BeePre Pre-Build Questions

[Gerry E.]

Here's a shout out to Boulos who just finished my BeePre.  When I first ordered it, I wasn't even sure if we would have the kit yet, let alone it being finished before Christmas! 

Boulos did a fantastic job, here are a couple of photos (Boulos is the good looking guy in the photo within the photo):

(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi27.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc157%2Fgerrye123%2Fbeepre1_zpsa28526b2.jpg&hash=c071794985ef3d11de47ba282b139c82ab369798)

(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi27.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc157%2Fgerrye123%2Fbeepre2_zpse671c023.jpg&hash=355badd7f15b44346d89e11dc9248d6fdeffb1fc)

I'm picking the BeePre up in a couple of hours and can't wait to try it in my system.  Boulos has already reported how great it sounds (thanks Bottlehead!).  As time and funds permit, I will be doing a couple of upgrades (Blumenstein base, upgraded power cord, upgraded fuse, etc.).  We already have a couple of Russian 10uF PIO caps coming from Bulgaria.

I'll report on my impressions of the BeePre in a follow-up post.  Thanks Boulos!

Gerry             

[Chris65]

Lovely build. Which 300B's are they? Look like some JJ boxes in the background.

[Gerry E.]

Lovely build. Which 300B's are they? Look like some JJ boxes in the background.

Hi Chris:

The tubes are indeed JJ 300Bs.  They sound more than fine in the BeePre.  I picked up the BeePre last night and put it into my system this morning.  It works perfectly and sounds terrific!  A couple of sonic attributes that I noticed rather quickly (other than the obvious ones like mid-range purity and tone density) include the excellent depth reproduction and resolving capability.

I'll expand on those two attributes a little more.  By excellent depth reproduction, I don't mean that the entire soundstage was moved back.  It just expanded in the background.  As for resolving capability, I noticed that every last note is clearly heard during each CD cut fade-out.

At some point I will swap the Sophia Royal Princess 300Bs I'm using in my Paramounts (I bought them used and paid a lot less than the suggested price) with the JJs and see which configuration I like better.  I hope the RP 300Bs are OK to use in the BeePre, comments anyone?

I'm carefully reading the construction manual to have a better understanding of the BeePre and even more appreciation of all the hard work Boulos put into it.  I love the last sentence on page 6: "Thanks also to Queen Eileen Schmalle for putting up with yet another of Dr. Bottlehead's cockamamie scheme(s)."  Indeed! 

Gerry   

     

       

[boulos]

The BeePre was fun to build, yet very intricate.  We did a couple minor mods to the build:

-- The first is to have 2 RCA outputs and 2 RCA inputs.  I moved the XLR jacks in the place of the 3rd RCA inputs (essentially to cover the holes).  The third input is connected at the switch so adding a third RCA input is very easy.  I attached a picture.

-- The second is simply to use a different wire for the 120V wiring. The main difference is that it's 18AWG wire. These are the two red wires you see in the picture Gerry posted.

To test the BeePre, I connected it to my S.E.X/Orca desktop setup.  It truly transformed that system making sound beautiful even with the Orcas lodged between books on a shelf.  A funny story is the first time I connected the BeePre no sound came out and I was baffled because all the resistance and voltage checks had just passed.  It was very stressful, and after a few minutes, I decided to turn it off, reconnect everything and try again.  That's when I realized that it was off the whole time!  :-)

[RPMac]

Can't get much quiter than off, but, if anyone can do it, I'm betting on PJ!

Just did my AC wiring. Thought I screwed up when I saw that red wire in you pic...then I read the post.

I'm wiring mine one in and three out. Will wait and see on the last one. Maybe I can swap the Queen for another pair of RCAs.