Bijou Negative Feedback

[mobayrasta]

So I have a Bijou built by dBel84 (Don) and am curious about the negative feedback. With the pot turned all the way down (7 oclock) it seems to have no negative feedback and is perfect for my AKG 340's . As you turn the pot clockwise you get less and less sound. Am I supposed to turn the negative feedback up when using Grado's and Ultrasones ( I know everybody at head-case loves Ultrasones) If I turn it up too much it seems to loose a lot of the lushness of the amp. I am still trying to figure out the best spot for my low impendence phones. Anybody got any advice?

Chris

[dBel84]

Hey Chris , this is very much a personal thing. Increasing negative feedback does reduce the gain but it also "cleans" up the signal. There is no universal sweet spot, it really is dependent on your preferences and hence the option of a feedback pot - you set it where you like it.

..dB

[mugdecoffee]

I powered my K340s with a Bijou for a while with the NFB turned all the way down and for some things I needed more gain so I disabled removed the pot (at least while I had the K340s). Even with the NFB pot turned all the way down, there is still a fair bit being applied. After comparing with and without the NFB pot, I decided to keep it in but I always keep it at its minimum.

As far as Grados, I tried my bijou with HF-2s and was very underwhelmed. I think the amp doesn't do well into low impedance phones. NFB didn't help much if at all.

[mobayrasta]

Thanks. I finally have a solid state amp on the way with multiple gain choices, so I hope it pairs well with my lower impendance cans like my Grado's and Ultrasone's. I am curious what removing the NF for my 340's would do now. I will have to give it a try!