I popped over to Oliver’s (Bigman80) and caught a bug!
I popped over to Oliver’s (Bigman80) and ended up catching a bug!
I’ve been exchanging emails on and off with Oliver (Bigman80) for over a year now. As you can see from my signature I’ve bought a number of his Spotfire cables and safe to say I’m a big fan of his work.
He invited me over to listen to his set-up and borrow his Bigbottle Jfet MC Valve Phonostage. We arranged to meet on Monday morning…
I went over armed with a few records, as requested. I was met at the door by Oliver who I must confess was much younger than I imagined, no offence Oliver. I’m usually one who likes to greet someone with a firm handshake but knowing of Oliver’s accident and injuries the handshake was more tentative than usual. A small thing but worth noting. There’s nothing worse than a lip handshake.
We went straight to where the magic happens…his front room where his system resides. Laffin!
I saw with my own eyes the beast known as ‘The Krell’ and his speakers which he really loves and doesn’t care if no one else does. A hot and cold beverage was offered and I went with the Blackcurrant cordial option.
So onto the listening part. We started off with Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’. The album is one of the best recorded albums I own and one I use when demoing any new gear. We listened to 'Hallelujah' and 'Lover, You should’ve Come Over' and I was suitable impressed and surprised.
This is the first time I’ve listened to any system with valves so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Over the years I’d read the clichés of valves lacking (Bass) weight and being warm and fussy.
There was nothing warm and fussy about this system. In fact it lacked nothing in all areas. I was surprised how solid the presentation was.
The next album was Talk Talk’s ‘The Colour of Spring’. Another album which is brilliantly recorded and another one I use to test gear with.
The opening track ‘Happiness Is Easy’ starts with just drums for around a minute with percussion and plucked strings to follow. Again I was impressed at the Bass weight and the space between the instruments, a trait I’ve become a custom to with his Spotfire leads.
We played a couple of other albums then we moved on to Low’s ‘Double Negative’. I did warn Oliver it was ‘a bit out there’ and the record wasn’t damaged. All would be revealed once the needle hot the record.
As expected Oliver was a little taken aback at first but left the record playing. We both sat there mesmerised and let the whole side play out. Although I doubt it might not be Oliver’s cup of tea he was impressed with the recording and especially at one point where the Bass fell through the floor. If you weren’t aware, Oliver loves his Bass.
Chat moved onto his Phono Stage and what went into the development of it. BTW he name checked a number of people who’d helped him and joked he’d drove Alan @Firebottle mad asking questions on a daily basis.
He opened it up for me to show what was going on inside and talked through various elements. I did joke when I first arrived I’d added a Soldering Iron to my Amazon Wish List before coming over (I actually had BTW).
After hearing and seeing his Phono Stage (plus Oliver’s enthusiasm) I was on the edge of falling down another rabbit hole.*
After three hours I left with his Phono Stage in hand and left Oliver to what was left of his Bank Holiday.
I got home and swapped my Trilogy 906 for the Bigbottle. I let it warm up for half an hour then set about more listening and the surprises kept coming.
The first thing I noticed was how loud it was. When I use my Trilogy I have to turn it up to between 10/11 o’clock. With the Bigbottle I needed to turn it down to just below 9 o’clock.
I listened to Jeff Buckley’s Grace and Talk Talk’s The Colour of Spring again. My head was spinning as I struggled to take it all in. It remined me of when I first hear the Spotfire interconnects. It took me weeks to get used to them.
For starters the amount of Bass weight/bottom end was unbelievable. The two albums previously mentioned are probably my most played albums and I know them inside out or so I thought. I was hearing more detail within the tracks but what was even more impressive was instruments had texture and tone I’d never heard before.
So all positives? Well it’s early days but I was mightily impressed. The thing was I felt it was just too much for me to handle and after a few albums my head was spinning. I needed to take a break and take some pills. I had been listening to music most of the day so it was understandable.
I know from experience with the Spotfire’s it takes time to adjust to the presentation. I also need to go back to my Trilogy before any statements of which is 'better' are made.
*So did I fall down the rabbit hole and catch the bug? Well I was on eBay last looking at valves...Oh and I joined the diyAudio forum last night. So I reckon I’m about to fall down the rabbit hole any day now.
Thanks to Oliver for his time and hospitality much appreciated mate.
Cheers
Rob
Well Tempered Versalex, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Trilogy 906, MCRU LDA Linear PSU, Naim ND5 XS 2 , Exposure 3010S2D, Roksan TR-5 speakers, Spotfire Interconnects/Spotfire Reference speaker cable