[bootman]

Has anyone heard the Cary SLP-88?
It has a headphone jack too.

 

[pigmode]

No, but there's a 3 yr. old slp98 at 'gon going for $1350. Does Cary have a good reliability record? Isn't Cary overpriced?

 

[bootman]

Originally posted by pigmode
No, but there's a 3 yr. old slp98 at 'gon going for $1350. Does Cary have a good reliability record? Isn't Cary overpriced?


Compared to what?

The 88 new is $2000 list and is a tube pre and the headphone section is right off the tube output through audiophile grade transformers.
People are buying used Melos for almost a grand (if not more!) with no warranty. So do you think that for $2000 the Cary above is overpriced?



Humm, I wonder if one can mod the bottlehead in much the same way? (transformer tap off the output)

 

[kelly]

The Melos has a reputation specifically for driving headphones. Does the Cary SLP-88? I know the Cary SEI is reknowned for its headphone out, but I haven't heard much about the 88.

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Personally, I'm waiting for Doc Bottlehead to come up with his headphone amplifier kit. He should be able to leverage the developments made in the professional sound market to the DIY headphone market.

With Doc's ability to source Magnequest transformers and such for cheap along with the awesome support of the Bottlehead community (and "all-stars" such as Quest, Paul Joppa, and VoltSecond among others), the Melos may finally be dethroned.

It's time for a newcomer to take the price/performance lead. Melos is kaput, and Will seems (to me) to be 100% uninterested in releasing the schematic to the exploding DIY market. Fine. Whatever. We'll find a way to make Melos = irrelevant.

 

[bootman]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly The Melos has a reputation specifically for driving headphones. Does the Cary SLP-88? I know the Cary SEI is reknowned for its headphone out, but I haven't heard much about the 88.

The 88 is new. It drives the headphone out in much the same way as the SEI by taping the tube outputs with trannys.
This is why I think that the bottlehead to headphone amp could be possible if the source of these transformers can be found and a design made to go with them.

 

[bootman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nick Dangerous Personally, I'm waiting for Doc Bottlehead to come up with his headphone amplifier kit. He should be able to leverage the developments made in the professional sound market to the DIY headphone market. With Doc's ability to source Magnequest transformers and such for cheap along with the awesome support of the Bottlehead community (and "all-stars" such as Quest, Paul Joppa, and VoltSecond among others), the Melos may finally be dethroned. It's time for a newcomer to take the price/performance lead. Melos is kaput, and Will seems (to me) to be 100% uninterested in releasing the schematic to the exploding DIY market. Fine. Whatever. We'll find a way to make Melos = irrelevant.

Is Doc Bottlehead really commited to the headphone amp project?
I really need to visit their page more often.

BTW, how difficult was the preamp kit?

 

[Nick Dangerous]

I think a first-timer after 5 minutes of basic soldering practice could do it. It's a step-by-step thing... "paint by numbers" more or less.

I'm going to rebuild mine. I don't need to, but I learned so much that I'd like to implement some changes.

Warning: Starting a Bottlehead project will make a serious DIY'er out of you.

 

[pigmode]

Dang, that slp98 at audiogon (1350) sold fast. I'll have to be ready for the next one.

 

[Musiclover4]

I have an Art Dio and Sound Dynamics RTS3 speakers and have been thinking of adding tubes into my system (I have never even had separates).

I have been thinking of a few possibilities with this and I would like some more responses from people who know about this more than me; of course, my budget is about $300-$400, if I can get about $200 for my pro logic Denon receiver

1. diy tube pre, either Foreplay or some other project online, and decent solid state amp around $200 like Parasound, Adcom, or rotel
2. very minimalist pre, either a diy passive attenuator with a couple switchable inputs (Art Dio's extremely hot output shouldn't really need any gain) and a diy tube amp or vintage ebay gear; a diy or vintage integrated would also work; however, I worry about having enough juice to drive my speakers of 89 db efficiency, even though it's a small room

 

[MirandaX]

Musiclover4, does your Denon receiver have "main in" jacks? If it does, you can get the Bottlehead Foreplay and use it as a preamp with your current system. This would be a very cost-effective and satisfying way of experiencing "the tube sound". If you like the set up, you could get rid of your receiver and replace it with a good solid state amp.

(The "main in" jacks may not be labelled; if you see jumpers between two sets of jacks on the back of your receiver, you have "main in" jacks.)

 

[Musiclover4]

MirandaX,
Unfortunately, it does not.

I am starting to think a cheap diy passive attenuator and a diy tube amp might be the way to go. The ASL wave 8's look really interesting, and I would get them if I knew they would drive my speakers, but 89 db efficency with only 8wpc might be too little.

 

[MirandaX]

In my experience, the tube preamp/solid state amp combo is better, especially if you're not driving very sensitive speakers, but you should trust your ears and do whatever sounds best to you.