Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
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Post by Bigman80 on Jan 21, 2020 15:08:24 GMT
Thank you. I'm really looking forward to getting hold of one! |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Jan 22, 2020 20:47:57 GMT
So here is the last update for a little while. The PCB design is finished! For the eagle eyed, there is a new addition to the PCB in the form of a "jumper" The jumper allows the builder to swap between using an ECC83 and a 6N2P. These 6N2P are mega cheap and sound excellent so it seemed like a nice touch to add this. The PCB will be black, and hopefully, there will be one here to build in the next few weeks.   |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
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Post by Bigman80 on Jan 25, 2020 22:18:37 GMT
Test PCBs now ordered.  |
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Post by firebottle on Jan 26, 2020 9:11:09 GMT
Just noticed, the larger heatsink needs to be a lot taller than it appears on the picture above.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jan 26, 2020 9:19:55 GMT
Just noticed, the larger heatsink needs to be a lot taller than it appears on the picture above. May just be an image thing Al. Can check the part number on the bom but it shows be the same as the one we used before |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 9, 2020 23:15:51 GMT
Corona Virus is doing more damage......now the pcbs are "Delayed"
Sympathy for the Chinese, it must be a living nightmare.
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 10:24:06 GMT
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Post by firebottle on Feb 17, 2020 11:48:46 GMT
Ooooohh, looks better in the flesh so to speak.
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Post by electronumpty on Feb 17, 2020 11:49:04 GMT
They look great! Very swish and none of those annoying pin holes like on the mk1.
Hope you wore a mask and gloves when unpacking lol.
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 12:53:04 GMT
Ooooohh, looks better in the flesh so to speak. 100% agree. They have a nice level of finish on them. Will look nice when fully populated etc. I have one here for you but i won't be over your way for a bit. |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 12:54:43 GMT
They look great! Very swish and none of those annoying pin holes like on the mk1. Hope you wore a mask and gloves when unpacking lol. Hahaha, believe it or not, i did research how long the virus can survive and it seems 12 hours is maximum (outside of the body) so i am not too concerned |
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Post by sq225917 on Feb 17, 2020 13:19:17 GMT
That looks great Oli, what value are big caps in the middle of the board? I might have some teflons in the right value in my bits box
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Post by electronumpty on Feb 17, 2020 13:29:51 GMT
They look great! Very swish and none of those annoying pin holes like on the mk1. Hope you wore a mask and gloves when unpacking lol. Hahaha, believe it or not, i did research how long the virus can survive and it seems 12 hours is maximum (outside of the body) so i am not too concerned No that's good , better safe than sorry. When I arrived at Turin airport last week they were screening everyone with temp guns before passport control, pretty good I thought. When I got back to Gatwick yesterday all there was were a few posters - in Chinese, on the wall nothing else , nada. Go figure what our response is like. |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 14:14:42 GMT
That looks great Oli, what value are big caps in the middle of the board? I might have some teflons in the right value in my bits box I'm really pleased with them. They are 2.2uf of about 250v IIRC Teflon caps ay, I'm all ears! |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 17:03:19 GMT
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2020 17:06:50 GMT
Good news that you can twiddle your thumbs in a productive way.
In another post, you mentioned that you thought this was better than any phonostage sub £1k. Does that include the Vivant, and if so, why is the BB better, and does Mr FB agree?
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Post by firebottle on Feb 17, 2020 18:13:00 GMT
That's a rather interesting question Kevin.
The first stage is virtually identical in both, but the Vivant uses an all in one passive network for equalisation whereas the BB uses split equalisation. I think the split approach gives a more 'relaxed' sound, plus there is more possibility of tonal adjustment by tube rolling the centre valve.
Th output impedance of the Vivant is lower as it is hybrid but I don't think it makes any difference to the sound in practice.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 18:32:37 GMT
Good news that you can twiddle your thumbs in a productive way. In another post, you mentioned that you thought this was better than any phonostage sub £1k. Does that include the Vivant, and if so, why is the BB better, and does Mr FB agree? Yes, good news indeed but it's really aching now lol Vivant Vs Bigbottle ay!!..... In my opinion, the Bigbottle has the edge. Bass is better defined and the mids and HF are delivered with a slightly higher degree of fluidity. I understand why Alan said the sound is more "relaxed" but I feel a better description is more "refined" And refined is the apt word, as this is what the Bigbottle has been. It was based largely on the Vivant and after 3 lots of revisions, Alan had refined it. In reality, its capable of really rocking and delivers a very decent amount of speed, transients are clearly available and there is plenty of slam and attack, especially in Valve terms. Guitars have a nice balance of string/sound hole to them and vocals are delivered from the chest, throat and mouth, rather than just the mouth, like I've heard with others. I also think the Bigbottle has a degree of maturity about it. I found the Vivant sometimes felt a tiny bit ragged when pushed with busier material, losing a bit of definition. Again, Alan has evolved a couple of idea whilst working on this design, so it sounding more mature stands to reason. The soundstage is also a bit bigger via the Bigbottle, from memory With that said, there is no denying the pair were designed by the same person. They share a lot of similarities and ultimately both achieve something that is very important to us both, they have a really open and spacious sound. Alan is the winner regardless of what I think between the two anyway lol Given the choice.....and remember, I had that choice....I think the Bigbottle edges it. |
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Post by jimbo on Feb 17, 2020 18:33:22 GMT
Good news that you can twiddle your thumbs in a productive way. In another post, you mentioned that you thought this was better than any phonostage sub £1k. Does that include the Vivant, and if so, why is the BB better, and does Mr FB agree? I have heard the Vivant and the BB3 and the BB3 to my ears sounds the better of the two. It is a wonderful preamp and would even get me to move from my Croft.  |
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Post by sq225917 on Feb 17, 2020 18:51:00 GMT
Soz oli, I only have, 100n, 22n and 10n
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2020 18:52:43 GMT
I guess I will need to try and get a listen to a BB3 at some point.
If it is a case of splitting hairs, then I think I will happily keep my Kin.
I have a nice solid state phono stage or two kicking around, but they don’t get used as much.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 19:04:28 GMT
I guess I will need to try and get a listen to a BB3 at some point. If it is a case of splitting hairs, then I think I will happily keep my Kin. I have a nice solid state phono stage or two kicking around, but they don’t get used as much. I suppose it all depends on what you think between the two, when all is said and done. |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 19:04:57 GMT
Soz oli, I only have, 100n, 22n and 10n No problem, thanks for looking though. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2020 19:17:18 GMT
Out of interest, do you have any spare PCBs?
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 19:24:03 GMT
Out of interest, do you have any spare PCBs? I may have 1...... Its completely untested at the moment Edit:: Nope, all are required. |
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Post by firebottle on Feb 17, 2020 21:41:42 GMT
Good news that you can twiddle your thumbs in a productive way. In another post, you mentioned that you thought this was better than any phonostage sub £1k. Does that include the Vivant, and if so, why is the BB better, and does Mr FB agree? I also think the Bigbottle has a degree of maturity about it. I found the Vivant sometimes felt a tiny bit ragged when pushed with busier material, losing a bit of definition. Again, Alan has evolved a couple of idea whilst working on this design, so it sounding more mature stands to reason. Interestingly in refining the BB I did find a modification to improve the Vivant, so they are perhaps closer still. The BB is the more mature design. |
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 17, 2020 22:02:51 GMT
I also think the Bigbottle has a degree of maturity about it. I found the Vivant sometimes felt a tiny bit ragged when pushed with busier material, losing a bit of definition. Again, Alan has evolved a couple of idea whilst working on this design, so it sounding more mature stands to reason. Interestingly in refining the BB I did find a modification to improve the Vivant, so they are perhaps closer still. The BB is the more mature design. Ah, see..... Constantly developing this thing has benefitted both phonostages. Can only be a good thing. |
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,430
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 18, 2020 15:58:05 GMT
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Post by sq225917 on Feb 18, 2020 16:00:45 GMT
They are beautiful looking boards Oli, great work.
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Post by stevew on Feb 18, 2020 16:27:41 GMT
Good news that you can twiddle your thumbs in a productive way. In another post, you mentioned that you thought this was better than any phonostage sub £1k. Does that include the Vivant, and if so, why is the BB better, and does Mr FB agree? Yes, good news indeed but it's really aching now lol Vivant Vs Bigbottle ay!!..... In my opinion, the Bigbottle has the edge. Bass is better defined and the mids and HF are delivered with a slightly higher degree of fluidity. I understand why Alan said the sound is more "relaxed" but I feel a better description is more "refined" And refined is the apt word, as this is what the Bigbottle has been. It was based largely on the Vivant and after 3 lots of revisions, Alan had refined it. In reality, its capable of really rocking and delivers a very decent amount of speed, transients are clearly available and there is plenty of slam and attack, especially in Valve terms. Guitars have a nice balance of string/sound hole to them and vocals are delivered from the chest, throat and mouth, rather than just the mouth, like I've heard with others. I also think the Bigbottle has a degree of maturity about it. I found the Vivant sometimes felt a tiny bit ragged when pushed with busier material, losing a bit of definition. Again, Alan has evolved a couple of idea whilst working on this design, so it sounding more mature stands to reason. The soundstage is also a bit bigger via the Bigbottle, from memory With that said, there is no denying the pair were designed by the same person. They share a lot of similarities and ultimately both achieve something that is very important to us both, they have a really open and spacious sound. Alan is the winner regardless of what I think between the two anyway lol Given the choice.....and remember, I had that choice....I think the Bigbottle edges it. Lalala..no can’t hear you... lalala.. no not listening..🥴 |
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