Anyone using a Bottlehead S.E.X. 2.1?

I have a S.E.X. as well and have been using it with HD800s, LCD-2.2s, and HD650s.  It has sounded great with all of them.  I got this after hearing it at a meet.  One of the few times I went "Wow" when hearing something new.

 

Would you consider it an upgrade to the Crack, or at least as good?  

 

That is something I am interested to know, too. Subscribed. 

Thanks much for your impressions.  I ended up with a S.E.X. that also has the impedance switches, and the C4S already installed.  Different jacks, some Cardas wiring on the inside as well as a new Alps pot.  I think my problem is that I jumped straight to the S.E.X. without hearing the Crack first (since I knew the Crack wouldn't do well with my orthos).  There isn't a doubt that the S.E.X. isn't more versatile, I just wonder if it does as well as the Crack at its specialty of high impedance cans.  

 

Too bad there aren't really tube rolling options for the S.E.X. (or maybe that is a good thing - saves me money).

Hey all,

 

I'm super intrigued by these amps and have thought about building one for awhile. Are you guys hooking up orthos or the K1000 directly to the speaker taps or using the headphone out? Does your unit have the resistors on the headphone out? Are you guys running the 2.1 or 2.0?

 

thanks

2.1 with the constant current and impedance switch boards. No resistor on headphone jack. Have run both HE-500, HE-6, and LCD-2 balanced from headphone out. HE-6 sounded great, with good, controlled bass. Others sounded good too, but not surprising since they didn't need the power available.

I didn't build mine, but I have been thinking about doing a rebuild and adding in some boutique caps to see if they change the sound. Still not sure if I want to drop $400 on the transformer upgrade despite claims that it takes the amp into top tier territory. It is already one if the best amps I have ever heard, though meet listening isn't always the most reliable.

Use SEX 2.1 (with impedance switches & CS4) with my vintage STAX SR Lambda /SDR-7/SB.  Sounds good to me. 
 

Edited by Oberst Oswald - 3/7/13 at 3:48pm

 

Which amp of yours do you use for the HD800 (ie are you using the S.E.X.)?  How does the Stello do for you in that setup - do you think it does the HD800s and the Stax setups justice?  It is very hard to sort through all the DAC options.

Thanks for the info... I'm very tempted to grab one of these kits to build up. Are you guys hooking up everything through the headphone out? Is it giving enough juice for let's say a HE-500? 

 

Really the debate is between this and a Schiit Mjolnir. It's a tough call. 

More than enough juice through the headphone out for the HE-500 and LCD-2s to my ears.  Even the HE-6 sounds great (although I haven't heard them through any other powerful amps outside of meets).  I am not familiar enough with electrical engineering to know for sure, but I don't think you gain anything going through the speaker taps as opposed to the headphone out, especially if you have the impedance boards installed.  You could post over on the Bottlehead forum.  They are usually shockingly fast at answering questions, and quite friendly, too.  Very rarely are simple (maybe even stupid) questions responded to with snark or condescension.  

 

Unfortunately, I haven't heard the Mjolnir to compare.  Cutting edge SS value vs old school tube value.  From what I understand you won't be disappointed performance-wise for either option, but depending on your nature, you might appreciate the S.E.X. more after building it (and tweaking it if you want).  I plan to do a rebuild of sorts for my S.E.X. once I finish my B22 build.