Terry Cain's BIB -why does it work and does anyone have those Fostex Craft Handbooks?

168Esig

Thanks Moose

I haven't come across Wilmslow before. A bit more expensive than ordering from US but then it seems easier to buy from Blighty and have some comeback if they are damaged or something.

I have already bought a LM3886 chip amp kit which is winging its way to me as we speak. I couldn't resist it as a project, but I think that I would like to eventually find/build an all valve set up to make the most out of the BIB design and FR drivers.

I will keep looking back for any suggestions on amps.

Martin
 
Martin

Right now I have a DIY 6V6/6BQ7, (ancient TungSol 6V6's) push pull job that Jim McShane, and Mikey LeFevre helped out with, hooked onto the BIB.168's, and the extra crunch of the 'V6's, 12 watts, the extra headroom, gives the 168's a whole other dimension. I am listening to Elgar #5 (iii) and it really is communicating the ebb and flow of WW1 life in England, aided by a glass of port, and wee puff-o-the-green. Grandeur, flow, liquid, kettledrum thwacks are alot of fun with these particular speakers, light cone, good Xmax and SPL, fairly low Fs, bullseye perfect for the BIB.

ANY amp I have paired with these speakers has sounded VERY good, for whatever reason, but tubes are what their auteurs intended for them. Also, see Horst, at www.boxen-baustelle.de he is very good to deal with too. The real point is that the BIB.168 will make for a Grand sounding juke box at home, with the lively, throaty horn sound, lower register sonics virtually identical to open baffle without the hassle, a healthy line gain over the 94db driver, all of the good, none of the bad. The calc for this load is PERFECT. Merci le chef Lindgren.

What more do you need?
 
Thanks guys - I am getting really excited now. I've priced up the ready veneered MDF sheet today, so looks like I should be building by middle of next week.:D

Oh, and thanks for those German links. I have a look and the prices work out to about the same as Wilmslow, but it is good to know of other suppliers just incase I can't source other things.

This forum is very addictive. When will I ever get time to listen to my music? Maybe I should move the puter to the sweetspot?

Thanks

Martin
 
Maybe I should move the puter to the sweetspot?

Which is why I have a laptop :D

I used to own a Decware SE84CS Select amp, and I loved the little thing. Only sold it because I thought I wanted to go the 2A3 route...didn't last for long. Transmitting tubes and the lure of more power quickly followed :cool:

I also used to have a Decware CSP preamp (the all-black one before the current model), and I didn't like that one as much as the Zen. It was too noisy in my setup.
 
Hey Martin,

They are a great build! Been tuning mine for a while and loving them and the process! They sound simply spectacular!!!!

Thel has some pretty full on stuff! It's a shame it isn't in english. Just check out some of the glimmer condensor(?) :bigeyes: apparently they slammed every other highend cap thingy in independent tests, they'd darn well want to too!

Stroop
 
My tall and slender BiB´s with FE166 ES-R and phase plugs from Dave (planet10).
18mm birch plywood, light stuffing with felt and wool-fibre.

Reproduction is amazing!
Transparancy, dynamic and smooth.

Gain from a LM3875 chipamp and a valve pre, Velleman 8020.

Thank's to all who helped me along to make this possible!

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
Re: FE168ESig

Martin Prothero said:
The next major question is amps...I was thinking about adding the Decware Pre kit to my gainclone chip amp, but now I am wondering if I should try to stretch to a SET or SEP, and ditch the chip/valve pre idea.

Instead of adding a Decware pre, i would take the chip amp & turn it into a variation of a Joe Rasmussen Valve Buffered GC.

http://www.customanalogue.com/diytubegainclone/index.htm

I wouldn't dis the idea of a SET or SEP, but a VBIGC can be made of your existing amp for a whole lot less (unless you are already sitting on a low-cost donor amp)

dave
 
I'm in here catching up on the BIB thread after some days
of computer restoration and repair for somebody.

This is much more relaxing.

Scott, from our discussion on animated avatars I recalled
a tweak that I have on my old Win98 operating system
with Firefox browser.

In the coding of Firefox, there is an option to turn off
all motion. I was right about not seeing any before the flap
hit.

So Firefox users can stop all motion with one of the options
in about:config.

Access about config at the address bar and type it like
an address with no http or anything.

-> address bar -> [type] about:config


Upgrading my operating system on the pc has introduced
some errors which have prevented me from getting full
enjoyment out of my BIB build. I'm back on the old one for now.
 
Norris,

If you are interested in building a PP-6V6, the above link is The One. Poinz' schematic is an object study in simplification. I doubt the topology could be improved upon. Mine was from a Japanese website, and was an update/minor hotrodding of the Magnavox circuit c. 1960, which itself is a fairly straightforward, and well known and audiophool-approved circuit, which sounds highly caloric. I love it.

I would build The Music Machine if I were starting now. 12 watts of 6V6 is good news for these alignments.