runninshine Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Do any of you have any experience with these kits? The reviews and the price seems to be right for me and they look good as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderCollie Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Do any of you have any experience with these kits? The reviews and the price seems to be right for me and they look good as well. I was atually going to post over in the 2 ch section for the first time tonight. I actualy built the Grounded Grid Pre-Amp and did an attenuator upgrade about 6.5 years a go. I used the GG with a pair of NAD 2200's & B&K Ref 200.2, I drove a pair of Infinity Beta Speakers with the NAD's/B&K and drove a pair of Heresy's with the B&K. I had a lot of fun building the kit and it is really easy. I believe that Bruce Rozenblit really knows his stuff and knows how to design a good product. I used my GG daily for about 2 years and I packed it away for about 4 years because I was moving all the time and didn't have room for it, but I got it out for the 1st time today and it started right up. I used it for about 1/2 hour and it sounded great. The tubes were not even warm when I shut it down today. As it stands today for me, I am going to use the Nakamichi 420 I have now and I'm looking for the good deal on a pair of Heresy's to finish this system off. All in all, I think Transcenedent Sound makes a good sounding product and I think they are well designed. My biggest complaint about the GG is that the chasis and cover are made of stainless steel and they made with a break and its not 100% straight. The brushed Al front is just OK, but I have seen a lot of guys make custom cabinets out of wood and they looked really good, reminded of Juicy Music Products. I hope this helps, I would love to buy an OTL amp kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderCollie Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderCollie Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 triple post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderCollie Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 quad post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderCollie Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 sept post... wow, not sure what happened here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 16, 2011 Your just good. cool looking doggie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderCollie Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I think good might be an understatement for this one... The dog would be our Border Collie named Andy, he just turned 2 about a week ago. Mywife and I got him from a small breeder outside of Madison, Wi when I got off active duty in 2009. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runninshine Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 The GG is what I have my eye on for right now, and mini beast (4wpc) would be great for my LS or Khorns. I was hoping there might be some others here who have put some of these amps together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I bought a GG and enjoyed it very much!![] I did not build it but got it from the original owner. I used it with a Luxman 100 watt int amp, a Cayin 30 watt int amp, and a pair of Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondogs 3.5 watts and liked the GG with all 3!! I did not have a chance to try it with one of the Transcendent Sound amps but I have read very good reviews of them. If you do go with the GG and the mini beast( I think if you get two they are 12 watts) post pics of the build and how they sound. The Chassis is very basic but the preamp sounds very good! I was using it with La Scalas and the Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondogs had enough power for my 15 x 15 room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I looked at building that one. I've looked at many different kits lately. Then I looked at what you can buy built across the pond for 1/2 the money. The parts for this preamp would cost me more that what they sell this for. I would still like to do a a 6H30 preamp kit but haven't really found the right one. Anyway look at this preamp. http://cgi.ebay.com/Xiang-Sheng-728A-Vacuum-Valve-Stereo-Tube-Pre-Amplifier-/290587571443?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a85e74f3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runninshine Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 I looked at building that one. I've looked at many different kits lately. Then I looked at what you can buy built across the pond for 1/2 the money. The parts for this preamp would cost me more that what they sell this for. I would still like to do a a 6H30 preamp kit but haven't really found the right one. Anyway look at this preamp. http://cgi.ebay.com/Xiang-Sheng-728A-Vacuum-Valve-Stereo-Tube-Pre-Amplifier-/290587571443?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a85e74f3 JL, I have been following your thread on the 6H30. I will check out the link you provided. Thanks!!! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Bruce has offered some very nice kits at reasonable prices and his designs keep getting more interesting and innovative and in my experience, quieter. I've had a a few of his amps over the years and his SEOTL was a real jaw-dropper. Clean, dynamic, uber-fast with excellent bass control and when bridged in mono, these qualities become that much more pronounced. Bruce now offers the Mini Beast SEOTL with 4w/ch in stereo and 12w/ch bridged though the reviews are still out on whether its an improvement over the older version (1.5w/ch and 4w/channel bridged). Given Bruce's track record, I would assume it'll work out fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 In my totally subjective opinion, they are great sounding amplifiers, from low power to high. I own both the SEOTL and T16, both of which sound very similar (to me), but rather different from any transformer coupled amplifier I have made, of which I have many. The kits are extremely intuitive, though I would not recommend one of the amplifiers as a first time project, at least without some thorough practice first. If you need an extremely good tube linestage, the Grounded Grid makes for a more suitable first time project (or a Bottlehead Foreplay, or something else) Alternatively, you could by some passive parts -- resistors, caps, solder terminal strips, some wire, and a piece of wood, and just hook some of the parts together. If you may need a new crossover or want to refresh caps, crossovers make for excellent first time projects due to comparatively much lower parts count, like four or five parts for the Heritage line (the AL excluded from that): couple of capacitors, an inductor or two, a multitapped choke (if your choke is multitapped), or L-pad of some other type. While some have found the SEOTL outstanding in terms of overall sonic qualities, the same 'some' was not satisified with its output ability in very large spaces (I am one of those 'some'). When I say large space, I'm referring to the entire first floor of our open house plan. Listening near field with our La Scalas or Lowther horns, the SEOTL was more than adequate. When turned up quite a bit higher, there were signs of stress, congestion, etc. With the klipschorns in an upstairs listening room (about 16 X 20), it was planty. For a 1.5 watt amp, I was utterly not prepared for the kind of bass control this thing could produce. Better than any conventional 45, 2A3, or 300B amp I've used (which still have something very satisfying to offer for music less heavily laden with bass). The SEOTL is also a great amp for Heresies. Where high power is an issue, the so-called BEAST has been really well received so far, and there is, as mentioned above, the new Mini-Beast. So, something for everyone from a designer who is really bringing something different to output transformerless tube amplification. If you can have a chance to listen before a purchase, that would be great; you might not care for the sound. They use a certain amount of feedback, which does not have the best reputation for some -- I actually thought the same until I understood it better. Sometimes one just has to take a chance and hope for the best, keeping in mind there are piles of alternatives if it doesn't work out. It's just 'stuff,' after all...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 And I should add (Erik Mandaville here, by the way -- I had some trouble logging on, and just tried this other handle quickly, and it took. Seems the system has changed a bit....). that the SEOTL because of its lower output power is (probably) better suited to more simple crossover types as in 6dB-12dB/octave designs. With these lower order slopes, there isn't the same level of insertion loss as steeper designs, and with an admittedly pretty strong sounding 1 watt or so, 1 watt is still 1 watt and physics is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Erik, Great to hear from you! I'm still kicking with the Moondogs, finally bought a manual for them from Ron. They don't seem too worried at this point about folks building some clones. I'm considering a pair with a slightly larger top plate, which would give me more room underneath and allow for easier mods. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hi, Bruce I love my Moondogs. It's good you got the manual from Ron; he's never been anything but helpful to me. Moondogs are in use with the K-horns in our combined HT/music system upstairs. I've made some modifications to the seotl amp in order to use it with my Grado phones. I had been using the Moth amp for headphones, but the 1.5 watt OTL is better in every way. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runninshine Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks for the info erik2A3. I was thinking of the GG for a first build ( the bottlehead stuff looked good too) but just picked up a dynaco SCA-35 and it needs a liitle bit of attention, so I will wait a little while longer before I purchace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Sure! Have fun with the Dynaco! Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 And I should add (Erik Mandaville here, by the way -- I had some trouble logging on, and just tried this other handle quickly, and it took. Seems the system has changed a bit....). that the SEOTL because of its lower output power is (probably) better suited to more simple crossover types as in 6dB-12dB/octave designs. With these lower order slopes, there isn't the same level of insertion loss as steeper designs, and with an admittedly pretty strong sounding 1 watt or so, 1 watt is still 1 watt and physics is.... Hey Erik I thought that was you as soon as I started reading your post! Good to see you. I agree whole heartedly on this gear Bruce knows his stuff and if OTL floats your boat no reason not to use his kit. I finally had a chance to hear one of them (I mean a total chance encounter) and they do sound sweet. Not my cup of tea but regardless that is strictly personal preference.... nice amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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