[justin w.]

Quote:

But have all 45 been taken - deposits paid, etc?

as of right now there are about 3 spots remaining

 

[googleli]

Is the BHSE auto bias or must I adjust the bias by myself if I want to do a bit of tube rolling?

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

Yes, assembly is underway on all 45 amps. 

Thanks for the updates!  Appreciated, as always.

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

Is the BHSE auto bias or must I adjust the bias by myself if I want to do a bit of tube rolling?

Yes, you must manually adjust the bias.  I'm assuming the post refers to the BHSE.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/439657/headamp-blue-hawaii-special-edition/465#post_7139449
 
Quote:

Be sure to find the plastic pen-like biasing tool that's included in the box. When I first received the amp, I thought the biasing tool was a piece of junk that was accidentally left in the box and almost threw it away. I should've known that it wasn't junk, Justin is supposedly very meticulous.

 

 

[Elysian]

Thanks for the regular updates and pictures, Justin!
 
From what you mentioned, it sounds like it took about 10 days to put an hour of work into each of the 45.  Given a similar rate, optimistically speaking, it'd be another 150 days (not accounting for holidays) to complete the assembly, testing, and shipping for all of the units?
 
I'm wondering if those of us in the second batch should be looking towards April-June 2012 for receiving the units.  I know you mentioned earlier that you were aiming to get the second batch done and shipped by the end of 2011, but that seems pretty optimistic unless you have more help available.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Since this is a BHSE thread...
 
I got some more parts in, and thought I'd post them here.  These are for build quality improvements to the 2nd batch of the BHSE - if you thought the build quality of the first batch of BHSEs was great, now it will be even better.  Why make these improvements?  I spent more money when amps were already ordered.  That means less profit.  Less for the exotic car or watch fund.  Well, I guess I think that constantly improving the quality of what I build is the better investment.
 
bhse_bottom.jpg
 
New bottom panel of the BHSE amp chassis (powdercoating now finished).  I tripled the number of ventilation holes which also precisely matches the location of the ventilation holes on the top cover.  The feet also now screw in with integrated 5/16" steel nuts, instead of the old way of threading the panel for much smaller #8 screws.  Not pictured: the number of ventilation holes in the bottom panel of the power supply has been increased 500%. 
 
bhse_foot.jpg
 
The new spiked feet for the BHSE now made from one piece of incredibly well machined aluminum with the threads built into it, not a separate screw.  I will also be able to offer rubber feet of the same size that can be used as an alternative.

Justin, will you offer the new amp and PSU panels as an upgrade for current BHSE owners? Also are the new spiked or rubber feet available separately? I'd be interested in the rubber feet specifically.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

Thanks for the regular updates and pictures, Justin!
 
From what you mentioned, it sounds like it took about 10 days to put an hour of work into each of the 45.  Given a similar rate, optimistically speaking, it'd be another 150 days (not accounting for holidays) to complete the assembly, testing, and shipping for all of the units?
 
I'm wondering if those of us in the second batch should be looking towards April-June 2012 for receiving the units.  I know you mentioned earlier that you were aiming to get the second batch done and shipped by the end of 2011, but that seems pretty optimistic unless you have more help available.

testing can take place for several amps at the same time, and while others are being built, and this is about 4 hours of the time needed for each unit. 
 
as for holidays, i can build a lot more on those days.  fewer emails

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

Is the BHSE auto bias or must I adjust the bias by myself if I want to do a bit of tube rolling?

it's not really a bias adjustment, it's a DC balance/offset adjustment, since this is a DC coupled amp.  though i would add that i have never seen a commercial auto-biased headphone amp.  the ones without any adjustment are usually fixed bias, so you can't adjust it even if you need to.

 

[googleli]

Thanks, Justin. I am using the Leben CS300XS and it claims to have auto-bias... Anyways, if I purchase the BHSE, would it be hard to adjust bias with absolutely zippo knowledge on electronics and no experience on adjusting bias on any other tube amps? Will I have to purchase any tools to adjust the bias apart from those which come with the BHSE? Many thanks.
 

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

testing can take place for several amps at the same time, and while others are being built, and this is about 4 hours of the time needed for each unit. 
 
as for holidays, i can build a lot more on those days.  fewer emails

You are relentless!  I hope you use some of those BHSE profits to take a nice long vacation in Hawaii before people start beating on your door asking where the Gilmore X2 is.
 
That's great to hear about that testing.  That shaves off about a quarter of the time, especially if the amps in the second batch can be built at staggered stages.
 
Anyway, love seeing the tweaks and improvements you do to the BHSE along the way.  The wait's not so bad, especially with the weekly picture updates, and am looking forward to the flood of reviews once the first batch receive their amps

 

[purk]

Quote:

You are relentless!  I hope you use some of those BHSE profits to take a nice long vacation in Hawaii before people start beating on your door asking where the Gilmore X2 is.
 
That's great to hear about that testing.  That shaves off about a quarter of the time, especially if the amps in the second batch can be built at staggered stages.
 
Anyway, love seeing the tweaks and improvements you do to the BHSE along the way.  The wait's not so bad, especially with the weekly picture updates, and am looking forward to the flood of reviews once the first batch receive their amps

I believe Justin's profit margin on the BHSE is quite low, given that uncle Sam likely take a fair amount.  The parts and chassis costs are quite high for an amplifier of this magnitude.  

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

I believe Justin's profit margin on the BHSE is quite low, given that uncle Sam likely take a fair amount.  The parts and chassis costs are quite high for an amplifier of this magnitude.  

purk is correct.  i am obviously going to have to buy parts for the next batch in 2012.  that is where the profits go

 

[verjuno]

Justin, Will it be difficult for you to deliver what I ordered by the end of this year?  

 

[jhellow]

Quote:

Justin, will you offer the new amp and PSU panels as an upgrade for current BHSE owners? Also are the new spiked or rubber feet available separately? I'd be interested in the rubber feet specifically.

That is a good question.  The current PSU gets very hot.  The new feet look like a great improvement over the originals as well.  Could these (bottom plates and feet) be retrofit in the field?

 

[David1961]

I've read the BHSE gets quite hot, if that is the case would it be OK to have it's PSU positioned close to the side of the Amp section ?