeah I'm think when I have the money and the confidence I will order one of these. They are fucking awesome on many levels. Especially since I'm very partial to tubes and the satisfaction of building something myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Considering what you can buy a Fisher 500C for, and the price of the parts, I find Bottlehead's stuff to be a bit overpriced. I'm sure it sounds great, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 Considering what you can buy a Fisher 500C for, and the price of the parts, I find Bottlehead's stuff to be a bit overpriced. I'm sure it sounds great, though. For the time being it's going to be my main amp, but when I get the money the Bottlehead will be my headphone only amp and I will upgrade my power amp to something better. I've got some plans, but it's going to take a while. Also, for a while I was going to get a Scott 222 or 299 or a comparable Fisher or some other vintage receiver/integrated. A coworker I have has rebuilt a couple Scotts and a few other vintage amps and he tells me the phono stage on them aren't so great. Plus I really just wanted to build something and I like the Bottlehead kits the most. I like everything I've heard from my friend's Bottlehead setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 Also, what cart are you using on your Scout? I'm thinking of buying a used Scout because the prices on them are pretty good but then I have to worry about cartridge selection and I'm not really prepared to shell out $500+ on a cartridge alone on top of the 'table. That's why the P3 is appealing. For $1400 I can get the turntable with TTPSU power supply and Elys2 cartridge all brand new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 What is he comparing the phono stages to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 What is he comparing the phono stages to? Well, it's not that he says they suck or anything like that. He's always told me they're good for the money, but there are better options with standalone preamps (not surprising). I know one time he decided to use the Scott as a power amp and hooked up a modern Bellari as the phono stage and told me he definitely heard an improvement. I didn't actually hear any of the experiments myself, though. Really though, I was tired of getting sucked into the "Should I buy this or that?" game. None of this gear sucks. I've been beating my head over with this crap for months. I finally decided to just bite the bullet and make a purchase. I really wanted to get something in kit form so the Bottlehead had the advantage because of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 You're right, at some point you just need to stop reading and trying to figure out what's the best thing and just buy something. Once you get something, it's easy enough to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 So any advice on carts for the Scout? Low-hour Scouts sell for about $1100-1200. I'd like to spend no more than $300 on a cartridge if I went that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdenx Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 God damn, I wish I had that kind of money to throw at a new setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 God damn, I wish I had that kind of money to throw at a new setup. It's not like I'm made of money. I've saved for a while for this stuff. I save a lot of coin by not buying 8 different variations of the same fucking record or by not buying disposable consumer bullshit like iPods and fancy new cell phones every 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.