Bijou All Tube Futterman Headphone Amplifier - Page 137

I couldn't agree more. I'm also running 6H30's with Regal's mod's, ECC99's, into HD600's. Actually, I 'stole' the 6H30 idea from you (thanks). Alex
should list a huskydawg9 6H30 mod on his site.

Actually, it's not really a mod. Just Alex's guidance on how to roll different tubes. The key is to install sockets so you can easily change R2 values.

I like the ability to go back and forth and easily try different combinations. Initially I thought the 6N1p's were very comparable to the 6H30's. But Regal's mod changed all that for me. It REALLY made the 6H30's blossom. GO FOR IT. Even with the new stock...it's worth it.

I'd love to compare the NOS dream 6H30 tubes with the Sovtek new stock side by side... as the Sovtek's are VERY sweet as is...

Rush and Geddy Lee are punctuating this statement at MAXIMUM VOLUME, perfect clarity, as I write this...

Just spotted this.

I finished a CK2III earlier this year and it continues to be my favorite amp. We had it at a meet and it performed perfectly well with Sennheiser AND Grado. What a surprise. We couldn't believe it. There were some naysayers...until they tried the two brands back to back!

Yes, another vote for Alex here. Thanks for the musical gifts!

if i understand correctly, the cap multiplier mod i added to my PSs, and the tweaked higher idle current (5mA) with Regal's Mod, i should have enough current to feed the 6H30 and splitter stages? would it be beneficial to have a higher idle current for the 6H30? R2 is socketed as well.

as far as tweaking for lower headphone impedance, the amount of current available is limited to what the O/P tubes can deliver:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/5027221-post1895.html

I have to put the logo on the back burner for a little while. I bought the aluminum for my balanced Bijou chassis, and have started that build. I figured out how to get a decent brushed aluminum look on the front panel which is 1/4 inch plate aluminum. I get my aluminum from a scrap metal business that sells it by the pound. First I cleaned it with dish soap, then I started sanding in strokes that only go in the lengthwise direction with, 320, 600, and then 1200 silicon carbide paper. While doing the last hour of sanding I used a guide on the edge of the panel to make sure the sanding was laser straight. It now looks like the stuff you see on the fancy elevators. Once I get far enough along, I'll post some pics. Edit: dimensions are 18 & 1/16 inches long by 14 & 1/2 inches wide and 3 & 1/2 inches tall. Just by chance it is exactly down to the millimeter as long as the NABU case, but 4 & 1/2 wider than the NABU and 1/2 inch shorter. That 4 & 1/2 inches is crucial to allowing enough of a footprint.

i re-wired my Bijou this morning with only one 2 deck attenuator for balanced (see pabbi1's attenuator thread). sounds great, less work, and 1/2 the $$$.

i think building your own enclosure opens up a lot of layout possibilties. i assume that your tubes will be exposed through the top? i'm excited to see what you come up with.

Regal mod and tube rolling?

I'm a little bit confused on the R2 values using the Regal Mod. The input stage with 6922's shows R2 @ 487R. What values should be used with 6N1P and 6H30? I did put sockets in so I'm ready to roll. ;-) as soon as I finish it that is.

They are:

6H30 - 1k3
6N1P - 180

Note that the cathode bias on the 6n1p will only be about 900mV.

i took out the Oyaide wire that i was using for signal hook-up wiring. i replaced it with the SPC from Navships that i had in before, but left the Kiwame 100K I/O resistor on my shunt attenuator soldered in. i lost some transients and imaging with the "thicker" sounding Oyaide - now it's all back with the SPC back in. i also prefer the the Kiwame over the Vishay at the I/O resistor with the K701. the HD650 can also play blugrass now. i just finished this phenominal album:



more cable and resistor tweaks/experiments to come...

I just dropped in Beck's 'Sea Change' - and just, for lack of a better term, (figuratively) crawled up into the amp. The snap and speed are back with the TKD burnin - I will be quite interested in shooting this out against the SOHA II when it comes back in for a cleaning in a few weeks after two months in the desert.

Or, maybe Marc will have his uber SOHA Deuce built by the January DFW meet.

This amp (speaking Bijou generally, not mine specifically) deserves more fans than it has currently.

Did I mention this amp loves guitars?

Yeah, I have heard a lot of great amps this year, having heard Orpheus phones paired with many different amps. The balanced Bijou gives some outstanding sound at a price point that makes it particularly attractive. When it is built properly with a quiet background and with good caps, tubes it really sings. It can be built quiet, with strictly parallel wiring of the heaters and tightly twisted wire with the ground mod.

I must have been lucky with my build, I cant detect any noise what so ever - even at max volume. I dont have the ground mod.

To use the 6H30's I am assuming you are using a separate filament transformer, because the 6H30's are using at least an amp more current, or is the standard transformer good enough ?

Gents, I hope you will permit me to offer a few thoughts on Pabbi1's sentence about the Bijou deserving more fans (I appreciate the thoughts Pabbi1).

But first, let me say that I never have a problem with people comparing amplifiers. I think anyone should feel comfortable comparing any amp to any other amp just to hear the differences. You may compare a $50 amp to a $1000 amp just to hear how the more expensive amp is better. Or you may compare two amps of similar price and technology to find out that the less expensive one is actually better. Or you may compare a hybrid amp to an all SS amp to see if you can hear differences. Etc. After all, what this hobby is about is the listening experience.

That said, I think that one thing that is happening to the Bijou is that it may be being put into the wrong class. That is, I have seen it compared often to the b22 amp from AMB, sometimes with a question as to which is the more satisfying/better build. Naturally, the Bijou can't really stand in this comparison because:

1. The b22 is a brilliant high performance SS amplifier. Quickly counting the active devices in one channel, including the jfets in the CRDS, says that there are about 34 active devices in this amp. All of these devices are bent towards achieving the high performance of that amp. When you factor in the s22 supply, there are many more active devices. But, because sand is so cheap, the amp is very reasonably priced. I don't have a b22, but I rather expect that it is quite something to listen to, particularly in balanced mode.

2. The Bijou, OTOH, is designed to be an entry level HV tube amp - something that an individual who has been wanting to try his hand at tubes could build with excellent results at modest cost. If you count the number of active devices in one channel of the Bijou it is exactly 4 (four triode sections). There is no sand, not even a CCS, in an effort to maintain a kind of tube purity in the amp channels. The PS has two fets in it, yes, but that's the only sand.

Now despite this difference, the Bijou is still very good at what it does and can, at times, be brilliant itself. I do recall one individual saying that after making the regal mod he retired his DV337. This is, perphaps, a better comparison for the amp.

Now, I am NOT complaining, as per my strong feelings above about comparisons. Only suggesting that the Bijou's reach may be being limited in part by what it's currently being compared to. OTOH, I have not seen, by any means, all of the comments here and in other places about the amp, so I may be totally wrong about this and will be very happy to hear comments from others that indicate that this may not be so.

Furthermore, I am, as always, very grateful for the folks on this thread who have built the amp and who continue to listen to it.