rb67
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2006
- Posts
- 1,678
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- 11
Well, I completed my Bijou over a month ago, and I am loving it!
The design thread can be found here:
http://headwize.com/ubb/showpage.php...d=6536&fpage=1
I have built mine with parts very close to what taiwest at headwize used. Major substitutions are Vishay Dale resistors instead of Holco etc. I am using JJ tubes for the signal. I used a stepped attenuator from diyfidelity.com which uses all vishay dale resistors.
What follows are my impressions. Please note, though, the only other amp I own is a CKKIII, and I have had some time with a SOHA I built. I am using HD600's and RS-2's.
I can say without a doubt that the Bijou surpasses both quite easily.
The sound stage is clearly defined and expansive. It's has a very detailed, delicate air about it making instruments very easy to pick apart. It feels very fluid and smooth. I feel the CKKIII's soundstage is "compressed" in comparison.
The treble is very clean and mild while still maintaining that sparkle. In comparison the CKKIII's treble is more aggressive in my humble opinion.
The bass is tight and substantial yet well defined and clean. The bass has a little more impact than the CKKIII.
I wish I had more long term experience with other amps of this caliber to give you guys better comparisons. I can say, though, that I think I'll have a very tough time finding an amp to top it!
Eventually, I hope to build something else to see how it compares. Any suggestions on what the next "step up" should are greatly appreciated!
The amp has an adjustable negative feedback which was built in to combat possible distortion with low impedance headphones. I haven't really discovered any distortion with my Grado's at any NFB setting. I do find myself using it to "fix" some source noise. I am using a USB DAC powered by the USB bus. I find that when it is connected, I get some hissing with low impedance headphones even at 0 volume. My guess is I can fix this by powering the DAC via it's own power supply.
Without anything hooked up, the amp is dead silent.
I've tried to detect any large difference with the NFB applied, but don't really find any huge decrease in sound quality. Of course, it's difficult to tell since volume varies with NFB.
I would like start tube swapping but am not sure where to start. I assume the greatest impact would be found in the 6922 tubes, so I'm going to start research on good tubes to replace my E88CCs. Any suggestions for <$60 matched pair would be greatly appreciated.
Anyways I've talked too much.
Happily listening to his amp,
-Steve
(I had made a measurement mistake on the chassis and placed the tubes closer than I wanted. There were no ill effects as far as I know, so I kept it like this after initial testing. Any comments on that are also welcome.)
The design thread can be found here:
http://headwize.com/ubb/showpage.php...d=6536&fpage=1
I have built mine with parts very close to what taiwest at headwize used. Major substitutions are Vishay Dale resistors instead of Holco etc. I am using JJ tubes for the signal. I used a stepped attenuator from diyfidelity.com which uses all vishay dale resistors.
What follows are my impressions. Please note, though, the only other amp I own is a CKKIII, and I have had some time with a SOHA I built. I am using HD600's and RS-2's.
I can say without a doubt that the Bijou surpasses both quite easily.
The sound stage is clearly defined and expansive. It's has a very detailed, delicate air about it making instruments very easy to pick apart. It feels very fluid and smooth. I feel the CKKIII's soundstage is "compressed" in comparison.
The treble is very clean and mild while still maintaining that sparkle. In comparison the CKKIII's treble is more aggressive in my humble opinion.
The bass is tight and substantial yet well defined and clean. The bass has a little more impact than the CKKIII.
I wish I had more long term experience with other amps of this caliber to give you guys better comparisons. I can say, though, that I think I'll have a very tough time finding an amp to top it!
Eventually, I hope to build something else to see how it compares. Any suggestions on what the next "step up" should are greatly appreciated!
The amp has an adjustable negative feedback which was built in to combat possible distortion with low impedance headphones. I haven't really discovered any distortion with my Grado's at any NFB setting. I do find myself using it to "fix" some source noise. I am using a USB DAC powered by the USB bus. I find that when it is connected, I get some hissing with low impedance headphones even at 0 volume. My guess is I can fix this by powering the DAC via it's own power supply.
Without anything hooked up, the amp is dead silent.
I've tried to detect any large difference with the NFB applied, but don't really find any huge decrease in sound quality. Of course, it's difficult to tell since volume varies with NFB.
I would like start tube swapping but am not sure where to start. I assume the greatest impact would be found in the 6922 tubes, so I'm going to start research on good tubes to replace my E88CCs. Any suggestions for <$60 matched pair would be greatly appreciated.
Anyways I've talked too much.
Happily listening to his amp,
-Steve
(I had made a measurement mistake on the chassis and placed the tubes closer than I wanted. There were no ill effects as far as I know, so I kept it like this after initial testing. Any comments on that are also welcome.)
