[AirForceTeacher]

Has anyone looked at The Billie Amp on Kickstarter?  Any thoughts?  Good looks, definitely.  Tube preamp, solid state amplifier, 125 watts.  Inputs include turntable, RCA, optical and AptX Bluetooth.
 
I asked what DAC they were using and got this response:

The DAC is the ESS 9018K2M :http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/products/sabre-digital-analog-converters/sabre-hifi-mobile-dacs/sabre-hifi-stereo-dacs/es9018k2m/

 
(apologize if there's already a thread - didn't see it in my search)

 

[Vigrith]

  Has anyone looked at The Billie Amp on Kickstarter?  Any thoughts?  Good looks, definitely.  Tube preamp, solid state amplifier, 125 watts.  Inputs include turntable, RCA, optical and AptX Bluetooth.
 
I asked what DAC they were using and got this response:
 
(apologize if there's already a thread - didn't see it in my search)

 
Haven't read the specifics or anything but the look of it alone... That's a beautiful amplifier right there, especially in black. Damn.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

I think I posted this in the wrong forum - can I move it somehow to the full size headphone amplifier forum?

 

[AirForceTeacher]

I was hoping some people had more info on it.  Or opinions on that DAC chip.

 

[mitchell2001]

It is a class D ICEpower bang&olufsen witch I read up on here a few weeks ago while learning about amp design. Its pretty exciting to see a product with this promising new tech in the sometimes stagnant in the audio game. P.S. I've also never seen a class D tube amp.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

Well, I bit. I hope I didn't just take one for the team in the quest to support those developing new equipment. I'll let y'all know in December I guess.

 

[pkcpga]

I've never seen or heard of a class D power with a tube preamp. I wonder how that's going to sound. I'm presuming it's going to be very reasonably priced since its class D power and that usually is in sub 1k price point. Could be interesting if priced right.

 

[pkcpga]

After reading about the Billie amp carefully, hopefully you don't need to power more than bookshelf speakers, it's really 60 watt @8 ohms rms and 125 is peak @4 ohms. But should be very interesting for easy to power speakers, the tube preamps should warm up the usually harsher D power hopefully making it sound like a more expensive piece.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

So, still not delivered, but the makers are posting monthly reports. It appears that it goes to manufacturing this month or early next month. I'm near the end of the list of original backers, so I expect I won't get it before March. I'd like to write a review, but frankly, I just don't have exposure to enough good gear to do it justice. If someone in South Texas wants to come have a Scotch and listen with me to help evaluate it, feel free to PM me. I picked up another pair of NOS Usher V-601s to use with it, but I don't have any really nice headphones, unless you count the Massdrop HiFiMan HE-350

Non Kickstarter link to company: https://heaven11audio.com/

 

[navii]

The billie looks a lot like the Elekit 22 Hybrid Tube amp. Even they share a similarity in the name (one as 11 and the other 22 in the name).