Bijou All Tube Futterman Headphone Amplifier - Page 127

Hope that's it. I was at a slight disadvantage, using the converter. If I had Pabbi's source it would have been easier. But just way too crazy and expensive to do.

will running the bijou balanced offer more current delivery to the balanced K701? how about with respect to the BJT multipliers i have?

I forget what the specification is for a balanced Bijou, but undoubtedly 4 channels produces more power than 2. Therefore, I would expect more current to be available from the output stage. I will leave the rest for Runeight to answer.

OK, 3 solid hours of listening tonight, and no static whatsoever. Yesterday it was after about 20 minutes... go figure. And, no hints of out of phase - just wonderful goodness. With not so much as pulling off the cover difference.

Gotta love this hobby.

Edit: Dry, heated air, and static? Now, this is crazy, but the heater was on last night pretty consistently, but not so tonight - and mayhaps me touching the knobs / pots touched it off, so to speak? Everything is grounded via the IEC, so, surely static electricity is not a factor?

Normally this would be true, but the current output of each single ended amp is limited by the O/P triodes going to positive grid. The SE version can drive the headphones to this limit and so the balanced version cannot drive beyond this limit to make quadruple the power.

If the O/P stages were not current limited by positive grid conditions then indeed the balanced version would quadruple the power output.

Probably not static electricity if everything is grounded to metal. I'm still wondering about tube pins and sockets. This almost always what causes this kind of noise for me.

What kind of music are you listening to now?

thanks runeight.

pabbi1, have you tried shorting IN to IN Ground yet?

No, I was trying to induce the static sound first before shorting, since the problem wasn't there to test.

Listening to the same thing as yesterday - 'Sticky Fingers' (Rolling Stones, with lots of distortion and sound saturation), but crystal clear tonight. Then Radiohead, Hoobastank and Rhianna.

Tubes are still a suspect, or the sockets, as one fits rather less tightly than the others. I did deoxit all the tubes, and apply some quicksilver to help solidify the contacts, but I can't tell that it made any difference one way or the other. So far, it seems random. Next I'll short IN and ING when I hear it, but hard to believe attenuators at this point. So, I'll go after systematically changing out tubes - any a more likely suspect than the other? That is the only 'interesting' thing about Russian surplus tubes - none known better than others, but I guess they can be run through the tube tester, huh?

In the mean time, the amp continues to impress. Just beautiful to listen to.

good to hear. hopfully it's only a socket or pin that is now clean.

i hope to have the rest of my resistors on Mon. to complete my attenuators, and another XLR to balance my HD650. right now, i only have enough gain for albums that are mastered "hotter".

the air and ambience with K701 is spectacular - you feel like you're in the venue, when the recording allows. resolution, presence, resolution and more presence. highs are never piercing, but extremly detailed and extend upwards for what seems like forever. the widest and deepest soundstage i've ever heard.

this amp times like my old Naim gears, but without the fatiguing highs, poor instrument separation, and truncated tonality. rhythms ebb and flow, allowing the music makes more "sense". the Bijou's impressive instrument separation helps quite a bit.

i'll post more impressions later. i'm one happy bunny.

Hey guys, I'm really considering building this amp and I'd like some opinions before I jump in. I purchased a pair of HD650's about a month ago, and so far I'm really enjoying them. Currently I'm driving them with a Millet Max, with blackgates bypassed by VitQs and 2SA2344/2SA1011 BJT output transistors. I love the setup right now, but everything I've read seems to indicate that HD650's love all-tube amps, and a LOT of people who build the Bijou seem to be driving 650s (from a quick browse of the various Bijou threads). I was wondering if anyone has had a chance to compare the two amps with 650s and could give me an idea on the different sonics of the two setups, and if it is a "real" upgrade to go to an all-tube design like this that is still in the price class of the Max, or if it would be better to save money and go for a more expensive, all-out amp down the line like a balanced beta22, etc.

Thanks for any suggestions.

While I do love the sound of my Millet Max, it isn't fair to compare the 2 amplifiers. The Bijou runs with the authority that higher power will bring. I have listened to the Bijou with K701 in SE mode and HD650 in balanced mode. But not with HD650 in SE mode. My interpretation is the they both sound fantastic, and the HD650's are darker or more prominent with lower mids. That said, the Bijou is an awesome amplifier, and if you decide to build it, welcome to the club. Now that you have successfully built the Millett Max, you are probably ready to carefully build the Bijou, paying close attention to High Voltage safety procedures.

Pabbi, there is one thing that I noticed about your amplifier sockets that might cause intermittent static sound. They are phenolic, but more importantly they have a light grip of the pins, versus the ceramic sockets that I am used to, which have a firm grip on the tube pins. I don't know that I could recommend replacing all of the amp board sockets with ceramic, but if you did want to you could install the uber silver/gold contact variety. It would be a hell of an undertaking though, removing tube sockets is not for the faint of heart. ;-/

Well, I am not going to replace the sockets - too much risk. In reality, it is only 2 of the sockets that are a bit loose, or rather, don't grip with authority. How about this - might I 'plump up' the pins a bit by tinning with solder? Since these are $4 tubes, that seems a path of lesser resistance - and, yes, would always have to be so - but at once every year or two, I can live with that.

WRT Bijou vs MillettMax, I have dreaded this discussion. Caveats: I have no experience in SE with either configuration, and my Max has Cerrafine / Muse with VitQ. Oh, and the Millett has an OPUS DAC vs the Bijou using an Azur 840c (very unfair fight, but we'll continue on).

Amphead has already laid out the technical differences in low V - high V, but it is a lot more than that. The Bijou rolls quite a number of tubes, where the Max has 3 basic flovors, where I am forever committed to the 12fk6 (found the 12ae6a way too bright). Also, I use all Russian tubes in the Bijou, 6n1p and 6n6p, so, again, my impressions are based on that alone. Finally, I usually prefer my hd600 to the hd650, and there is the matter of which cable, the Apuresound vs Enigma Oracle, the best two Senn aftermarket cables available, IMHO.

Ok, the Bijou is simply superior on instrument seperation, soundstage, component (instruments, vocals, effects) placement. The Max smooths out some rough edges, but the Bijou presents exactly what is there in a 'stat way (Stax mafia alert).

I don't want to say much more than that, as I want several second opinions, and direct comparisons against big guns, like the balanced Beta 22, RSA anything, Singlepower anything, and even against my Blue Hawaii / he60. THAT is where the comparison needs to be made, not against the Max.

The Max is very nice getting into hybrids as a safe voltage, but, the real thing you need to look at also is the SOHA II. Senns love them both.

But, Bijou also love the Senns, and Senns love it back.

I would love to know how the Bijou stax up (BONUS) against the Aikido also, especially in light of fierce freak's comparison of the aikido to his own beta22, and giving the nod to the aikido in more than one area.
Wanna trade for awhile?
Is a mini-meet in order?
Since I own a millettHybrid, I won't give millett/aikido impressions, I just wanna listen.
Ain't it all good anyway?
I'm kinda partial to the 12FK6 also.

pabbi and amphead, that seems like a pretty ringing endorsement for the Bojou vs. the Max. Kind of surprised really, because I really do like my Max a lot, although I haven't had the luxury of hearing a balanced beta22 or RSA B-52 or anything in that class. Like I said though, I've heard in multiple independent sources that the 650s really love that all-tube power.

Anyone else with a take?

Do not mistake me - I have been listening to the Millett daily since my BH went on sabbatical (January, but now returned from the dead). The problem you will encounter is that very few folks have a Bijou, and Amphead and I are the only two I know of that happen to have built both.

I also urge you to wait for other posts - we will be shooting these amps out at the Dallas meet against the top players (Beta 22, Zana Deaux, Singlepower, and more), so, sadly the people who can comment is very limited at the moment.

More are likely to be able to comment about Max vs SOHA II - and sadly again, the higher voltage wins again, rather handily.

Oh, Senns love tubes - I had Wheatfield HA-1 and HA-2 prior to this, and a first generation Millett - tubes are the answer for hd6x0.