The Bigblog!

In this case they have been.

So, this evening i have whacked in the little Chinese T-Amp as the 686 is being loaned out tomorrow.

It's obviously miles away in performance but that now sounds like a much better amp. Lacks grip in the LF but still very enjoyable to listen to.

Hahaha, sorry mate but postal service aren't getting their hands on it!

Found the nearly perfect case I require for the One Box BB3 I want to try, but it hasn't got any vent holes....

Spoke to the seller and if I order 10 they will do whatever I ask to the box, but at $1050 it's a bit of an ask to stretch that far for 10 cases.

Going to have to figure something out.

Back to trying to do a logo etc. Bollocks.

Haha, $1k for ten

Yeah it's a beast...mega heavy too and such nice quality on the finish.

Could get it anodised black too.

Just need a logo on the front. This is where I got stuck with the one box before. Laser etching is about £80 per piece. Seems a tad excessive, especially as that's nearly the same price as the case 😳

Thanks for that Tony.

I'll give Brunel a shout and see what they come back with, although i exp4ect it wont be cheap

Well, let's hope these spring a surprise too

Funnily enough, considering getting 2 sets as well. ( Gaia 3).
Be interesting to hear your views.
I stuck some sorbothane feet under my stands to replace spikes. Really nice improvement all round. My hesitation is pondering how much more of an improvement £500 ( includes carpet spikes) on them would make?

It’s a fascinating area to look into.
It was hearing Angus’s system that impressed me.
Also surprised me as I’d always bought into the spike/rigid school of thought.
The fact that his speakers swayed like a drunken sailor was a revelation!
I haven’t got the room for the Townshend Podiums, so have been looking at alternatives since.
This was an interesting one.


Cheapo Chinese isolation feet.
Quite substantial effect on the hi’s and mids , but the bass (what little there is) just disappeared.
Amazingly airy and atmospheric.. but light weight.
So I put them between the speaker and the stands and then put the sorbothane feet on the base of the stands.
Fantastic.
But I really do think there may be more to come with the Gaia’s.

Good luck with them, be a shame to move the speakers after they have worked so well before. Bet you have options for replacement lined up though🙂

It's been a tumultuous few weeks in the Big-house. What once seemed like a very settled system is now causing me immeasurable amounts of concern.

As D-Day approaches (sunday) i am filled with dread that my beloved MS880's may have to go to pastures new, and smaller....more suitable speakers may have to be identified and acquired.

The IsoAcoustic Gaia feet will be installed on two hefty aluminium bars (DIY outriggers) and then secured to the speakers using some industrial strength fixings. The thinking being that the larger the footprint, the safer they will be. Also a wider dispersal area can't hurt....right?

Then it's time to see whether the 880's are tamed enough to exist in the small listening space i currently occupy.

Plans are now afoot to move the system into a purpose built extension that will be built on the side of our house, replacing a garage. But until then i have to make do.

This week saw me finish off the prototype one box BB3. Initial impressions are of a successful build. The O-Core has met all of my expectations. Performance wise, there is very little to pick between the 1 and 2 box builds, and i wouldn't want to choose if there were witnesses lol. The new build needs a few weeks to open up so i will be reserving the right to decide on the plan going forward until that has been solidified in my mind.

My thinking is that the Two box should become the "deluxe" or something similar and be stuffed with an epic range of components. Thoughts on this please!

The Goldring Ethos has come into its own this week too. 100hrs on it now and the slight edginess and infrequent etching of the HF has now gone and what's left is a really insightful cartridge that has great amounts of soul and conveys to the heart really convincingly.

I am enjoying it sincerely and wouldn't hesitate to buy another, however i have always liked the Goldring way of presenting music and that should be kept in mind if considering one.

It's got great transparency and digs really deep into the detail...probably on a par with the best cartridges i have heard. It's a littler fuller sounding now and thats a genuinely welcome thing. I'm very pleased with it.

This week also see's me finalise what's going inside the first two orders of the Bigbottle AWM preamp. Angus has started making his own Stepped attenuator based on the Elma switch and having used the one he let me build for a few months now, i say with no hesitation that it's probably the best Stepped Attenuator i have had the pleasure of using. No idea what the resistors are, other than being metal film and within 0.1% tolerance. It's a seriously good stepped attenuator and i am proud to install them in the preamps. O-Core transformers have been ordered and the resistors are on site ready to go. Precision matched and paired up ready for installation. CMC sockets, OCC copper wiring, Silver content solder....premium.

Elma selector switches are also going in.

This is shaping up to be a well specced preamp, and i am itching to get my own built properly!

Cheers, steve.

It's about cost mate. YES the 880's will be more than perfect for the news space, but they hold a lot of value towards where i go next. One of those tough decisions is about letting go of things that don't work for things that will. I am strongly attached to the 880's. I think they are magnificent speakers and i haven't heard what they are really capable of.

Let's see what happens Sunday and i'll make a decision after that

Hope it goes well Oli . Are you trying the speakers / Gaia feet with and without the outriggers ?

I would try both ways , you never know