Bottlehead Single Ended eXperimenter's Kit 2.1 Discussions | Drop

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Bottlehead Single Ended eXperimenter's Kit 2.1

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Bottlehead Single Ended eXperimenter's Kit 2.1

gama

Jul 24, 2014

A step up from Crack + Speedball. Nice! Will be watching this drop lol

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Delete

Jul 24, 2014

gamaNot really a step up. Just a different application. The crack is more for high impedance sets. This is a completely different topology, and made for sets that need a decent amount of power. Plus the sex has speaker outputs. Even tho I haven't found a compatible pair that isnt DIY

JDWarner

349

Jul 25, 2014

DeleteHaving bought and built both kits, compared them side by side on the HD650, I have to say the S.E.X. is absolutely a definite step up when the upgrades are included, as they are in this drop.
I sold the Crack. The S.E.X. is here to stay.

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Delete

Jul 25, 2014

JDWarnerYour opinion. I'm sure others would disagree.

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JDWarner

349

Jul 25, 2014

DeleteIt's the consensus of the majority I'm aware of that has had the opportunity to audition them back to back. Peruse Loquah's thread on Head-Fi for more in-depth thoughts and corroboration.

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Delete

Jul 26, 2014

JDWarnerI've heard both myself at a few meets. I'm not about to get into a pissing match either. I take everything on headfi with a grain of salt. Reviews and info is quite skewed IMO.

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onelivewire

Jul 30, 2014

JDWarnerJD - did you happen to have any upgrades on the crack+speedball? I personally found that replacing the output caps, bypassing the third PSU cap, and modding to run a 5687 tube in place of the 12au7 did WONDERS for the crack, and I'm quite interested to see how these extra DIY upgrades compare to the stock S.E.X.

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JDWarner

349

Aug 1, 2014

onelivewireI did roll the 12AU7 to an RCA cleartop, which I thought evened out the bloom, but left the circuit alone.
The S.E.X. is more moddable/upgradeable on the component side, and less so on the tube rolling side. I concur with Loquah on Head-Fi that you could probably get a Crack to sound about as good as a stock S.E.X. with tube rolling and mods (which would probably make it more expensive at that point), but the S.E.X. is going to take a solid lead once you install the C4S and upgrade a couple of key caps.
My S.E.X. has both impedance switches and C4S upgrades, as well as upgraded film resistors in two key locations on the C4S board, two pairs of upgraded film/teflon caps, and another set of upgraded resistors.
It is, quite simply, the best amp I've ever heard. And I made it myself.

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