As Doc B. said, taking the trip to Bottlehead HQ was well beyond worth it. Thanks again very much for spending the time looking it over and putting in the new transformer for me. Listening to it the last few days has been absolutely amazing! The amp paired with 650s is kind of re-defining music listening for me right now, I couldn't be happier.
Super blown away by the service walking into Bottlehead. I don't think Ive had that good of an experience anywhere else before, as soon as I showed up Dan basically dropped whatever was going on and prioritized his time and full attention to looking the amp over and working with it until it was up and running and even safely taped and packed for my return trip. Wow. Thanks so much! Also nice to know that it wasn't a totally screwy build on my part, just that backwards diode that wreaked havoc on the transformer the first round.
I haven't even been able to get around to finalizing the gluing or finishing of the wood because every time I go to do it I end up turning it on and just listening to music instead. I think that says a lot about a combination of my laziness and mostly how amazing this amp sounds.