[Ferrari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by balderon /img/forum/go_quote.gif YES, blue is my favorite color

If this is work in-progress, then the final work will undoubtedly be a looker.
Nice work, balderon!

[size=xx-small](as long as your amp is not going to look better than mine, of course)[/size]

 

[runeight]

It's really great for me to see all of these new (and really nice) Bijous. And, of course, it's always good to hear that they are all working.

Thanks to all of the new builders for giving the amp a try. I still love mine. There is just something about the way it sounds . . .

 

[zkool448]

balderon, looking sweeeet

Just got through stuffing my PS board, HV didn't smoke and good to go putting out 250V B+ with 100K load. Both coffee and solder still steaming, on to the amp boards and consider pulling an all-nighter see how much I can get done

 

[jkroon]

Go Zkool! Gitter done!! And nice job on that case Balderon. All of these nice cases make me ashamed of mine.

 

[zkool448]

Well the amp boards are stuffed. My tubes are the ECC99s and E88CCs, did regal's mod and mounted all tall caps on the underside of the amp boards.

I realized can't continue further until my navships wires arrive this week or next. I did however tried some 18 AWG (600v) wires from brother-in-law just to check the heaters operation -- happy to report all tubes lit up on power up with no smoke! I also connected the B+ out to the amp boards, and voltages are good and fully adjustable. The heater voltages from the windings are a bit on the high side though (7.02v) so may have to use a power resistor to drop some.

Just panel jacks/pot/nfb wiring and I can almost hear the beautiful sound that comes out of it

 

[TimJo]

Way to go zkool !!!

Can't wait to see what it looks like when she's all cased up, but in the meantime maybe you should should attach the boards to a piece of ply and use the 18ga. and give it a listen...

Let's see - is the EHHA next?

 

[zkool448]

Lol thanks!

All boards on standoffs laid out on an mdf plank covered with aluminum sheet, IEC/star ground bolted, and obbligatos hanging beneath the amps bellies -- sooo eager to get it all wired up you've no idea!

EHHA is also on the radar

 

[funch]

Just thought I'd chime in with some upgrades I've done to my

Blue Bijou.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_1838.jpg
Replace all the amp board resistors with Holco/PRP.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_1839.jpg
Replaced heater wiring with shielded SPC (in white).

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_1840.jpg
Replaced the Greyhill switch with an Elma from Parts Connexion,
and the signal wiring is now Cardas litz (#21.5).

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_1841.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_1843.jpg
Replaced the ebay stepper with a DACT from Headamp (a steal at $129).

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/100_1842.jpg

It still has a very faint hum in the right channel, but nothing distracting.

I'm amazed every time I listen to this amp. It is very revealing of the source,
though. It deserves the very best source you can throw at it IMHO.

 

[fishski13]

funch,
superb wiring skills, especially the SA. i thought your "original" was perfect.

is the DACT and Elma a worthy the price of admission?. i built a SA for my Bijou with the Electroswitch D-series - it's too "clunky" for my tastes, requiring some muscle and sticky fingers to turn over. i'm thinking i might just use a PEC carbon pot for my re-build. although, i really like the "feel" of the Series-71 Grayhill i installed for a source selector in a pre-amp/CK2III/y-1 i recently finished.

why the hum in the R-channel? any ideas? are you using an LED powered via the heaters? more specifics and maybe we can help?

 

[funch]

fishski13, thanks for the nice word.

For me, the DACT was worth it, especially at the price Justin at Headamp
is asking. The build quality, of course, goes without saying, and the action
is as smooth as a baby's behind. Now that I've installed a DACT, I don't
think I'll ever go back to using a pot on any higher end build, although
as good as the Bijou sounds, I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon.

The connectors on the DACT are Molex, and make connecting very easy.

After I ordered the SA, I figured I might as well get the Elma to match.
AFAIK it's the same as the DACT selector, but half the price.
The Greyhill is no slouch, but the gold plated contacts on the Elma, along
with its slightly smoother action just kick it up a notch. Worth the $ IMHO.

I can't seem to pinpoint the cause of the R channel hum. It's extemely faint,
and doesn't increase with changes in volume. It's so faint, in fact, that I
can't hear it if the AC in the house is on, so I'm not gonna worry about it.
BTW, I'm not running LED's.

Now that I've installed the DACT, I would like to drop the gain of the amp,
but don't know how to do that just yet. Time to bump up the learning curve.

 

[DoYouRight]

seems more and more people are getting ideas from the KrMathis B22 even for tubes now! Blue circle led power button etc

 

[balderon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferrari /img/forum/go_quote.gif If this is work in-progress, then the final work will undoubtedly be a looker. Nice work, balderon! [size=xx-small](as long as your amp is not going to look better than mine, of course)[/size]

I wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments.

Ferrari, thank you so much! Although I do aspire to achieve the level of excellence in style and design as your builds, I do try to raise the bar higher.

 

[zkool448]

Another Bijou Lives!!

Please forgive the temporary wiring mess but a rewire will be done once the proper wires arrive. I couldn’t wait for the navships wires (blame goes to Timjo, but glad I listened

).

I admire all those who had built this amp since to me the biggest challenge is figuring out the layout and wiring. To manage to make your builds appear so effortless and neat, I’m now able to fully appreciate and grasp the amount of work and time put forth by all in building their Bijous.

The amp sounds simply incredible. It has to be the best headphone amp I’ve ever owned. I simply can’t bring myself to put my headphones down and crave to get through my entire music collection. I’m astounded by how it sounds, the background is absolutely silent, spacious soundstage. Acoustics sounds shockingly detailed, exceptionally warm and smooth with excellent highs. The bass sounds incredibly deep with enormous slam … just a delight to listen to.

Thank you Alex, I’m absolutely WOWed by it.

 

[nattonrice]

Even without a case that is just... damn... wow! haha

 

[pabbi1]

Welcome to the club - good call on the Obbligatos. Is that the ubiquitous rk27? If so, you might have a future tweak of benefit there...

Yes, the soundstage is what is most unique - enjoy!