Limited Edition Kaiju Kits

[Doc B.]

The Kaiju 300B amplifier kit has been getting a lot of positive reviews as an exceptional amplifier. We thought it would be appropriate to offer a special limited edition of the Kaiju that brings the level of visual refinement of the amp up to that of the sonic refinement. And so we are producing a run of eleven Limited Edition Kaiju kits. It was going to be twelve, but Doc liked the look so much he decided to keep one for himself.

• Each chassis has been painted with a bronze hammer finish acrylic lacquer

• The top mounted plate chokes are a special edition that are fully enclosed in end bells and finished with a complementary copper hammer finish lacquer, along with the power transformer bell end.

• This premium kit includes the Kaiju 300B DC filament supply

• The hardware is all black, including the Neutrik RCA jacks

• Binding posts are Cardas tellurium copper

• Cream colored chicken head knobs are included for the level trim adjusters.

• The base is custom milled from walnut by the millwright who makes our production alder bases, to the same precise standards. You can finish it any way you like, and we will be happy to share info on how we applied a high quality gunstock oil finish to the prototype shown here. We even include the usually optional Bottlehead badge with this kit.

• The kit will ship with Electro Harmonix Gold Grid 300Bs.

http://bottlehead.com/product/kaijulimited/

pics up next week.

[fritzthecat]

Hi Doc

is there any possibility to get hold of the covers you are using for the chokes with the signature kit? Or could I send the chockes I got with the second Kaiju Kit back, pay the difference and get a couple of chokes with covers? That would be great.

Beside the bibding posts and some optical improvements are there also parts different from the stock Kaiju being used within the limited edition?

[Doc B.]

As the word limited implies, there are only enough of the custom chokes to go with the complete kits offered in this special production run. The limited kits offer excellent quality underchassis components and circuit design in a cosmetic package that I feel matches well with the sonic performance.

[fritzthecat]

So that means I would have to order one to find out...;-)

[bombay317]

is there any chance there is going to be another run of these limited edition kits?

[Doc B.]

We don't have any immediate plans to do another run. It requires quite an investment - both dollar-wise and in terms of our shrinking warehouse space. We did sell the first run out and I think the owners are quite happy with the result. But it took over a year to sell out.

I think for a second run we would have to do the sort of thing we have done in the past with the DAC and the speakers, which is to do a pre-order and then have the parts made after people have placed enough orders. In this case the minimum before we could have the parts made would be a dozen orders.  The question is, how long would the first people to order be willing to leave their money "on hold" while others make up their minds? We would have to get everyone's order within a two to four week window, I think.

I'll give this some thought and if there seems to be enough interest posted here we can perhaps attempt to rally enough orders for a run in the new year.

Along these lines, I have wondered if anyone would be interested in a run of Limited Eros phono preamp kits to match the Limited Kaijus and BeePres. Post any interest in that here as well.

[bombay317]

Well, I was planning on trying to get a few things, the BeePre, the Kaiju, and the Jäger Speaker Kit.  I already have a phono stage, but i could be convinced to get a second one for comparison (especially if it is in the limited edition that would match the PreBee for aesthetic reasons).  Of the things i see that are available, I would probably just buy the Limited Edition BeePre right now as I wait for the second run of speakers. 

I guess if there would be another run of the Limited Edition Kaiju Kits, I would probably wait on ordering the Kaiju Kit.  However, what would probably really end up happening is that i would buy the regular edition Kaiju and hope that other people would go for the LE one later and get on that gravy train when it leaves the station.

[Doc B.]

Another possible option is a sort of hybrid - ordering the stock Kaiju kit and having a custom walnut base made by our wood supplier, Harmonic Design Works. JR tells me he is able to get a consistent supply of the nicely grained walnut we used. The panels and transformers are finished in a readily available hammertone spray lacquer (I would have to look up the brand and colors, as I don't remember). One could find their own black hardware, knobs etc. So conceivably you could DIY the look to be about 90% of the way we did the Limited kits. It would be a lot more work, but doable.

And just to be clear, the Limited kits were customized in terms of cosmetics only. We put our best effort into the sonics of the Kaiju, and the sonic quality of the stock kit and Limited kits is identical.

[ipetruk]

> http://bottlehead.com/product/kaijulimited/

This link does not work for me

[Doc B.]

That link no longer exists, as the limited edition kit sold out 4 years ago. If you are interested in the specs you can look at the standard Kaiju page, which with the DC filament upgrade is electrically identical.

https://bottlehead.com/product/kaiju-300b-amplifier-kit/

I do have my personal limited edition Kaiju and BeePre for sale (as a set only). Email [email protected] for more info.

[joralieu]

What exactly is the paint you used on the plate choke and transformer bells?

[Doc B.]

If I remember correctly it is Rustoleum Hammered spray. Sorry to say I don't recall the colors used. You can see how to do this in my video.

https://youtu.be/Kidk-vMwvIU?si=bHQbbrnCjPHHggQk

[debk]

It looks like Copper Rustoleum Hammered.  It's what I use in my builds too.


Debra

[Doc B.]

Yeah, I think the end bells are the copper and the chassis is probably the brown, which is sort of a medium/light bronze.

[FS]

Yes, looks like hammered copper on the bell and the chokes. Hammered bronze on the plate. These Rustoleum hammered metal sprays are my favorites, too!