The Bottlehead "effect"

[azrockitman]

While it might be a bit of an overstatement, I have to say that building the two BH kits so far (most recently the stereomour), has caused me to begin, anew, the amazing relationship I've had my entire life with music.  I've pulled more LP's out of the drawer, more CD's and SACD's out of their case, in past few months than any other recent period in memory.

Since completing my Stereomour a couple of days ago, it continues to open up to me like a musical bouquet.  Call that description fruity if you will, but I doubt any first hand experiencers of this amp would disagree with the description too much.

I'm listening to dire straits: on every street, at the moment, and again, good god, hearing things I've not heard before.  I have fairly good solid state equipment and maybe if I relocated it into the same room that I'm using for my bottlehead experience, who knows, maybe I'd hear those same sounds with that equipment too, but I don't think so.  Maybe it's partly the time and excitement that comes from building something with your own two hands that adds to the experience, and I'm sure it has an effect, but I've been listening....listening.....to music intimately for about 48 years or so, and it's the first time in years that I look for excuses to leaf through my music collection and sit down and listen.  I love jazz because the nature of the music and sessions usually lends itself to hearing every single instrument separately if you want to isolate it in you mind.  But I also love Rock, Classical, R&B, a fair amount of hip hop.  and i'll tell you; my brief experience with the S.E.X. ii kit, used as a speaker amplifier left me thinking it was great for jazz, maybe less great for any other "busier" genre.  Not so the Stereomour.  I've listened to all of the genres listed above in the last few days with my Stereomour, and every one of them opens up sound to my ears that has been absent with previous listening on solid state equipment.

If you are thinking about building one,  stop thinking.  Pick a component that is most likely to get you immersed in the experience and build it.  Build a headphone amp.  Build the Stereomour.  Maybe you'll start listening to music like you've never listened before.  Or maybe like me, you'll remember what it's like to sit and listen. Not jog, not drive in your car, not study with the ipod and headphones; listen for the pure single rush of listening to music with no other interruptions or distractions.  It used to be one of my favorite things to do.  Now, it is again.

[tsingle999]

One of my favorite experiences was setting up my sex 2.0 amp and the 1000$ (in its day) high end sony amp. Played a song to a colleague at work on the sony and then hooked up the sex amp. Played the same song and he asked me 30 seconds in if it was the same song? I said ya and he was like what? The last song you played had no guitars in it? He got my fixation on tube amps that day....
I find when people come over and hear my system they don't seem to appreciate it as much. You really need the quick switch comparison for them to really get "it".

[Jim R.]

Rocket,

Yes, and this is what it's all about, isn't it?

So many potential bottleheads out there I know who simply don't believe they can put together a kit, yet this forum is full of people like yourself who have done it and are more than thrilled with the results. If only I could convince these folks I think most of them would get so much more from their music.

And yes, there is just something very special and realistic about single-ended, class A, Zero negative feedback,DHTs, especially in the parafeed configuration that just brings music to life.

Happy listening,

Jim
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[4krow]

  What's funny to me though, is that people either 'get it' or they don't. One kid that listened to my system was too busy texting to know the difference. He said, "Yah, it sounds good."  And then my boss last year heard the system for a couple of seconds(Iwas making a set of speakers for him), and said, "It's like they are in the room!"

[Mike B]

Yeah, The "effect" is real.  Real good sound -

I ended up with a Stereomour in the bedroom system with a pair of single driver speaks.  It sounds better than headphones.

Which amazes me, the phones always sounded better before.  Guess I need better phones...

So, I bought some Crack and a better set of phones.  The cans are here, the Crack is coming.

The zero feedback class A triode thing is real -

Now the epic battle between SM and Tangband W8-1772 vs Crack/Speedball and Senn HD600 will commence once I build the Crack. 

Muhaha! 

[Paul Joppa]

Don't discount the texters entirely. Over the years at Bottlehead meetings, I've several times had the experience of hearing something special while I was in another room talking with other non-listeners. (Hey, the beer is in the kitchen!) Sometimes distracting your conscious analytical brain lets the subconscious pick up audio cues you would otherwise miss.