Iceman16's Bigbottle Build thread.

Hi all,

With Jaysons (iceman16) agreement, I have decided to chronicle the build process once again. Apologies if this feels very familiar, but its nice for Jayson to see how the build is going and it also makes the wait seem shorter somehow lol.

First order of business while I await the plethora of delivery men and women, who are bringing the necessary bits and pieces, is to pick a suitable set of valves to go in this phonostage.

After speaking to Jayson, and building an idea of what music floats his boat, i decided to give the following combination a try:

2x National PCC88s
1x 6N2P-EV

With some fine Jazz and Classical stuff to try them out with, I have to say that this is a very fine combo. Zero Microphony, liquid Midrange, and very emotive. String instruments carry the resonance of the wooden body really well, and woodwind instruments are throaty, just as they should be. I am really liking this combination very much.

The HF is silky smooth, detailed and non fatiguing. Bass is very well balanced and integrates nicely in the overall sound.

I recently heard a Tung-Sol 803e gold pin, and thought that to be an excellent valve for this phonostage, so I have ordered one of those to try too.

As you'll see from the pictures, I am also trying some Janzen Silver Z capcitors too. Ill talk more about those separately, but i am more than happy to use them for this valve rolling experiment.

Pics of the valves: