Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => Mainline => Topic started by: HF9 on December 04, 2014, 06:03:35 PM
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I'm pretty ashamed... I've had the Mainline and PreBee kits sitting on my "to-do" bench for far too long. I'm finally making some nice progress on the Mainline. There are some fun upgrades on the agenda... Jupiter capacitors, Cardas wiring, Teflon tube sockets, and a copper leafed wood base. Can't wait to hear Bottlehead's greatest new headphone amplifier.
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Ooh this is going to be interesting, love the tidy wiring, and i see you also replaced the Neutrik sockets with the black versions, the two silver headphone ones always bugged me :)
Cant figure out the row of copper pop rivets, when do we get to see the top side?
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Thanks! ;D The copper rivets are a just-for-looks addition to the top, I'll get a photo of the top and post this weekend. Yeah, I like the looks of the black connectors better, silver didn't really match the gold/copper look.
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Fantastic clean look. Is the plate copper?
Hope You won't have the same issue that I had with teflons for the 9-pin sockets.
(The teflon gives a little when one tries to squeeze the small clamps together for better connection to tube pins, decided to go for ceramic with PCBs)
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I didn't go with Copper for this particular build, just got an antique copper powdercoat. I did just get a copper plate for my upcoming Fix build though :)
It's amazing, there are so many different levels of quality of teflon sockets out there. I've ordered quite a few of them and have seen some great ones and some crappy ones. I always get them from the same company now. I think it was Valab. People like the CNC cut ceramic, and it's a great way to go. I like the Teflon as it offers a bit of natural damping. You can also get new Bakelite sockets if you want the vintage brownish color (there's probably no other reason for using Bakelite that I know of, the properties aren't as good on paper as Teflon or ceramic).
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Neat another Mainline build to follow, looking forward to seeing how the rivets look once right side up. Keep the pictures coming.
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More pics as promised. Finished up the attenuator wiring and a few other things. That Cardas wire requires a bit of patience. On each side you strip off the jacket, strip off a layer of teflon, wind up the shield, remove another layer of dielectric, then another layer of teflon, then you burn the enamel off the wiring before installing. It's definitely a labor of love ;) It does sound great though, love that nice warm sound.
On the top you'll see the rivets are just for looks. The volume knobs are temporary, I still need to order the Kilo black aluminum ones I like.
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Extremely nice work. I like the shrink tubing on the cables.
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I love the rivets, adds a very cool look...John
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Wow! I don't get over to this forum much anymore (most of my time is on Head-Fi), but your Mainline build is simply stunning, HF9!! Very steampunk!
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Thanks :D I can use my matching steampunk Grado's with it when it's done :D
These are copper leafed mahogany cups with Turbulent X drivers and my own wire. Sound great!
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Ooh turbulent drivers eh, was always tempted by those (i'm a total Gradophile at heart). Interested to hear how they pair with the Mainline..
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A little more progress, getting some more of the wiring done.
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Fantastic work. Really something to aspire to. And the PCB soldering looks superior to the manual build.
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Fantastic work. Really something to aspire to. And the PCB soldering looks superior to the manual build.
Thanks ;D Purists will say that you're potentially degrading things by forcing the connections through a PCB rather than soldering directly to the pins, but I've found the extra room for soldering makes things a bit easier and cleaner looking.
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That is stunning work.
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Just about done, just need a Kilo knob and one of the Z5U caps I'm waiting for in the mail, then I can start testing. The Jupiter capacitor mounting required some thought. I initially was going to mount a piece of FRP material then mount the caps to that, however I ended up with a standoff and a capacitor mount instead, it offered a slightly cleaner look. The cap narrowly avoids touching the transformer and the clip on heatsinks.
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Thank You for these pics!
Such an impressive build. You even managed to fit those Jupiters...
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Wow - now that's a thing of beauty!
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The Jupiter looks real bad ass if looks are anything to go by its going to sound epic! 8)
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Jamie you are the DIY Audio Frankenstein!!!
I would be a great idea if you could share a list or a thread of all the mods that you have made!!!
WOWW again!
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Just wanted to mention the pics of the completed amp are up on HF9's blog. Holy cow!