Total novice needs help on starting setup

[Jmm]

Hey

Not sure if I'm posting in the correct place here, plz lemme know if I'm not.

I'm brand new to DIY amps etc but my plan is to build a home system for some small electronic production and just a good simple system for listening. I was originally going to have some drum machines and keyboards running through a small DIY amplifier kit from another website but I am now very interested in utilizing a kit from Bottlehead. Ultimately I wanted to be able to master everything to a Studer Or teac 4 track 1/2 inch reel to reel. I was surprised to find Bottleheads might be able to provide a solution from front to back as far as tube amplification and reel to reel recording. I looked through the reel to reel conversions offered here and they look amazing but I am concerned that this conversion may be destructive to recording or nit provide for 4 track recording.

Anyway as stated I am a novice and I need a starting point. Possibly a book to provide me with me basic principles of audio, a certain bottleheads kit that might fit the parameters I described here, just any information would be helpful. Thanks

[porcupunctis]

Welcome to the community.  You will find everyone here to be very helpful, friendly and knowledgable.

For starting out, the S.E.X. amp offers a lot of bang for the buck.  It can power speakers or headphones and it can work without a preamp.  It also packs some really nice tone.  You can listen to this thing all day and not get ear fatigue.  You'll just want to listen more.

My 2 cents anyway.

[Jmm]

Thanks I did check that one out on the site and because I know so little about valve setups I saw that the specs relate the 2 watt output of the s.e.x. To a comparable 45watt system? How is this possible?

[Paul Birkeland]

You're sure in the right spot.

You'll want to break up your efforts into manageable individual chunks. 

For near-field monitoring, a couple of Watts can be far more than enough power.

[Jmm]

Thanks caucasian. I think nearfield monitoring is kinda the direction I was heading, I was just surprised that just a few watts would push what I needed. Now I have to figure out what kind of monitors will pair up here. I know there are some suggestions on the bottlehead page so I'm gonna check those out.

[Jmm]

Also as I have no clue what outPut impedance switching is so I was hoping someone could help me out as to what this is. the cs4 seems like a good option as well but I could not find any info as to what this kit actually modifies? Any ideas?

[porcupunctis]

The output impedance switching gives you a way to easily change the output impedance to match different types of speakers and/or headphones. 

A lot of tube amps will have separate binding posts for 4, 8, and maybe the 16 ohm taps off the output transformer.  The switch kit gives you the option of 4, 8, 16, and 32.  Without the switch, you end up hard - wiring the impedance you think you will always use and you would need a soldering iron to ever change it. 

I'm starting to think I might order one for my Stereo our build.

[Grainger49]

Jmm,

In the 1920s 2 watts was state of the art.  There were a number of speakers that would respond, loudly, to that power (think of a movie theater).  Today with SET (Single Ended Triode) having a renaissance there are more speakers than ever before that will respond well to 2 WPC.

For instance I have had 1.75WPC on my Triangle Zerius and they rocked the room (23'X13'X8').  The key is matching low powered SET to a speaker that will respond at that power.  I now have Orca/Dungeness speakers from Blumenstein.  There are also a number of kits from Madisound.com.

[John EH]

Yep.  Old saying goes "if the 1st watt sounds bad, why would you want 50 more?". 

I have an old Bottlehead Paramour amp kit with the SEXy speaker kit and I could make you leave the room if I turned it up.   Right speakers and 2 watts is one too many.

[RPMac]

Sweet detail is way better than loud.

Stereomour w/45s and low gain DHT driver> low gain BeePre> mid 90dB speakers
Still loud enough that the wife makes me turn it down.

[Cary]

I personally think you can not go wrong with the SEX amp. The Sex kit is fun to build, moron proof instructions. The main thing to do is take your time building it. For speakers Fostex is offering complete kits with cabinets, drivers, and wiring for around $150.00 depending on the driver you chose.

[Jmm]

Awesome thanks for the responses confirming what I was thinking - the sexy speaker kit with fostex 6.5 drivers. I'm very much looking forward to it, bought some akg 514mkii's yesterday to plug into it in case I could not wait to build the speakers quick enough. Seem to be great headphones so far. 
Cary: can u give me a name or location on that fostex kit? The one I was looking at suggested by bottlehead and available thru madusoynd was gonna be about 5 bills all in with woofers included. If I can get something comparable for 159$ I'm interested.

Thanks y'all.

[Cary]

Here is the link to the speakers

www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/fostex-p1000e-diy-kanspea-4-full-range-speaker-kit-pair/

 BTW the price is for a pair.

I built a a pair of bass reflex speakers using the Fostex FE103En drivers, it sounds great with the SEX amp. Here is a review from a show by a fellow Bottlehead:

so i went to the show in davis yesterday and it was nice to meet fellow bottlehead, cary.
he brought his good old trusted s.e.x. amp and had two very small speakers with fostex drivers that looked similar in size to the orcas from blumenstein. although i could not stay to the end of the show and only got the chance to listen to a few tunes on caries setup, it was, to my ears, the best sounding setup of the show. although there were some very impressive diy speakers showcased ranging from small to enormous, cary had the only setup that was driven with a tube amp.
and maybe that made all the difference to me. and maybe i am just biased because i am a bottlehead fan. i do not have any audiophile words for it, i only know that caries tube setup sounded more natural and pleasing to the ear. there was an effortless quality to the music. i was not trying to analyze it and listen for the characteristic of the speakers the music just immediately sounded nice. its always impressive when 2 watts and tiny speakers can achieve that. this experience makes me very curious about what some of these single driver speakers can do. maybe that needs to be next on my list after i am done tweaking my original s.e.x amps that i am working on currently. thanks cary for bringing your gear, too bad i couldn't stay longer to listen more. best, stefan




I am very happy you chose the SEX amp, it sounds fantastic. After you have had it for a while  consider purchasing the Bottlehead Power Cord. It really does make a difference in the sound quality.

Cary

[Grainger49]

Jmm,

According to Cary's link this is the speaker that should pop up:

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/fostex-p1000e-diy-kanspea-4-full-range-speaker-kit-pair/

I just got a dead link message from Madisound.

[Jmm]

Thanks again granger and Cary. Good stuff. I'm gonna definitely check those out. And after I read the review and build steps for the power cord I did suspect the cord would make a difference. For what I save on this new speaker set up I might could eat the cost of the cord.

I have been thinking about a new problem however. My dj'ing set up is 2 technic 1200's through a pioneer djm-850. It's a great sound at it's price and solid under use too. I'm just hoping it will be effective in conjunction with the s.e.x. as I am going to use that amp for listening, production, and mixtapes as well.