BeePre sound signature

[m17xr2b]

Hello, I have a Moon 600i integrated amp and I sometimes use my Quickie instead of the 600i preamp with great results in some cases. For certain types of music I like the added warmth to voices. My plan is to upgrade to the BeePre but only if it will warm/change the sound. I know tubes are a big factor here and I plan to roll some of them but I need to know the base signature for the PreBee. If it's neutral I guess it won't do any good as the 600i preamp should already be neutral and I'm looking to color the sound. If it will sound even better that the 600i preamp that would be a bonus but I'm not holding my breath on it.

[Doc B.]

BeePre definitely exhibits the weight of the 300B. It's not slow or wooly, but it does have the lower midrange body associated with that tube.

[RPMac]

Voices are real.

[m17xr2b]

Thank you both, that is what I wanted to hear. The quickie already does an a fine job and I am really intrigued of using a 300B preamp.
I plan to use the Elrog 300B with 8uf Jupiter HT flat-stacked caps. The input of my amp is 26K so 8uf should be fine(hopefully?) as I cannot find the 10uf anywhere for these caps.

[tsingle999]

I loved the quickie but once the beepre was built all I can say is wow. it is way better than the quickie....

[johnsonad]

Be weary of those Elrogs, they are one of the most microphonics tube out there, especially in the BeePre. I love my pair but they lasted all of three minutes in the BeePre.

[jjvornov]

I'd say the most impressive aspect of the BeePre is the linear bandwidth of the preamp for a tube design. I get beautiful, real extension of highs and real body in midrange and bass. I think the only drawback as mentioned is microphonics which is somewhat tube dependent, but can be largely defeated by weighting and isolating the tube and chassis. With that now largely controlled, I just love the sound

[m17xr2b]

Thanks, can't wait to start working on it. As I'm on stable 230V using a regenerator is there anything I keep in mind since the beePre is 240V?

[Paul Birkeland]

Thanks, can't wait to start working on it. As I'm on stable 230V using a regenerator is there anything I keep in mind since the beePre is 240V?

You should be just fine with the regenerator.  Bumping to 235V wouldn't hurt anything, but I don't believe that you'll find that necessary.

-PB

[m17xr2b]

My regenerator is fixed as 230V. What is the drawback of running it at this voltage? Lower power, less current for the tubes?
While I wait for the kit to arrive I have my custom box ready. I really wanted a glossy finish. Thank you Caucasian Blackplate for the dimensions.
http://imgur.com/yhHXA0g
I have bought a pair of 8uf Jupiter HT flat stack but after reading the manual I'm not sure if I should replace the output or voltage amplifier caps. I got too ahead of myself on this, any help is appreciated.
Also I would like to use some OCC wiring to replace the red and black 9 feet ones. Is 26 gauge enough?
This is my third bottlehead kit and I'm determined to make it the best.

[Paul Birkeland]

My regenerator is fixed as 230V. What is the drawback of running it at this voltage?

There shouldn't be any.  If the incoming voltage dips too low, noise can become an issue.

I have bought a pair of 8uf Jupiter HT flat stack but after reading the manual I'm not sure if I should replace the output or voltage amplifier caps.

The output caps (the ones by the 300B tubes, not the ones at the balanced outputs)

Also I would like to use some OCC wiring to replace the red and black 9 feet ones. Is 26 gauge enough?

What about the white wire in the kit also?  26 AWG is a little on the low side for certain parts of the kit, and I've also had some experience with the foamed teflon insulation on certain OCCC wire flaking off after 5-ish years.  If you can get 22 AWG, that would be a much better way to go.

-PB

[m17xr2b]

I have finished my stock build but I have a couple of weird voltages: D1 has 0.06V and 37 has -0.05.I also measured by mistake D4,D5,D6,D7 with 6.55 but I saw after it's N/A. I also have a slight channel imbalance but also slightly less  voltage on one side for example 10 is 180.1 and 15 is 182.1 but withing the margin of error.
Even so it sounds great and I have to admit better that I expected, the 300B are exactly what I was looking for. I will give a few days to make sure it's stable and then install the BeQuiet, jupiters and elrog.
Could I replace the XLR output with another RCA? Is it as easy as removing the caps and linking the the positive and negative with the existing RCA output? I would like to output to two amps at the same time.

[creechg]

The BeePre certainly does sound amazing, glad to hear that you felt the same as I did when I first started to break it in.  If you're like me, the first 100 hours will be very rewarding.

I also swapped the XLR for a second RCA, as you describe, by directly connecting with output 1 in parallel.

I swapped the 10uF coupling caps to a Jupiter HT Flat Stacked 3.3uF, and I had a mounting bracket 3D printed to hold the cap over the BeeQuiet.  I've been meaning to offer up the model file to the community, but have been too busy listening   See the attached file for an idea of my solution.

Let us know how the Elrog 300b work out.  I've been considering rolling a different 300b; although to be fair, I don't think it's the limiting factor in my system (just cheaper than a VPI Classic/Prime that I've been drooling over, that's for sure  ).

[physicsmajor]

...
Could I replace the XLR output with another RCA? Is it as easy as removing the caps and linking the the positive and negative with the existing RCA output? I would like to output to two amps at the same time.

Yes, you can, and it is exactly that simple!  I did this in my build - works like a charm.  Wanted a balanced input rather than a balanced output (I biamp, but my downstream amps are both single-ended).  I followed the guide for the balanced inputs, except used the included jacks.  Still looking for input transformers, so that input isn't usable yet, but both outputs work great. 

[Paul Birkeland]

You can also just plug an xlr to RCA adapter into the balanced output to achieve the same goal.