Firebottle
Senior Member

hi Alan,
I have recently purchased one of your Firebottle plus phono stages from a fellow WAM member.
absolutely loving it so far, great work.
this is my first dedicated phono stage and also my first piece of valve equipment I have a few questions..

roughly how often will the valves need replacing and is this an upgrade/improvement opportunity?

I did read on a forum that there are other upgrades available..where can I find details if this is the case?

thanks in advance ..
neil

Hi Alan,
I have question touching my next journey in hifi.
Never tried valve amps, so I hope you could help with your huge experience.
The problem is I need tone controls and I don’t want to spend fortune.
Also I am a bit spoilt by my standards I don’t want something mediocre not showing what valves can do. I know, hard task.
But to start somewhere I am looking for some solution, many ideas, but without help impossible.
I could start with preamp only, as example. Or try to convert/refurbish/repair an old good design amp or so.
Would you be able to help with some advices?
Thank you
Ras

Hi hope you don’t mind me contacting you, my name is Steve and i live in Birmingham, ive had a Stereo Coffee LDR kit for over a year now which after looking at the PDF files i defiantly do not have the knowhow to build this! If you have a email i could send a pic of all the bits i have

Thanks for Your Time

Steve

Also(I know it's only aesthetic)but I love the look of your unit with the valves coming out of the top , is this the same one you propose? If not is it possible to do as I think it's important to look the part as well as sound it? And will I need a seperate PSU to improve the sound like my current phono?
Cheers
Karl

Ah ok I see. I wondered why I couldn't find it. Thanks . Well I'm definatley interested in one. I would have liked to try one first but unfortunately I've just moved to Melbourne from the uk so the loaner scheme is not doable now. Which leads me to my second question.... can you do international shipping? If so how much would it be?
Cheers

Hi Alan I can't quite find how to private message you as I'm a newbie to the forum. I'm looking at getting a valve phono stage for my setup and yours come highly regarded. I currently have a modded rp6 with exact, brio r and GS gram amp 2 se which to me sounds great , but I feel I could do better in the phono department and a valve phono will get the most out of my system as I play mostly vinyl. Was just wondering what you offered and the prices please. I feel I will be going moving coil in the future so to have the option would be great. Also I have a budget around £500. Apologies if this is insulting and doesn't come close but I can't find any new info about your products,only older threads from years ago where prices are around £325. Would consider any used/b stock etc etc if it means saving a few quid.
Thanks in advance
Karl

Hi,
I was reading a thread about an otl amp you built.
I told my friend who has esl63s,and he is very interested.
I used to own a transcendent gg preamp which my daughter now uses.
My friend was wondering if you would take on building some otl amps for him
Regards
Ian

Thanks for the reply, Alan. Yes, I would be grateful if you would add my name to the borrowers list, please. Also, what is the price of the two-box phono stage you mentioned in your email? My pre-amp is quite an old Croft model with a built-in phono stage. I have enjoyed using it for many years. The reason I am looking to replace it is that after a period of dallying and faffing with a variety of power amps in my system, I have narrowed it down to one I want to stick with for the forseeable. It is a valve design with a single input source and a volume control. So not quite fish nor fowl if you see what I mean. It struck me as pointless and undesirable to run the signal through two lots of volume controls, so I thought I would treat myself to a change/upgrade by replacing the Croft with a home-made source switching box and a good quality stand-alone phono stage. That's where you come in! Regards. Gary.

Hello, Mr Firebottle. I have just joined the forum, but to save you the time and trouble of reading my introductory post I will mention that I explained in it that I have sort of "lost my way" a bit with my vinyl front end. Too many changes made at once and I'm not sure how to get back - let alone improve upon - the sound that I like. I have heard very good things about your phono stage, and at the risk of complicating things even more, I wonder if it would be valuable for me to explore the possibilities here.

I have read an old thread, involving Old Pink Man, which related to the development of the early prototypes and early production models of the phono stage. But that was some time back, and I am wondering what iteration of the unit you are on now, what the choices are and what the cost is. Also, do you happen to know where the itinerant loan unit can be found at the moment?
Many thanks for your help. Regards. Gary.

Alan. Hello. I am building up a turntable and am considering a Firebottle phono stage, having been savagely disappointed by beaten to the post on a second hand one. What are you offering and how does a chap acquire one? How do they perform compared to other 'stages? I need MC or a step up. Cheers,