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Bottlehead's TOTL DIY tube amplifer
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Bottlehead Mainline
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I have felt compelled to attempt my first review after recently building Bottleheads premium diy headphone amplifier offering the Bottlehead Mainline. I have built a few of their kits now and the Mainlines abilities have really stood out from other amps I have built or owned in the past. The design is about a year old but the linage and some of the techniques Bottlehead have developed and used in its topology can be traced back much further and has trickled down from their highly regarded custom headphone and speaker amplifier designs.
There are only a couple of reviews about so thought it would be a good idea to add some of my own initial impression of how the amp sounds as a reference to come back to later and perhaps reappraise. I'm not going to go over the technical specs as these can be easily found on the Bottlehead website.
So on with my two cents worth.
How does it sound? Abridged version
The Mainline sounds to me very much like the type of amp that is easy to fall in love with!
Refined Treble experience
The Mainlines treble reproduction is well balanced and incredibly enjoyable. With both the Sennheiser HD800 and Beyerdynamic T1’s which are both known to be a little finicky in this area the higher registers are beautifully rendered, crisp, clean, nuanced, accurate and just oh so revealing yet still remain refined and effortlessly smooth, never impolite (unless its on the recording). Cymbals, high hats ting and shimmer tantalising, tin whistles are never shrill and a trumpet screams convincingly brassy.
Bottlehead masters of midrange magic.
The Mainline simply excels in its midrange delivery and the sense of presence achieved is glorious.
The high praise the Mainline has received in the headfi community certainly feels justly deserved to me and the mid range is certainly where a goodly dose of Mainline/Bottlehead magic can be said to be happening. Texturing, note weight, layering, density of tone, decay and the oh so delicate nuances of those finer details in vocals and acoustic instruments that headphones like the HD800 are capable of resolving from musicians/artists likes of Eva Cassidy, Ruth Moody, Melody Gardot, Gregory Porter, Cara Dillon, The Whailin Jennys’ Alison Krauss, Alicia Keys (the list goes on and on) can be very captivating.
Be it light and breezy or fast and heavy the Mainline feels effortlessly capable and has handled everything I have thrown at it so far with finesse and constantly amazes with its ability.
There is definitely a sense of naturalness here and music feels more alive, be it the sense of an orchestral piece building to its crescendo the mournful weep of violins the wail of a electric guitar solo or a naked and laid bare for all to see unaccompanied fragile and delicate vocal the Mainline is capable of digging deep and conveying considerable emotion.
Bass
This is harder to explain I don’t want to say the normal things like tight, punchy, fast and clean or impactful as it is all of them and I feel they alone they don't do the quality of the bass justice. My observation of bass is that it portrays the sound and texturing of lower register piano the deep mournful weeping notes of cello/violin or the resonance of a deeply plucked double bass string, Uilleann pipes, martial drums, deep vocals all with a tangible sense of instrumental accuracy. It might not be head thumping ,earth shaking bass but it is resolving, textured, deep and very accomplished bass.
Thoughts on sound stage
As a previous hot rodded Bottlehead Sex and Crack amp owner my observations are very much in line with Loquah’s excellent Mainline review (in fact it’s a struggle to find something new to say he has done such a good job and is a hard act to follow).
For me the Mainline here is all about accurate separation, positioning, layering and giving individual instruments their own sense of space and individuality of tone without merging into the surrounding instruments while still being coherent and immersive. With the Mainline the sound stage feels like a banquet laid out before you and is without doubt a feast for the ears. You can sit back and take in the glory of the whole table and the feast laid out before you or zoom in and concentrate your attention on devouring your favourite morsels. The Mainlines abilities here are superb. While it is not the most spacious super wide of sound stages that can amaze but can also feel a bit unnatural at times the sound stage is portrayed in a very coherent, competent and compelling manner.
Take away impressions
The Mainline has exceled with everything that has been thrown at it so far, rock, string quartet, symphonic, funk, bluegrass and acapella as examples.
The high point without doubt for me is how the Mainline portrays small ensemble acoustic music such as folk and bluegrass and both associated male and female vocal, the naturalness, speed, finesse and delicacy this amp is capable of revealing with the HD800 can be/is truly stop you in your tracks beguiling. It has the ability to resolve and articulate the smallest of details then serve them up in the most delicious of ways.
The Mainline amp is a real triumph from Bottlehead, combined with the Sennhiser HD800 they make for a beguiling and highly enjoyable combination which has very much redefined my personal expectations of what is capable with headfi and without doubt sets a incredibly high benchmark with its performance at its price point.
pedalcolorado
JamieMcC, am I correct that you biult this? If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you?
JamieMcC
Hi yes the Mainline is a kit I purchased direct from Bottlehead and assembled myself.
It took me around 20 hrs in total with roughly 16-18 hrs to complete the electrical hooking up over three days a couple of 3hrs sessions each day, I was taking it slow and triple checking everything and probably and 2-3hrs on the wood enclosure and adding the carbon finish to the top plate. I find taking the build nice and slow was a good approach and much more enjoyable than just rushing through.
http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=7910.0
It took me around 20 hrs in total with roughly 16-18 hrs to complete the electrical hooking up over three days a couple of 3hrs sessions each day, I was taking it slow and triple checking everything and probably and 2-3hrs on the wood enclosure and adding the carbon finish to the top plate. I find taking the build nice and slow was a good approach and much more enjoyable than just rushing through.
http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=7910.0
pedalcolorado
Thanks for the insight! It sounds very enjoyable.
I have created a thread to discuss and compare the Bottlehead range of headphone amplifiers so I'll share a small excerpt here just abouthow the amp sounds, but I'd recommend heading over to the thread for much more information and opportunities to read other people's opinions and discuss your thoughts: http://www.head-fi.org/t/683012/bottlehead-amplifier-discussion-comparison-thread-crack-sex-mainline#post_9831533
Sound
As a top of the line amplifier, I had high expectations of the Mainline. My initial impressions were just OK - it sounded good, but not amazing and I wondered if it was actually better than the lower-priced S.E.X. After spending a bit longer listening to the Mainline, I can confirm that it's a clear step ahead of the S.E.X. and also of any other amplifier I've heard so far. What's a little deceiving though is the way in which the Mainline impresses, but read on - I won't spoil the fun and tell you everything in the intro!
Treble
Clean, crisp, extended and detailed, but oh so polite.
The Mainline delivers smooth, but fully extended treble without a hint of hash or grain. There's no lack of detail or clarity, but a complete lack of harshness and fatigue. The Mainline's treble presentation is the best I've heard as yet in my headphone journey. Cymbals, percussion and high frequency textures are present and clean with good weight and presence, but are well-balanced with the rest of the sonic picture. Music can still be sibilant, but only as a result of a poor recording, not because of the amplifier. As strange as it sounds, that's a good thing because it means the amp isn't adding harshness or edge to good recordings, but while also not smoothing over poor recordings - it's presenting what's there in a really polite, but accurate way.
Mids
The mids from the Mainline are simply sublime. There's a weight and substance to the mids that is reminiscent of the Crack at its best, but significantly better.
Of all the Mainline's sonic traits, the midrange is probably the defining factor to my ears and it's the weight of notes which signifies the difference. Instruments and vocals sound and feel real. I had never really noticed before that other amps of mine create a really enjoyable facsimile of the instruments in the recording. The reason I had never noticed is because I hadn't heard it done just right. Hearing the Mainline has redefined my expectation of midrange presentation from an amplifier. There's no thickness or creaminess to the midrange sounds, just a solidity and presence that's beguiling and magical.
I wondered for a while if I'd hit a sweet spot on certain tracks, but listening to a range of tracks showed that the Mainline excels on a range of instruments, male and female vocals, transient sounds (such as drum hits) and sustained notes - everything just sounds so real.
Bass
I've stated previously that the one short-coming of the S.E.X. in my eyes was it's slightly lean bass presentation. I'm pleased to report that the Mainline strikes a perfect balance between the Crack and the S.E.X. It's tighter than the Crack, but fuller than the S.E.X.
Similar to the mids, the bass from the Mainline is weighty and realistic. There is plenty of presence at the bottom end, but no bloat or bleed from the bass. As I mentioned earlier, the impedance switch can tighten or loosen the bass presentation slightly depending on your headphones, but on either setting (given appropriate impedance headphones) the bass is excellent - full, punchy, and quick with great impact, incredibly realistic weight, and just the right speed of decay.
There's not a lot more to say about the bass of the Mainline - it just does what it should - presents the bass in a realistic way that's accurate to the recording. There no emphasis or alteration that I can hear - just clean, accurate bass that's perfectly balanced with the rest of the audio spectrum.
Staging & Imaging
If I had to choose one area that the Mainline has failed to meet my expectations, it's in the area of stage size, but this needs some explanation...
The Mainline's stage is more intimate than the S.E.X.'s and I simply adore the space and size you hear when plugged into the S.E.X. The Mainline's presentation is more intimate than the S.E.X. - once again about halfway between the presentation of the Crack and the S.E.X. If the Crack is a front row seat and the S.E.X. is a 10th row seat, then the Mainline is probably a 3rd or 4th row seat. I'll discuss the differences between the Mainline and the S.E.X. in the comparison section.
The Mainline's staging is open and defined despite the more intimate placement of the music so it's not like the staging and imaging is poor, it's just not in line with my personal preferences. That said, I'm not sure that the incredible realism and weight I discussed earlier would be possible with the more distant presentation of something like the S.E.X. and I would trade that level of realism for anything
in the world.
You might be worried that a more intimate presentation equates to a congested or crowded sound - well don't be! Sounds are clearly separated and defined and the weight of notes discussed earlier make the imaging some of the most accurate and realistic I've heard. While only moderate in forward projection of the sound, the Mainline's stage is wide and has good height.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of the Mainline's staging and imaging is its ability to separate different sounds while maintaining a single overall auditory picture. This amp manages to keep a perfectly coherent representation of the musicians while also perfectly defining each sound in its own space. You can hear every instrument, vocal, noise and texture on it's own and yet also simultaneously as a part of the overall sonic tapestry. Sounds pop out of the recording when they're meant to and blend in when they're meant to, but at any time you can single out any individual sound or instrument and hear it completely on it's own without negative influence from other sounds in the recording. This all makes for an incredibly engaging listening experience and it's got me really wanting to try the Mainline with some HD800s to see what it's really capable of when it comes to staging and imaging.
Sound Summary
The Mainline's sound is effortless. It's controlled, polite and completely coherent. At first listen you may not be "wowed" by this amp, but on extended listening you soon realise that every track you hear sounds as solid and real as you've ever heard it. Nothing jumps out to amaze you, but everything sounds excellent.
I used to work for Bang & Olufsen and one of the key traits with their audio and video gear was an attention to lifelike reproduction. At first, lifelike reproduction sounds ordinary and everyday - it's only as you spend more and more time with it that you appreciation of it grows because it's completely believable and never fatiguing because nothing is overdone or enhanced. The Mainline reminds me a lot of this approach to audio - nothing is emphasised or highlighted so it's not an exciting sound, but it's a real sound and that continues to be enjoyable for hours on end and days, months and years of listening.
The sound of the Mainline is accurate, clean, smooth and controlled. It's incredibly balanced across all frequencies and it delivers the same auditory experience on every track I've tried across all kinds of genres. This is an amp you buy to listen to and enjoy for the long haul, not to "wow" you or amaze you in the short term. The realism of sound from this amp is still enlightening me as I continue to listen - it's a subtle kind of marvelous that has to be lived with for a while to fully understand, but it's addictive and amazing once it starts to sink in.
White Lotus
Fantastic review mate!
Xenophon
Absolutely fantastic review, among the best I've ever read here! This allows me to really get a sense of how the amp will sound. The bottlehead amps look like interesting projects (with reasonably priced tubes as an added benefit) and I'd love to audition the mainline and compare it to my custom DV 337. Or just order it and learn how to solder (or the other way around, probably a better idea) but my wife would kill me if another piece of gear 'with all those light bulbs!' entered the house.
cspirou
Were you able to compare the balanced output vs the single ended output on the same pair of headphones? Like the HD-650?
Comments
adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
Just finished my Mainline and am enjoying it very much!
Worked first time, voltage checks ok spot on, bias set to 145 volts...
WIth my T1's V2's its really a stellar presentation...smooth, crisp, articulate..and all those things you guys commented on in your reviews.
I find the soundstage very wide and three dimensional...with well recorded and mixed material its about as good as it gets IMO.
I have 12 head amps and this is indeed at the top of the pile!
If you have high impedance cans the crack is great but this is another step up.....just so refined for a simple circuit with an awesome linear tube 6C45Pi.
Not much to mod here, maybe the 10uf caps, but as is its pretty darn good!
Alex
-
As a top of the line amplifier, I had high expectations of the Mainline. My initial impressions were just OK - it sounded good, but not amazing and I wondered if it was actually better than the lower-priced S.E.X. After spending a bit longer listening to the Mainline, I can confirm that it's a clear step ahead of the S.E.X. and also of any other amplifier I've heard so far. What's a little deceiving though is the way in which the Mainline impresses, but read on - I won't spoil the fun and tell you everything in the intro!
Treble
Clean, crisp, extended and detailed, but oh so polite.
The Mainline delivers smooth, but fully extended treble without a hint of hash or grain. There's no lack of detail or clarity, but a complete lack of harshness and fatigue. The Mainline's treble presentation is the best I've heard as yet in my headphone journey. Cymbals, percussion and high frequency textures are present and clean with good weight and presence, but are well-balanced with the rest of the sonic picture. Music can still be sibilant, but only as a result of a poor recording, not because of the amplifier. As strange as it sounds, that's a good thing because it means the amp isn't adding harshness or edge to good recordings, but while also not smoothing over poor recordings - it's presenting what's there in a really polite, but accurate way.
Mids
The mids from the Mainline are simply sublime. There's a weight and substance to the mids that is reminiscent of the Crack at its best, but significantly better.
Of all the Mainline's sonic traits, the midrange is probably the defining factor to my ears and it's the weight of notes which signifies the difference. Instruments and vocals sound and feel real. I had never really noticed before that other amps of mine create a really enjoyable facsimile of the instruments in the recording. The reason I had never noticed is because I hadn't heard it done just right. Hearing the Mainline has redefined my expectation of midrange presentation from an amplifier. There's no thickness or creaminess to the midrange sounds, just a solidity and presence that's beguiling and magical.
I wondered for a while if I'd hit a sweet spot on certain tracks, but listening to a range of tracks showed that the Mainline excels on a range of instruments, male and female vocals, transient sounds (such as drum hits) and sustained notes - everything just sounds so real.
Bass
I've stated previously that the one short-coming of the S.E.X. in my eyes was it's slightly lean bass presentation. I'm pleased to report that the Mainline strikes a perfect balance between the Crack and the S.E.X. It's tighter than the Crack, but fuller than the S.E.X.
Similar to the mids, the bass from the Mainline is weighty and realistic. There is plenty of presence at the bottom end, but no bloat or bleed from the bass. As I mentioned earlier, the impedance switch can tighten or loosen the bass presentation slightly depending on your headphones, but on either setting (given appropriate impedance headphones) the bass is excellent - full, punchy, and quick with great impact, incredibly realistic weight, and just the right speed of decay.
There's not a lot more to say about the bass of the Mainline - it just does what it should - presents the bass in a realistic way that's accurate to the recording. There no emphasis or alteration that I can hear - just clean, accurate bass that's perfectly balanced with the rest of the audio spectrum.
Staging & Imaging
If I had to choose one area that the Mainline has failed to meet my expectations, it's in the area of stage size, but this needs some explanation...
The Mainline's stage is more intimate than the S.E.X.'s and I simply adore the space and size you hear when plugged into the S.E.X. The Mainline's presentation is more intimate than the S.E.X. - once again about halfway between the presentation of the Crack and the S.E.X. If the Crack is a front row seat and the S.E.X. is a 10th row seat, then the Mainline is probably a 3rd or 4th row seat. I'll discuss the differences between the Mainline and the S.E.X. in the comparison section.
The Mainline's staging is open and defined despite the more intimate placement of the music so it's not like the staging and imaging is poor, it's just not in line with my personal preferences. That said, I'm not sure that the incredible realism and weight I discussed earlier would be possible with the more distant presentation of something like the S.E.X. and I would trade that level of realism for anything
in the world.
You might be worried that a more intimate presentation equates to a congested or crowded sound - well don't be! Sounds are clearly separated and defined and the weight of notes discussed earlier make the imaging some of the most accurate and realistic I've heard. While only moderate in forward projection of the sound, the Mainline's stage is wide and has good height.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of the Mainline's staging and imaging is its ability to separate different sounds while maintaining a single overall auditory picture. This amp manages to keep a perfectly coherent representation of the musicians while also perfectly defining each sound in its own space. You can hear every instrument, vocal, noise and texture on it's own and yet also simultaneously as a part of the overall sonic tapestry. Sounds pop out of the recording when they're meant to and blend in when they're meant to, but at any time you can single out any individual sound or instrument and hear it completely on it's own without negative influence from other sounds in the recording. This all makes for an incredibly engaging listening experience and it's got me really wanting to try the Mainline with some HD800s to see what it's really capable of when it comes to staging and imaging.
Sound Summary
The Mainline's sound is effortless. It's controlled, polite and completely coherent. At first listen you may not be "wowed" by this amp, but on extended listening you soon realise that every track you hear sounds as solid and real as you've ever heard it. Nothing jumps out to amaze you, but everything sounds excellent.
I used to work for Bang & Olufsen and one of the key traits with their audio and video gear was an attention to lifelike reproduction. At first, lifelike reproduction sounds ordinary and everyday - it's only as you spend more and more time with it that you appreciation of it grows because it's completely believable and never fatiguing because nothing is overdone or enhanced. The Mainline reminds me a lot of this approach to audio - nothing is emphasised or highlighted so it's not an exciting sound, but it's a real sound and that continues to be enjoyable for hours on end and days, months and years of listening.
The sound of the Mainline is accurate, clean, smooth and controlled. It's incredibly balanced across all frequencies and it delivers the same auditory experience on every track I've tried across all kinds of genres. This is an amp you buy to listen to and enjoy for the long haul, not to "wow" you or amaze you in the short term. The realism of sound from this amp is still enlightening me as I continue to listen - it's a subtle kind of marvelous that has to be lived with for a while to fully understand, but it's addictive and amazing once it starts to sink in.
White Lotus
Fantastic review mate!
Xenophon
Absolutely fantastic review, among the best I've ever read here! This allows me to really get a sense of how the amp will sound. The bottlehead amps look like interesting projects (with reasonably priced tubes as an added benefit) and I'd love to audition the mainline and compare it to my custom DV 337. Or just order it and learn how to solder (or the other way around, probably a better idea) but my wife would kill me if another piece of gear 'with all those light bulbs!' entered the house.
cspirou
Were you able to compare the balanced output vs the single ended output on the same pair of headphones? Like the HD-650?
Comments
adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
Just finished my Mainline and am enjoying it very much!
Worked first time, voltage checks ok spot on, bias set to 145 volts...
WIth my T1's V2's its really a stellar presentation...smooth, crisp, articulate..and all those things you guys commented on in your reviews.
I find the soundstage very wide and three dimensional...with well recorded and mixed material its about as good as it gets IMO.
I have 12 head amps and this is indeed at the top of the pile!
If you have high impedance cans the crack is great but this is another step up.....just so refined for a simple circuit with an awesome linear tube 6C45Pi.
Not much to mod here, maybe the 10uf caps, but as is its pretty darn good!
Alex
-
Clean, crisp, extended and detailed, but oh so polite.
The Mainline delivers smooth, but fully extended treble without a hint of hash or grain. There's no lack of detail or clarity, but a complete lack of harshness and fatigue. The Mainline's treble presentation is the best I've heard as yet in my headphone journey. Cymbals, percussion and high frequency textures are present and clean with good weight and presence, but are well-balanced with the rest of the sonic picture. Music can still be sibilant, but only as a result of a poor recording, not because of the amplifier. As strange as it sounds, that's a good thing because it means the amp isn't adding harshness or edge to good recordings, but while also not smoothing over poor recordings - it's presenting what's there in a really polite, but accurate way.
Mids
The mids from the Mainline are simply sublime. There's a weight and substance to the mids that is reminiscent of the Crack at its best, but significantly better.
Of all the Mainline's sonic traits, the midrange is probably the defining factor to my ears and it's the weight of notes which signifies the difference. Instruments and vocals sound and feel real. I had never really noticed before that other amps of mine create a really enjoyable facsimile of the instruments in the recording. The reason I had never noticed is because I hadn't heard it done just right. Hearing the Mainline has redefined my expectation of midrange presentation from an amplifier. There's no thickness or creaminess to the midrange sounds, just a solidity and presence that's beguiling and magical.
I wondered for a while if I'd hit a sweet spot on certain tracks, but listening to a range of tracks showed that the Mainline excels on a range of instruments, male and female vocals, transient sounds (such as drum hits) and sustained notes - everything just sounds so real.
Bass
I've stated previously that the one short-coming of the S.E.X. in my eyes was it's slightly lean bass presentation. I'm pleased to report that the Mainline strikes a perfect balance between the Crack and the S.E.X. It's tighter than the Crack, but fuller than the S.E.X.
Similar to the mids, the bass from the Mainline is weighty and realistic. There is plenty of presence at the bottom end, but no bloat or bleed from the bass. As I mentioned earlier, the impedance switch can tighten or loosen the bass presentation slightly depending on your headphones, but on either setting (given appropriate impedance headphones) the bass is excellent - full, punchy, and quick with great impact, incredibly realistic weight, and just the right speed of decay.
There's not a lot more to say about the bass of the Mainline - it just does what it should - presents the bass in a realistic way that's accurate to the recording. There no emphasis or alteration that I can hear - just clean, accurate bass that's perfectly balanced with the rest of the audio spectrum.
Staging & Imaging
If I had to choose one area that the Mainline has failed to meet my expectations, it's in the area of stage size, but this needs some explanation...
The Mainline's stage is more intimate than the S.E.X.'s and I simply adore the space and size you hear when plugged into the S.E.X. The Mainline's presentation is more intimate than the S.E.X. - once again about halfway between the presentation of the Crack and the S.E.X. If the Crack is a front row seat and the S.E.X. is a 10th row seat, then the Mainline is probably a 3rd or 4th row seat. I'll discuss the differences between the Mainline and the S.E.X. in the comparison section.
The Mainline's staging is open and defined despite the more intimate placement of the music so it's not like the staging and imaging is poor, it's just not in line with my personal preferences. That said, I'm not sure that the incredible realism and weight I discussed earlier would be possible with the more distant presentation of something like the S.E.X. and I would trade that level of realism for anything
in the world.
You might be worried that a more intimate presentation equates to a congested or crowded sound - well don't be! Sounds are clearly separated and defined and the weight of notes discussed earlier make the imaging some of the most accurate and realistic I've heard. While only moderate in forward projection of the sound, the Mainline's stage is wide and has good height.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of the Mainline's staging and imaging is its ability to separate different sounds while maintaining a single overall auditory picture. This amp manages to keep a perfectly coherent representation of the musicians while also perfectly defining each sound in its own space. You can hear every instrument, vocal, noise and texture on it's own and yet also simultaneously as a part of the overall sonic tapestry. Sounds pop out of the recording when they're meant to and blend in when they're meant to, but at any time you can single out any individual sound or instrument and hear it completely on it's own without negative influence from other sounds in the recording. This all makes for an incredibly engaging listening experience and it's got me really wanting to try the Mainline with some HD800s to see what it's really capable of when it comes to staging and imaging.
Sound Summary
The Mainline's sound is effortless. It's controlled, polite and completely coherent. At first listen you may not be "wowed" by this amp, but on extended listening you soon realise that every track you hear sounds as solid and real as you've ever heard it. Nothing jumps out to amaze you, but everything sounds excellent.
I used to work for Bang & Olufsen and one of the key traits with their audio and video gear was an attention to lifelike reproduction. At first, lifelike reproduction sounds ordinary and everyday - it's only as you spend more and more time with it that you appreciation of it grows because it's completely believable and never fatiguing because nothing is overdone or enhanced. The Mainline reminds me a lot of this approach to audio - nothing is emphasised or highlighted so it's not an exciting sound, but it's a real sound and that continues to be enjoyable for hours on end and days, months and years of listening.
The sound of the Mainline is accurate, clean, smooth and controlled. It's incredibly balanced across all frequencies and it delivers the same auditory experience on every track I've tried across all kinds of genres. This is an amp you buy to listen to and enjoy for the long haul, not to "wow" you or amaze you in the short term. The realism of sound from this amp is still enlightening me as I continue to listen - it's a subtle kind of marvelous that has to be lived with for a while to fully understand, but it's addictive and amazing once it starts to sink in.
White Lotus
Fantastic review mate!
Xenophon
Absolutely fantastic review, among the best I've ever read here! This allows me to really get a sense of how the amp will sound. The bottlehead amps look like interesting projects (with reasonably priced tubes as an added benefit) and I'd love to audition the mainline and compare it to my custom DV 337. Or just order it and learn how to solder (or the other way around, probably a better idea) but my wife would kill me if another piece of gear 'with all those light bulbs!' entered the house.
cspirou
Were you able to compare the balanced output vs the single ended output on the same pair of headphones? Like the HD-650?
Comments
adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
Just finished my Mainline and am enjoying it very much!
Worked first time, voltage checks ok spot on, bias set to 145 volts...
WIth my T1's V2's its really a stellar presentation...smooth, crisp, articulate..and all those things you guys commented on in your reviews.
I find the soundstage very wide and three dimensional...with well recorded and mixed material its about as good as it gets IMO.
I have 12 head amps and this is indeed at the top of the pile!
If you have high impedance cans the crack is great but this is another step up.....just so refined for a simple circuit with an awesome linear tube 6C45Pi.
Not much to mod here, maybe the 10uf caps, but as is its pretty darn good!
Alex
-
The mids from the Mainline are simply sublime. There's a weight and substance to the mids that is reminiscent of the Crack at its best, but significantly better.
Of all the Mainline's sonic traits, the midrange is probably the defining factor to my ears and it's the weight of notes which signifies the difference. Instruments and vocals sound and feel real. I had never really noticed before that other amps of mine create a really enjoyable facsimile of the instruments in the recording. The reason I had never noticed is because I hadn't heard it done just right. Hearing the Mainline has redefined my expectation of midrange presentation from an amplifier. There's no thickness or creaminess to the midrange sounds, just a solidity and presence that's beguiling and magical.
I wondered for a while if I'd hit a sweet spot on certain tracks, but listening to a range of tracks showed that the Mainline excels on a range of instruments, male and female vocals, transient sounds (such as drum hits) and sustained notes - everything just sounds so real.
Bass
I've stated previously that the one short-coming of the S.E.X. in my eyes was it's slightly lean bass presentation. I'm pleased to report that the Mainline strikes a perfect balance between the Crack and the S.E.X. It's tighter than the Crack, but fuller than the S.E.X.
Similar to the mids, the bass from the Mainline is weighty and realistic. There is plenty of presence at the bottom end, but no bloat or bleed from the bass. As I mentioned earlier, the impedance switch can tighten or loosen the bass presentation slightly depending on your headphones, but on either setting (given appropriate impedance headphones) the bass is excellent - full, punchy, and quick with great impact, incredibly realistic weight, and just the right speed of decay.
There's not a lot more to say about the bass of the Mainline - it just does what it should - presents the bass in a realistic way that's accurate to the recording. There no emphasis or alteration that I can hear - just clean, accurate bass that's perfectly balanced with the rest of the audio spectrum.
Staging & Imaging
If I had to choose one area that the Mainline has failed to meet my expectations, it's in the area of stage size, but this needs some explanation...
The Mainline's stage is more intimate than the S.E.X.'s and I simply adore the space and size you hear when plugged into the S.E.X. The Mainline's presentation is more intimate than the S.E.X. - once again about halfway between the presentation of the Crack and the S.E.X. If the Crack is a front row seat and the S.E.X. is a 10th row seat, then the Mainline is probably a 3rd or 4th row seat. I'll discuss the differences between the Mainline and the S.E.X. in the comparison section.
The Mainline's staging is open and defined despite the more intimate placement of the music so it's not like the staging and imaging is poor, it's just not in line with my personal preferences. That said, I'm not sure that the incredible realism and weight I discussed earlier would be possible with the more distant presentation of something like the S.E.X. and I would trade that level of realism for anything
in the world.
You might be worried that a more intimate presentation equates to a congested or crowded sound - well don't be! Sounds are clearly separated and defined and the weight of notes discussed earlier make the imaging some of the most accurate and realistic I've heard. While only moderate in forward projection of the sound, the Mainline's stage is wide and has good height.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of the Mainline's staging and imaging is its ability to separate different sounds while maintaining a single overall auditory picture. This amp manages to keep a perfectly coherent representation of the musicians while also perfectly defining each sound in its own space. You can hear every instrument, vocal, noise and texture on it's own and yet also simultaneously as a part of the overall sonic tapestry. Sounds pop out of the recording when they're meant to and blend in when they're meant to, but at any time you can single out any individual sound or instrument and hear it completely on it's own without negative influence from other sounds in the recording. This all makes for an incredibly engaging listening experience and it's got me really wanting to try the Mainline with some HD800s to see what it's really capable of when it comes to staging and imaging.
Sound Summary
The Mainline's sound is effortless. It's controlled, polite and completely coherent. At first listen you may not be "wowed" by this amp, but on extended listening you soon realise that every track you hear sounds as solid and real as you've ever heard it. Nothing jumps out to amaze you, but everything sounds excellent.
I used to work for Bang & Olufsen and one of the key traits with their audio and video gear was an attention to lifelike reproduction. At first, lifelike reproduction sounds ordinary and everyday - it's only as you spend more and more time with it that you appreciation of it grows because it's completely believable and never fatiguing because nothing is overdone or enhanced. The Mainline reminds me a lot of this approach to audio - nothing is emphasised or highlighted so it's not an exciting sound, but it's a real sound and that continues to be enjoyable for hours on end and days, months and years of listening.
The sound of the Mainline is accurate, clean, smooth and controlled. It's incredibly balanced across all frequencies and it delivers the same auditory experience on every track I've tried across all kinds of genres. This is an amp you buy to listen to and enjoy for the long haul, not to "wow" you or amaze you in the short term. The realism of sound from this amp is still enlightening me as I continue to listen - it's a subtle kind of marvelous that has to be lived with for a while to fully understand, but it's addictive and amazing once it starts to sink in.
White Lotus
Fantastic review mate!
Xenophon
Absolutely fantastic review, among the best I've ever read here! This allows me to really get a sense of how the amp will sound. The bottlehead amps look like interesting projects (with reasonably priced tubes as an added benefit) and I'd love to audition the mainline and compare it to my custom DV 337. Or just order it and learn how to solder (or the other way around, probably a better idea) but my wife would kill me if another piece of gear 'with all those light bulbs!' entered the house.
cspirou
Were you able to compare the balanced output vs the single ended output on the same pair of headphones? Like the HD-650?
Comments
adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
Just finished my Mainline and am enjoying it very much!
Worked first time, voltage checks ok spot on, bias set to 145 volts...
WIth my T1's V2's its really a stellar presentation...smooth, crisp, articulate..and all those things you guys commented on in your reviews.
I find the soundstage very wide and three dimensional...with well recorded and mixed material its about as good as it gets IMO.
I have 12 head amps and this is indeed at the top of the pile!
If you have high impedance cans the crack is great but this is another step up.....just so refined for a simple circuit with an awesome linear tube 6C45Pi.
Not much to mod here, maybe the 10uf caps, but as is its pretty darn good!
Alex
-
I've stated previously that the one short-coming of the S.E.X. in my eyes was it's slightly lean bass presentation. I'm pleased to report that the Mainline strikes a perfect balance between the Crack and the S.E.X. It's tighter than the Crack, but fuller than the S.E.X.
Similar to the mids, the bass from the Mainline is weighty and realistic. There is plenty of presence at the bottom end, but no bloat or bleed from the bass. As I mentioned earlier, the impedance switch can tighten or loosen the bass presentation slightly depending on your headphones, but on either setting (given appropriate impedance headphones) the bass is excellent - full, punchy, and quick with great impact, incredibly realistic weight, and just the right speed of decay.
There's not a lot more to say about the bass of the Mainline - it just does what it should - presents the bass in a realistic way that's accurate to the recording. There no emphasis or alteration that I can hear - just clean, accurate bass that's perfectly balanced with the rest of the audio spectrum.
Staging & Imaging
If I had to choose one area that the Mainline has failed to meet my expectations, it's in the area of stage size, but this needs some explanation...
The Mainline's stage is more intimate than the S.E.X.'s and I simply adore the space and size you hear when plugged into the S.E.X. The Mainline's presentation is more intimate than the S.E.X. - once again about halfway between the presentation of the Crack and the S.E.X. If the Crack is a front row seat and the S.E.X. is a 10th row seat, then the Mainline is probably a 3rd or 4th row seat. I'll discuss the differences between the Mainline and the S.E.X. in the comparison section.
The Mainline's staging is open and defined despite the more intimate placement of the music so it's not like the staging and imaging is poor, it's just not in line with my personal preferences. That said, I'm not sure that the incredible realism and weight I discussed earlier would be possible with the more distant presentation of something like the S.E.X. and I would trade that level of realism for anything
in the world.
You might be worried that a more intimate presentation equates to a congested or crowded sound - well don't be! Sounds are clearly separated and defined and the weight of notes discussed earlier make the imaging some of the most accurate and realistic I've heard. While only moderate in forward projection of the sound, the Mainline's stage is wide and has good height.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of the Mainline's staging and imaging is its ability to separate different sounds while maintaining a single overall auditory picture. This amp manages to keep a perfectly coherent representation of the musicians while also perfectly defining each sound in its own space. You can hear every instrument, vocal, noise and texture on it's own and yet also simultaneously as a part of the overall sonic tapestry. Sounds pop out of the recording when they're meant to and blend in when they're meant to, but at any time you can single out any individual sound or instrument and hear it completely on it's own without negative influence from other sounds in the recording. This all makes for an incredibly engaging listening experience and it's got me really wanting to try the Mainline with some HD800s to see what it's really capable of when it comes to staging and imaging.
Sound Summary
The Mainline's sound is effortless. It's controlled, polite and completely coherent. At first listen you may not be "wowed" by this amp, but on extended listening you soon realise that every track you hear sounds as solid and real as you've ever heard it. Nothing jumps out to amaze you, but everything sounds excellent.
I used to work for Bang & Olufsen and one of the key traits with their audio and video gear was an attention to lifelike reproduction. At first, lifelike reproduction sounds ordinary and everyday - it's only as you spend more and more time with it that you appreciation of it grows because it's completely believable and never fatiguing because nothing is overdone or enhanced. The Mainline reminds me a lot of this approach to audio - nothing is emphasised or highlighted so it's not an exciting sound, but it's a real sound and that continues to be enjoyable for hours on end and days, months and years of listening.
The sound of the Mainline is accurate, clean, smooth and controlled. It's incredibly balanced across all frequencies and it delivers the same auditory experience on every track I've tried across all kinds of genres. This is an amp you buy to listen to and enjoy for the long haul, not to "wow" you or amaze you in the short term. The realism of sound from this amp is still enlightening me as I continue to listen - it's a subtle kind of marvelous that has to be lived with for a while to fully understand, but it's addictive and amazing once it starts to sink in.
White Lotus
Fantastic review mate!
Xenophon
Absolutely fantastic review, among the best I've ever read here! This allows me to really get a sense of how the amp will sound. The bottlehead amps look like interesting projects (with reasonably priced tubes as an added benefit) and I'd love to audition the mainline and compare it to my custom DV 337. Or just order it and learn how to solder (or the other way around, probably a better idea) but my wife would kill me if another piece of gear 'with all those light bulbs!' entered the house.
cspirou
Were you able to compare the balanced output vs the single ended output on the same pair of headphones? Like the HD-650?
Comments
adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
Just finished my Mainline and am enjoying it very much!
Worked first time, voltage checks ok spot on, bias set to 145 volts...
WIth my T1's V2's its really a stellar presentation...smooth, crisp, articulate..and all those things you guys commented on in your reviews.
I find the soundstage very wide and three dimensional...with well recorded and mixed material its about as good as it gets IMO.
I have 12 head amps and this is indeed at the top of the pile!
If you have high impedance cans the crack is great but this is another step up.....just so refined for a simple circuit with an awesome linear tube 6C45Pi.
Not much to mod here, maybe the 10uf caps, but as is its pretty darn good!
Alex
-
If I had to choose one area that the Mainline has failed to meet my expectations, it's in the area of stage size, but this needs some explanation...
The Mainline's stage is more intimate than the S.E.X.'s and I simply adore the space and size you hear when plugged into the S.E.X. The Mainline's presentation is more intimate than the S.E.X. - once again about halfway between the presentation of the Crack and the S.E.X. If the Crack is a front row seat and the S.E.X. is a 10th row seat, then the Mainline is probably a 3rd or 4th row seat. I'll discuss the differences between the Mainline and the S.E.X. in the comparison section.
The Mainline's staging is open and defined despite the more intimate placement of the music so it's not like the staging and imaging is poor, it's just not in line with my personal preferences. That said, I'm not sure that the incredible realism and weight I discussed earlier would be possible with the more distant presentation of something like the S.E.X. and I would trade that level of realism for anything
in the world.
You might be worried that a more intimate presentation equates to a congested or crowded sound - well don't be! Sounds are clearly separated and defined and the weight of notes discussed earlier make the imaging some of the most accurate and realistic I've heard. While only moderate in forward projection of the sound, the Mainline's stage is wide and has good height.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of the Mainline's staging and imaging is its ability to separate different sounds while maintaining a single overall auditory picture. This amp manages to keep a perfectly coherent representation of the musicians while also perfectly defining each sound in its own space. You can hear every instrument, vocal, noise and texture on it's own and yet also simultaneously as a part of the overall sonic tapestry. Sounds pop out of the recording when they're meant to and blend in when they're meant to, but at any time you can single out any individual sound or instrument and hear it completely on it's own without negative influence from other sounds in the recording. This all makes for an incredibly engaging listening experience and it's got me really wanting to try the Mainline with some HD800s to see what it's really capable of when it comes to staging and imaging.
Sound Summary
The Mainline's sound is effortless. It's controlled, polite and completely coherent. At first listen you may not be "wowed" by this amp, but on extended listening you soon realise that every track you hear sounds as solid and real as you've ever heard it. Nothing jumps out to amaze you, but everything sounds excellent.
I used to work for Bang & Olufsen and one of the key traits with their audio and video gear was an attention to lifelike reproduction. At first, lifelike reproduction sounds ordinary and everyday - it's only as you spend more and more time with it that you appreciation of it grows because it's completely believable and never fatiguing because nothing is overdone or enhanced. The Mainline reminds me a lot of this approach to audio - nothing is emphasised or highlighted so it's not an exciting sound, but it's a real sound and that continues to be enjoyable for hours on end and days, months and years of listening.
The sound of the Mainline is accurate, clean, smooth and controlled. It's incredibly balanced across all frequencies and it delivers the same auditory experience on every track I've tried across all kinds of genres. This is an amp you buy to listen to and enjoy for the long haul, not to "wow" you or amaze you in the short term. The realism of sound from this amp is still enlightening me as I continue to listen - it's a subtle kind of marvelous that has to be lived with for a while to fully understand, but it's addictive and amazing once it starts to sink in.
White Lotus
Fantastic review mate!
Xenophon
Absolutely fantastic review, among the best I've ever read here! This allows me to really get a sense of how the amp will sound. The bottlehead amps look like interesting projects (with reasonably priced tubes as an added benefit) and I'd love to audition the mainline and compare it to my custom DV 337. Or just order it and learn how to solder (or the other way around, probably a better idea) but my wife would kill me if another piece of gear 'with all those light bulbs!' entered the house.
cspirou
Were you able to compare the balanced output vs the single ended output on the same pair of headphones? Like the HD-650?
The Mainline's sound is effortless. It's controlled, polite and completely coherent. At first listen you may not be "wowed" by this amp, but on extended listening you soon realise that every track you hear sounds as solid and real as you've ever heard it. Nothing jumps out to amaze you, but everything sounds excellent.
I used to work for Bang & Olufsen and one of the key traits with their audio and video gear was an attention to lifelike reproduction. At first, lifelike reproduction sounds ordinary and everyday - it's only as you spend more and more time with it that you appreciation of it grows because it's completely believable and never fatiguing because nothing is overdone or enhanced. The Mainline reminds me a lot of this approach to audio - nothing is emphasised or highlighted so it's not an exciting sound, but it's a real sound and that continues to be enjoyable for hours on end and days, months and years of listening.
The sound of the Mainline is accurate, clean, smooth and controlled. It's incredibly balanced across all frequencies and it delivers the same auditory experience on every track I've tried across all kinds of genres. This is an amp you buy to listen to and enjoy for the long haul, not to "wow" you or amaze you in the short term. The realism of sound from this amp is still enlightening me as I continue to listen - it's a subtle kind of marvelous that has to be lived with for a while to fully understand, but it's addictive and amazing once it starts to sink in.
White Lotus
Fantastic review mate!
Xenophon
Absolutely fantastic review, among the best I've ever read here! This allows me to really get a sense of how the amp will sound. The bottlehead amps look like interesting projects (with reasonably priced tubes as an added benefit) and I'd love to audition the mainline and compare it to my custom DV 337. Or just order it and learn how to solder (or the other way around, probably a better idea) but my wife would kill me if another piece of gear 'with all those light bulbs!' entered the house.
cspirou
Were you able to compare the balanced output vs the single ended output on the same pair of headphones? Like the HD-650?
Comments
adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
Just finished my Mainline and am enjoying it very much!
Worked first time, voltage checks ok spot on, bias set to 145 volts...
WIth my T1's V2's its really a stellar presentation...smooth, crisp, articulate..and all those things you guys commented on in your reviews.
I find the soundstage very wide and three dimensional...with well recorded and mixed material its about as good as it gets IMO.
I have 12 head amps and this is indeed at the top of the pile!
If you have high impedance cans the crack is great but this is another step up.....just so refined for a simple circuit with an awesome linear tube 6C45Pi.
Not much to mod here, maybe the 10uf caps, but as is its pretty darn good!
Alex
Worked first time, voltage checks ok spot on, bias set to 145 volts...
WIth my T1's V2's its really a stellar presentation...smooth, crisp, articulate..and all those things you guys commented on in your reviews.
I find the soundstage very wide and three dimensional...with well recorded and mixed material its about as good as it gets IMO.
I have 12 head amps and this is indeed at the top of the pile!
If you have high impedance cans the crack is great but this is another step up.....just so refined for a simple circuit with an awesome linear tube 6C45Pi.
Not much to mod here, maybe the 10uf caps, but as is its pretty darn good!
Alex