Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => BeePre => Topic started by: Doc B. on October 02, 2012, 01:22:03 PM
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We have worked out a few more details and we hope to have the functional prototype under construction by week's end. As soon as I can put up a photo I will set up a page to take preorders. Preorders will receive a free power cord kit as a bonus.
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Great news Dan! Congrats team!
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Very cool! Can't wait to see it!
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Not only is the progress good news but it's great to see the new preamp with its own forum! Question: Is BeePre the official model name? If so, I like it, nice and simple. Also appropriate for obvious reasons.
Gerry
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I've been following the development of this project very closely since the beginning. The concept is amazing: single stage, DHT, SR, no feedback, no cathode followers, no transformers. And I can assure you that the amount of R&D put into this product is impressive.
Right now my audio/music funds are absolutely zero. I'll consider this an exercise to better my patience and to become a saint through abstinence but I'm not buying it now. You have my firm order for March/April though!
Saludos
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Xavier - bro, you know there is one with your name on it at any time. Right now you still need to break in those 437As.
Gerry, yeah, BeePre the name kinda resonates for me. Better than ForeplayIV, which seems like a bit of a mouthful and a bit misleading. Foreplay was so different than this design that in my mind they need different names altogether.
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Hi Doc, have you guys ever thought of an all-DHT version of the Crack?
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*The difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference between theory and practice, while in practice there is.
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Is there a line forming for the "Bee Pre" yet?
John
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I will be in line!
Dave
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Hi Doc, have you guys ever thought of an all-DHT version of the Crack?
This would need four separate filament supplies, or some negative rails for fixed bias (which would then remove the direct coupling), and then there's the issue of available DHT's that have sufficient transconductance for the job, which is difficult.
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BeePre the name kinda resonates for me. Better than ForeplayIV, which seems like a bit of a mouthful and a bit misleading. Foreplay was so different than this design that in my mind they need different names altogether.
What about the BeeJay? Oh wait... you've been going away from the innuendo names. (Yes, I went there).
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What about the BeeJay? Oh wait... you've been going away from the innuendo names. (Yes, I went there).
Since you went there, what about PeeJay? Now that's really bad.
Gerry
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We have a new prototype chassis panel. If we have all the parts in stock I hope to get a mockup of the preamp built today so you can see what it looks like.
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Today we ordered the final production run of PC boards for the BeePre. Enough labeling has changed from the last revision that we will wait for these to roll in before we can finish the manual.
We also ordered two expedited chassis plates today - one to verify the small changes to the new layout, and the other for writing the manual. We hope to start writing the manual before the PC boards show up.
In the same order, we added a recessed plate for the stepped attenuators, so we can confirm pricing and provide some additional details about this shortly.
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Very curious........I'm in the market for a 300B pre also!
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I'm kind of curious how the beepre will add to what what has been achieved by the Quickie.
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I'm kind of curious how the beepre will add to what what has been achieved by the Quickie.
Imagine that sweet, cute girl you had a crush on in high school. You were both young and learning about love, and it was very special. Something you will always cherish.
Now imagine the best f*** you ever had, where that amazingly skilled lover read your mind and your body better than you did, so deeply immersive and satisfying that you wish you could live that moment again, just one more time.
I know, it's a stretch, but that's kinda how I see it.
*These could maybe even be the same person at different times (not in my case), but even still those were probably at different times in the relationship - in which case the difference is due to the application of knowledge gained through experience.
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I'm kind of curious how the beepre will add to what what has been achieved by the Quickie.
Imagine that sweet, cute girl you had a crush on in high school. You were both young and learning about love, and it was very special. Something you will always cherish.
Now imagine the best f*** you ever had, where that amazingly skilled lover read your mind and your body better than you did, so deeply immersive and satisfying that you wish you could live that moment again, just one more time.
I know, it's a stretch, but that's kinda how I see it.
*These could maybe even be the same person at different times (not in my case), but even still those were probably at different times in the relationship - in which case the difference is due to the application of knowledge gained through experience.
;D
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That sounds like a step in the right direction!
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Now imagine the best f*** you ever had...
I was wondering what happened to the sexual innuendo in the product names. Don't even try to tell me the "Bee" is for 300B, I now know its for "Best ...".
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Today we got in all the electrical parts except one resistor and one capacitor (they will arrive shortly). We also received the final pair of panels that will be used for manual writing (yay).
I began construction of the first of those today, as we have to prove the minor changes to the layout, and I really like being able to work towards the known finished product when writing the manual.
The revised layout distributes the density of components more evenly, which should make a drastically better build. We also tinkered with the parts a little bit, mostly in an effort to improve overall quality and ease of construction.
Pictures will be forthcoming shortly, and for now we are impatiently awaiting the shipping notice for the PC boards so we can get the manual going and get these shipped ASAP.
-PB
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Josh and I got started on the BeePre manual on Wednesday, getting all the photography done for the PC boards.
Today, I built what will be the actual layout of the kit. The small changes in the layout have come out really well and make this kit much easier to build and nice to look at from the bottom.
I believe Doc plans to put a few additional photos up highlighting these details shortly.
I also put in the final order for chassis plates today, since we confirmed that everything is where it should be. Next week, we will finish the photography for the manual and begin packing so these can be ready to ship as soon as the manual is complete.
-PB
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PB and Josh pulled a long session yesterday and completed the construction of the production prototype. Josh plans to work on the manual over the next week, and we plan to get all the parts kitted so that when the panels arrive we can begin shipping, probably right after New Year's. I will try to get some underside photos up today.
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Do you anticipate that things will have settled down by Friday the 4th of January?
I hope to make a pilgrimage then, after I pack up my work from the gallery in Seattle.
I will check in when I get to Seattle.
Cheers, Hank in Eugene
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I think things will be as settled as they ever get around here these days. Fridays are usually the best day to stop by.
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I will try to get some underside photos up today.
Did I miss these photos? It sure would be nice to see what's under the hood :)
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Under the hood -
(https://www.bottlehead.com/sc_images/BeePreunderside.jpg)
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The jack field. One can change jacks from RCA to XLR as needed. The black plugs cover holes where aftermarket input transformers may be mounted for balanced inputs.
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bottlehead.com%2Fsc_images%2Fbeeprejackfield.jpg&hash=cd8590c0abfa09ae6b23781163d5ff0b42f5f3d0)
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WOW... Sweet!
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Wow! That is a nice layout. Is this the first level 4 kit?
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Very nice!
Looking forward to building one
Deb
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Looks very nice! My only concern is the way the two caps near the pots are fixed to the baseplate, will the double face tape withstand the higher temperature of the baseplate once the amp is running?
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Thats quite a kit! - I bet it sounds fantastic!
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Looks very nice! My only concern is the way the two caps near the pots are fixed to the baseplate, will the double face tape withstand the higher temperature of the baseplate once the amp is running?
We have used these ny-tie holddowns on many kit chassis panels over the past 18 years without a problem.
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Whoa! That looks intense. And awesome!
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Awesome!
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Can I ask how tall the amp is? In other words, how much vertical clearance would a rack eed to have for this?
Thanks,
Jim
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Can I ask how tall the amp is? In other words, how much vertical clearance would a rack eed to have for this?
Thanks,
Jim
Same as Paramount, 4" base plus 6" 300B, total about 10". I'd leave another 2" for cooling air flow around the tube, but the tube is run at relatively low dissipation so you could compromise on that a bit.
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Can I ask how tall the amp is? In other words, how much vertical clearance would a rack eed to have for this?
Thanks,
Jim
Come on Jim, you know you want one! :)
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Paul -- thanks -- 10" is the max shelf clearance on my rack, so I'd have to check out if my TT could go in that space and the pre on top. Still pondering...
Hey Aaron, you're right! :-)
I've got to take some time to heal first then I can regroup and plan the next steps. Looks like Dowdys will be coming next week.
-- Jim
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It looks like one could enlarge the transformer holes to add an extra set of those nice Neutrik rca jacks.
Have the caps values been defined? What are types the stock ones?
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It looks like one could enlarge the transformer holes to add an extra set of those nice Neutrik rca jacks.
Have the caps values been defined? What are types the stock ones?
Hmm, I suppose you could enlarge those holes if you wanted. Getting everything perfectly aligned by hand drilling can be frustrating. Standard insulated gold RCA jacks should fit in those holes.
The caps are 10uF/250V stock. Two will dominate the sonics of the single ended outputs, and all four the balanced output. 200V is a sufficiently high voltage rating for these caps.
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By the way that cap value was arrived at empirically by measuring bass response with cap values ranging over about 1uF to 20uF. Anything below 10uF was where we saw some bass roll off into lower impedance loads.
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A pair of Auricaps at Percy will cost 65.
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I plan to try some Audiocap film and foil caps next week. Right now I am experimenting with rearranging the positions of the drivers in my speakers after a listening session on Friday. Some new, slightly lower seating seemed to make the image kind of high in the room. I have to redo time alignment and trim levels, then we will do some comparison of the stock metallized caps vs. Audiocaps.
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The Bee looks awesome Dan!
And you got some comfy looking seating for listening. Once you get it all dialed in, folks are never gonna want ta leave!
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And... the 6.4 x 10 to the fourth question....is there an expected ship date Doc?
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And... the 6.4 x 10 to the fourth question....is there an expected ship date Doc?
Packing has begun, and the manual is at about 60% completion (steps being photography, draft writing, photo editing, and text editing, we are at photo/text editing right now).
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Thanks Paul
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I plan to try some Audiocap film and foil caps next week. Right now I am experimenting with rearranging the positions of the drivers in my speakers after a listening session on Friday. Some new, slightly lower seating seemed to make the image kind of high in the room. I have to redo time alignment and trim levels, then we will do some comparison of the stock metallized caps vs. Audiocaps.
Where did you get the shelving that
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Looks like Ikea Expedit. I've been meaning to get these myself. Ideal for LPs.
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I can confirm those are IKEA Expedit...great for LP's, easy to assemble. Lots of posts on the Vinyl Asylum about them. Two thumbs up, as far as I"m concerned.
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Well, after a lot of consideration the compromises I'd have to make to my system in order to dedicate the top shelf of the rack to the BeePre, it's probably something I just can't dco right now.
Of course I still have no idea how good my BH custom preamp will sound, but I'm certain it will be fantastic.
I think my best bet is to go with what my gut is telling me, and that is a pair of 2a3 paramounts for the Nagas. BeePre will have to be a project for later. In the mean time I'm going to be watching and listening to what all the new BeePre owners have to say.
-- Jim
Paul -- thanks -- 10" is the max shelf clearance on my rack, so I'd have to check out if my TT could go in that space and the pre on top. Still pondering...
Hey Aaron, you're right! :-)
I've got to take some time to heal first then I can regroup and plan the next steps. Looks like Dowdys will be coming next week.
-- Jim
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Not to confuse the issue :^) but the BeePre should work with a 6B4G, which is 1.25" shorter than a 300B.
It needs an octal socket of course, and nobody has tried it or listened to one yet. But I just mention it anyhow.
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Curse you, Red Barron! No, sorry, really have to do the paramounts first, but this may be a real possibility for later on unless I decide to build a larger rack at some point.
-- Jim
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Jim,
A larger rack is always nice.... (I couldn't help myself there.) It seems the perfect answer to the problem.
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Yes, except that my current rack is a really beautiful piece of handcrafted furniture with specially tuned composit shelves made of 6 types of woodd and 4 kinds of glue. Mortise and tenon joints all around and not at all inexpensive. And yes, I can definitely hear a difference in sound quality with this rack.
As I said, maybe someday...
-- Jim
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Well, I am 45 minutes into proofreading the complete draft of the BeePre manual. I think that those who are experienced Bottlehead kit builders will appreciate some of the tweaks we have made to make the building process simpler.
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The gang is totally committed to getting the first BeePres out today. I think they got the first six packed and Eileen is going to run them to the UPS store since we already had our pickup this afternoon. Since we are actually packing and shipping kit, this means any new Bee Pre orders will not be what we would consider pre-orders. But I will continue the free power cord kit offer thru Sunday to anyone who orders this weekend.
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This is a great day!
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Great news! I'm getting excited about this build!
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Thanks, Doc! Got my UPS man on speed dial.
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Congratulations to the entire BH crew for getting this finished and shipping! I still hope to someday get one myself.
-- Jim
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Hey Doc,
Just wondering if all the orders shipped for the BeePre? If not will you be making another shipment soon?
Thanks
Richard
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They are working on shipping several more today, and I think there is a shipment of tubes due before the last few can go out.
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Got my box from the brown truck yesterday, but wife says I can't get started until I finish rebuilding the tractor motor.
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How is the next shippment coming along?
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More BeePres are in the packing schedule for Friday.
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Mine arrived today! Time to get busy! :)
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We are expecting a shipment of 300Bs tomorrow, that should allow us to catch up on the outstanding BeePre orders over the next few days. BeeQuiet is very close to shipping as well.