joshnich Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) I am the happy owner of an ampsandsound little ben amplifier. Having read Joe and Deans review of the SE84 amp I was compelled to call Justin to purchase one as I figured it would be great for the office. After discussion with Justin, we settled on his “little ben”. I had the choice of a few different tubes and ended up with the EL 34. Any more information on exactly what the differences are between his various options would have to come from him. In other words I have no idea what I bought and how it’s different from the other amps he builds! In my current main system I rotate between various components. A VRD ST 120 (with upgraded caps etc etc) , A pair of Juicy Music PCats and a Macintosh MC 225. I am currently using Craigs NBS preamp with phono, but also will rotate in a NosValves modded Merlin and my George Wright wpp 100 phono stage. Needless to say some very fine tube equipment and I have fun rotating the options in and out.So before taking the amp to my office I have spent some time with it in my main system as well as in my workshop. In my main system I hooked it up directly to my Oppo BDP- 105 without using a preamp. This is one fine piece of equipment. I am not very good with “audio words” to describe sound but I can say it is incredibly detailed, awesome with acoustic music, spooky realistic with vocals, dead quiet, ultrasmooth and liquid. Did I mention that it was dead quiet!? In fact it is the quietest piece of tube equipment that I have ever owned. It cerainly benefits in that regard to being connected directly to the source. To the extent that I would be happy with any piece of equipment ( my history suggests that I like some variety!) I could certainly be happy with this amp as my forever amp. My main system is in a very large “great room” and the little ben sounded anything but little. Plenty of power to drive my Belles and fill the room. Not going to break any windows, but I dont look for that in an amp. A few years ago I had some of the original Tekton full range single driver speakers. I was imagining how awesome this amp would be using such a speaker. So I bought some 4”full range single drivers off ebay ( based on Justin’s recomendation), and a pre built enclosure, also off ebay, from a guy in Moldovia (where ever that is! ). The cabinet was built to the specs of the fostex 103 full range driver which is also 4”. I ended up needing to widening the pre-drilled hole on the enclosure in order to mount the drivers that I purchased. Net net the speakers I built for a couple of hundred bucks and this awesome little amp mate up spectacularly. As I mentioned earlier, I purchased the amp and built the speakers thinking they would be great for my office. My wife heard the combo and wants me to use it as a bedroom system. So it will replace the McIntosh 6100 and B&W DM7 MK2’s that are currently in use there. I also have to add that Justin is awesome to deal with. Another in the line of fine builders who have been part of this forum. Edited April 4, 2014 by joshnich 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Nice review. Every one of Justin's amps that I have tested were dead quiet. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Great write up, and I agree 100 percent Justin is Awesome My wife did the same thing, she claimed the Full ranger proto type, and the SE-84 I got from Justin My wife has never seemed to care about any of my audio endeavors. Her typical response was to roll her eyes and say it's OK (which I HATED ), I hooked the SE84 up to the Full Rangers In a horrible environment / room she pops up "I like those" She told me where she wants to use them when we get settled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I just got a pre-amp from Justin. It's a one off tube pre that he built and used while demoing his amps. Can't wait to get it up and running. One of his amps will be in my future as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 My wife has never seemed to care about any of my audio endeavors. Her typical response was to roll her eyes and say it's OK (which I HATED ), I hooked the SE84 up to the Full Rangers In a horrible environment / room she pops up "I like those" She told me where she wants to use them when we get settled That is the best review yet. Justin achieved WAF approval, no small feat. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Trying to add some photos but it will be a miracle if they show up. If they do one will be of the little ben in my main set-up one will be a closer shot of the little ben on my work bench and the final is my little DIY single driver speak! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 What is that table in the stratosphere? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I was wondering how you would put an album on there myself ?? It looks like a clearaudio ?? How do you like the woodwork on the ben, I find Justins build quality excellent, and the wood work is stunning IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Just looked at signature and It is a clearaudio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 people complained about my furniture bridge... no one is complaining about a furniture tower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 It is a clearaudio and for some reason the "tower" appears taller than it is. The top of the platter is right about chin level. And yes joe the build quality is top notch. All and all a great looking and great sounding piece of equipment. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hornmiester Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 (edited) Glad you are happy with your amp. Edited April 5, 2014 by Hornmiester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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