[amcananey]

I'm considering building a no-holds-barred M^3. A couple of quick questions:
 
1. Has anyone here ever built a fully balanced M^3? Any opinions on whether it was worthwhile?
 
2. Has anyone here built both an M^3 with variable gain, and an M^3 with a bass boost, or else converted from one to the other? Which did you ultimately prefer, and why?
 
3. How hard is it to get to a truly neutral position if you build an M^3 with the bass boost option? Is it really just a question of turning the bass boost pot all the way down, or will there still be some (albeit minimal) bass boost even at that setting?
 
4. Is the bass boost feature really useful, or does it wind up making the sound muddy? With but one exception, I generally haven't been a fan of bass boost features in the past. It does seem like something that might be useful for warming up some cans. I recently acquired a K.I.C.A.S. Caliente, and I find it (a) refreshing to have an amp that isn't neutral (and doesn't try to be), and (b) a nice compliment to my Alessandro MS2s.
 
Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Best regards,
Adam

 

[amb]

1: Yes, there are some fully balanced builds out there
2: Don't know if anyone's built both or converted from one to another
3: Turn knob to minimum and get flat response
4. If you use the default parts values then the bass boost action is not dramatic, and may help with bass-shy headphones or recordings.

 

[amcananey]

Thanks!