Blue Hawaii Special Edition

[Tyll Hertsens]

Make one amp to rule them all and then make another amp to rule the first amp.

 

This is head-case, dammit. If it isn't overkill what is the point?

 

InnerFidelity.com approves this post.

[Dusty Chalk]

Didn't they do that already?  The problem is, they're honest enough that they can still think of ways to out-do themselves.  (And by, 'they', I mean the Stax Mafia).

[spritzer]

For me it is just more fun to attack the low end and try to make something that's easy to build and/or gives a lot of bang for the buck.  Going for the top means the complexity is multiplied and things get very expensive, very quickly.  Not many people have the skill or the funds needed to build something like that so it comes some mythical design that everybody might lust after but is of little use to them.  That said, there are some ideas for super high end amps that have been brought up over the years which will be finished at some point in the future.  Kevin did promise some people that Mjölnir Audio will make a 10K$ amp so we need something crazy for that pricetag.... 

[purk]

For me it is just more fun to attack the low end and try to make something that's easy to build and/or gives a lot of bang for the buck.  Going for the top means the complexity is multiplied and things get very expensive, very quickly.  Not many people have the skill or the funds needed to build something like that so it comes some mythical design that everybody might lust after but is of little use to them.  That said, there are some ideas for super high end amps that have been brought up over the years which will be finished at some point in the future.  Kevin did promise some people that Mjölnir Audio will make a 10K$ amp so we need something crazy for that pricetag.... 

A properly built T2....would command and justify its 10k pricetag.

[spritzer]

More like 15K$ these days.  I have enough parts for at least a dozen of them but hell no that I'll build more than two. 

[justin]

A properly built T2....would command and justify its 10k pricetag.

 

i was offered 8k for one and it had to have a warranty and i had to cover shipping both ways across the ocean if it ever broke. No thank you...

[n_maher]

I am continuously amazed by your desire to profit. What is it that you have against losing money?

[spritzer]

Yeah...  nothing but greed!!!    Justin needs to do a new 4K$ PSU for the BHSE though.  Regulated bias, KGSSHV psu and DC for the heaters, fully regulated. 

[purk]

i was offered 8k for one and it had to have a warranty and i had to cover shipping both ways across the ocean if it ever broke. No thank you...

But Israel isn't far away...should have asked him for 12k...

[n_maher]

With those conditions try $20k.

[Hopstretch]

I'll give you tree fiddy and a cookie.

[Augsburger]

For that kind of money I would insist on a FOTM guarantee, certification and sticker as proof.

[screaming oranges]

BHSE... bitches hatin' single-ended

[postjack]

I'll give you tree fiddy and a cookie.

I'll throw in an sr125 that's old so it's special or something.

[DefQon]

Well I did msg Kevin about that super expensive high end and complex 845 amp the Stax Mafia brought up few years ago, Kevin says they will complete it in a year or so as spritzer is working on a DHT amp from what I've been told.

Edited October 8, 2014 by DefQon

[Augsburger]

So much "I want" for me in this thread.

[spritzer]

The DHT amp I have on the back burner is a SE design so transformers needed to use it for Stax.  Still it will be a test bed for filament supplies and how to deal with that clusterfuck. 

 

On the other side of the spectrum I have an Egmont PCB ready that is just 105*95mm for a stereo board.  ECC83's and 6N6pi for a truly cheap, fully balanced amp. 

[Tyll Hertsens]

So much "I want" for me in this thread.

 

That's the spirit!!!

[shellylh]

Seems like Santa will be coming early this year - the BH should ship pretty soon.  

 

I don't have any tubes yet.  I assume that it will still sound good without the upgraded tubes and that I shouldn't just rush out and buy something just because the amp will be here soon.  I have been looking at XF2 and haven't really found anything at a good price from a reputable dealer.  Brent Jesse doesn't even have any of his "overpriced" pairs anymore.

 

Does anyone know about this seller?  

 

http://www.cathedralstone.net/Pages/NOSVacuumTubes/NOSVacuumTubes.htm

 

I was also thinking of Paul Lindemann to see if he has any matched pairs/quads.  I haven't heard people talking about him lately but assume he is still reputable and selling? 

 

Any other options?  Not sure I want to try getting something from a random person on ebay. 

Edited October 23, 2014 by shellylh

[nopants]

NOS RFT tubes are another alternative, certainly not XF2 tier but something to consider...order of magnitude cheaper as well

[shellylh]

How long do the RFT tubes last?  

[nopants]

Should be thousands of hours like any other NOS EL34, but someone else can chime in as a more accurate tube lifetime in a BHSE. I'll let you know when I receive my own BHSE (Currawong's unit), but with the Megatron I've been using RFTs ~8-10 hours a day at the office for 6 months now, no signs of faltering. 

 

I think national 6ca7 and possibly telefunken EL34s are equivalent

Edited October 23, 2014 by nopants

[johnwmclean]

I like the SED Winged C’s best.

Tried Psvanes, XF4’s, RFT’s and JJs.

 

Psvane’s sounded amazing, but the quality was rubbish... 

[n_maher]

I'm pretty sure that I can winged-C's in my BH as well and they were both very affordable and good sounding.  NOS may be better but at ~5-10x the cost, if you can find them, it wasn't worth it to me.

[spritzer]

Should be thousands of hours like any other NOS EL34, but someone else can chime in as a more accurate tube lifetime in a BHSE. I'll let you know when I receive my own BHSE (Currawong's unit),....

 

Tell me that's the one that Justin built and not the shitbox pabbi1 fucked up?