Bigbottle MC Phonostage

[Bigman80]

New casework has finally arrived!

Should be perfect.

Still awaiting the Transformer from EU and the RCA sockets from Valab.

[Bigman80]

Yup all fits In nicely!

[smangus]

Really nice looking case Oliver ! Wire posted today.

Cheers Andy

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Bigman80]

Really nice looking case Oliver ! Wire posted today.

Cheers Andy

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Hi Andy,

I'm delighted with it. Looks well made and its probably the perfect fit for my Ikea unit lol.

Hopefully the TX shield will be sufficient to remove any hum. If not, I'll have to think of something.

Cool, i'll keep my eyes peeled!

[Bigman80]

Decided do couldn't do NOTHING, regardless of the constant pain!

Board fixed to the chassis, socket screwed on. Feet attached.

It'll all have to come off again but wanted to see what it will look like.

Perfect fit in the unit too, almost like I meant it

[Bigman80]

Just had an email to say things didn't quite go to plan for the Bigbottle at the Bakeoff. Apparently some sort of matching issue with the cartridge led to a different cartridge being used, then alignment was off and then an issue with loading?

Seems like it was up against it from the off.*

The bit of feedback I did get was this:

"The owner advised the audience he had exchanged the original valves for a pair more to his personal taste.

The forward projection was very evident and the cohesiveness of the performers was a strong perception, I was trying to gauge the width and depth of the soundstage but the forward projection was masking the sense of space. The forward Projection was becoming a detractor to the balance of the overall presentation"

I've been a little surprised by this as the phonostage didn't present forward in the three systems I've tried it in and the width of the soundstage is usually more evident BUT it's feedback and I accept good and bad.*

This was the original prototype PCB version, not the new one. Hopefully, when mine is built, I can get it out and about for some more feedback.

[YNWaN]

I was at the Yorkshire Hi-Fi Club do yesterday and heard your stage Oliver. The situation was much as you describe but specifically:

Dave had two cartridges, an optical design that requires a custom stage to power it and decode the optical signal and a high output MC. Obviously the optical design couldn’t be used. Briefly the high output was used but it was immediately obvious that this was overloading and distortion was obvious. Another member had brought a recently rebuilt Ortofon and this was pre-aligned in his own SME style head shell. The deck in question had a 12” Jelco arm on it and the head shells were swapped and the tracking reset to 1.8g. After a couple of tracks I asked Dave (Brooks) if he could raise the arm height as it was obvious the cartridge was very down at the back - he made the required adjustment (I think even a bit more could have been done but he was running out of arm pillar adjustment) and the sound was more open - clearly better. The chap who had brought the phonostage (your design) said be normally ran a Benz (wood I think) and liked it with no additional loading so that is how it was run initially. To be honest, I didn’t find the sound at all ‘forward’ and I am surprised you have been told so. In fact I found it overly relaxed and rather dynamically flat . We then tried adjusting the loading with some plugs the owner had brought - this made next to no diffference to me. I’m sorry, but in this case the cumulative sound left me entirely unengaged. However, what the cause of this was is very difficult to say. It could have been the cartridge, the setup of the arm/cartridge (very easily), your stage, compatibility issues (though it seemed to work fine in a technical sense with the amplification) etc.

[Bigman80]

Need my TF!

I've broken the previous post? I'll redo it.

[Bigman80]

I was at the Yorkshire Hi-Fi Club do yesterday and heard your stage Oliver. The situation was much as you describe but specifically:

Dave had two cartridges, an optical design that requires a custom stage to power it and decode the optical signal and a high output MC. Obviously the optical design couldn’t be used. Briefly the high output was used but it was immediately obvious that this was overloading and distortion was obvious. Another member had brought a recently rebuilt Ortofon and this was pre-aligned in his own SME style head shell. The deck in question had a 12” Jelco arm on it and the head shells were swapped and the tracking reset to 1.8g. After a couple of tracks I asked Dave (Brooks) if he could raise the arm height as it was obvious the cartridge was very down at the back - he made the required adjustment (I think even a bit more could have been done but he was running out of arm pillar adjustment) and the sound was more open - clearly better. The chap who had brought the phonostage (your design) said be normally ran a Benz (wood I think) and liked it with no additional loading so that is how it was run initially. To be honest, I didn’t find the sound at all ‘forward’ and I am surprised you have been told so. In fact I found it overly relaxed and rather dynamically flat . We then tried adjusting the loading with some plugs the owner had brought - this made next to no diffference to me. I’m sorry, but in this case the cumulative sound left me entirely unengaged. However, what the cause of this was is very difficult to say. It could have been the cartridge, the setup of the arm/cartridge (very easily), your stage, compatibility issues (though it seemed to work fine in a technical sense with the amplification) etc.

I've got to be honest Mark, I'm very surprised by both of your verdicts. On one hand it's too forward and on the other it's lacklustre

I've had a few folks here who've listened to the vinyl and their comments were different again. I certainly didn't feel Macca felt a lack of dynamics or energy from it.

I honestly think something wasn't quite right. I know the owner uses Amperex valves, whether that was a factor, I don't know.

The loading is a strange one. Ordinarily, I load the Kb at either 220 or 470 so if there were no plugs in, that's 1k IIRC which I don't see as ideal for the Kb.

All ends up, I think it's been handicapped a little but the massive difference in comments just shows nobody really knows anything

[YNWaN]

If Macca was one of the blokes there yesterday I cannot imagine how he arrived at the conclusion that the sound was too forward - he must have found some of the other gear unbearably so!

As I wrote before, different loading was tried but to little effect.