Eastern Electric BBA

TomS · « **Reply #20 on:** 4 Jan 2007, 01:37 am »

Mine arrived safely this evening. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to get into the listening room tonight because occasionally I do have a life

Daygloworange · « **Reply #21 on:** 4 Jan 2007, 02:16 am »

UPS called today to ask me a couple of questions, they said I would probably get it in my hands tomorrow.

Cheers

sts9fan · « **Reply #22 on:** 4 Jan 2007, 02:19 am »

mine will be here Friday as well

srclose · « **Reply #23 on:** 4 Jan 2007, 02:43 am »

ETA tomorrow.

bacobits1 · « **Reply #24 on:** 4 Jan 2007, 02:49 pm »

Friday, here. aa

D

sts9fan · « **Reply #25 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 04:20 pm »

Well my trial unit is in the building now I just need to track down the mail guy....

TomS · « **Reply #26 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 05:16 pm »

Mine's been burning in the past couple of days. So far so good. Determining the best combo of gain and volume settings is a curious challenge and presents a lot of options. My sense is that the gain setting seems to impact sound (tonally) the most, while the volume just seems to drive it into an overload/clipping sort of thing (slight hardness/harshness) if pushed. I haven't tried a lot of settings just yet, but more to come.

At the very least, if you NEED more gain from the SB2 and prefer not to use a traditional preamp, this definitely provides that, no problem.

I DO think I've been seduced by the pristine clarity and dead quiet setup of my SB2 straight to the amps though. Once you're there, it's hard to go back unless you're looking for some "pleasant" colorations.

It's still too early to nail down exactly what this little silver box is doing, if anything, but it certainly hasn't hurt my system's sound in any obvious ways.

This is one of those times when I really wish I had put together a convenient means to exactly level match for comparisons though.

It's definitely going to take some time to sort out so stay tuned. I'll be interested to hear others' comments.

Tom

Daygloworange · « **Reply #27 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 06:44 pm »

Mine came in earlier today, going to hook it up tonight. Will try it tomorrow, have a few people coming over to audition the GR Research OB 5's.

Cheers

carusoracer · « **Reply #28 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 06:45 pm »

It sure looks nice sitting next to my EE Minimax;-) Since I have been sick and out of work I was able to meet the UPS guy and mine has been burning in since last night.
It does sound different tonally with the gain setting. Same as comment above. The volume switch is more difficult to set, I have left it a 1:30 for now and it is placed between my CDP and PreAmp.

I sort of cheated already just to see after 3 hrs what the difference could be with a tube change in the 6x4

Dropped in the 61' TungSol and even my wife commented that the soundstage and clarity opened up. I suspect with more burn in I can evaluate better what exactly it is doing, a little early to tell, but Norah was sure singin' last night and Sonny Rollins was blowin' some licks

I put back in the stocker to burn in, so we will soon see later on tonight.

PS: Bill I can not get through to your PM so as you can see the unit was safely delivered albeit with no PC or additional fuses...

TomS · « **Reply #29 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 06:56 pm »

Oh, I also strongly suggest putting some sort of footers under it such that they don't mark it in case you decide to send it back. I've tried both Cardas myrtle wood blocks and IsoBlocks. The IsoBlocks (rubber/cork/rubber squares from HVAC dampers) are under it now and seem to work quite nicely. It also runs fairly warm so give it some space.

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #30 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 07:30 pm »

Hi Mark,

Since I ran the audition period post on Saturday and the Holiday weekend was upon us , I thought I would take the added time and make sure all units were working properly and while I was at it would treat the tube pins with XtremeAV QuickSilverGold contact enhancer. Please bear in mind that sending out a dozen units while trying to burn in 10 of them for at least 8 hours to try and help with the break-in period plus doing this after a New Years Eve celebration that left my head pounding

You think after 53 years on this earth I would have learned from previous experiences, maybe next year

I might have forgot to put the power cord back in the box which wrapped in the plastic bag along with the fuses was an overlooked mistake on my part. Sorry.

Hope your feeling better.

To George: I found the box as it was hidden behind all the Christmas decoration boxes. When I packed everything up until next year the box appeared in the corner.

Happy Listening,
Bill

carusoracer · « **Reply #31 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 07:45 pm »

Hello Bill,

Not to worry...I had additional PC's around so it is a nice aftermarket cord powering it aa

Glad you got the message.
Regards, Mark

Wayne1 · « **Reply #32 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 08:39 pm »

Even during the third major snowstorm in as many weeks, UPS managed to deliver the BBA today.

I just brought it in and am letting it warm up to ambient temps from the cold outside.

I will plug it in and let it run in later on.

Thanks,Bill.

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #33 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 09:02 pm »

I was wondering if the BBA would beat the weather. Looked like you might be in for another nasty one.
Glad it arrived safely.

Later,
Bill

zybar · « **Reply #34 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 10:40 pm »

Mine arrived as well and I just brought it in from outside. I won't need to get it up to room temperature since unlike the Denver area, it is a crazy 60 degrees outside right now in Boston, MA.

Hang in there Wayne.

I hope to find some time to try the BBA tomorrow, but it is my wife's B-day this weekend and I need to make sure I don't do something stupid...

George

bacobits1 · « **Reply #35 on:** 5 Jan 2007, 11:40 pm »

Mine arrived here at 3PM so it's been playing for 3 hours and as George said it's 60 degrees here in Boston.
The BBA is inserted between my MM CDP and MM Pre.
Pretty easy to set the gain. My volume also set to 1:30 area with the normal setting on the MM pre around 10:00.
So far all I'll say is Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to try it in other positions.
I'm using my Cryoed Asylum PC. No tube changes (yet).

D

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #36 on:** 6 Jan 2007, 01:01 am »

Careful George, remember the little lady comes first especially being B-Day and all.
I know your wondering" when can I sneak a listen" , my wife loves a Spa day

as that extra special gift.

Deanh · « **Reply #37 on:** 6 Jan 2007, 06:42 pm »

Thx for the link Bill, time for some Kiwi 2 cents worth. I have had a BBA for approx a month now thru the kindness of Bill, I am truley impressed. I would not say my system is ruthlessly revealing however it doesn't miss a tick. It consists of a Minimax pre w some horrendously expensive ( ie Genelex U707 for 6x4 ) tubes and from the pre outs a Logan Descent sub, a minmax Cd AGAIN with spendy glass ( did I mention I am a member of tweekaholics anonymous ) linked w KCAG's to a Rogue Zeus amp to Magnepan 3.6's again with some Kimbers ( they resemble sewer pipes ) I inserted the BBA between the pre and the amp and started...well all I can say is let the thing burn in..initially the sound was closed in and didn't even sound stereo..think of a scratchy LP being played over a Proton radio. Plain awful...Well, an e-mail to bill resulted in being told they take a while to break in....trust me THEY DO. I also couldn't resist plopping in a mullard 6x4 and two Teles....WOW! All I can say is I hope word gets out on this product...it was especially usful in helping dial in the sub/ Maggies. I noticed soundstage improvements and inner detail came to a fore...recordings with which I am extremely familiar became more resolved with details I had NOT heard before. AMAZING. Now I blame Bill for numerous nights of insomnia and poor work performance, commision only so now I am broke, but as far as music goes I cannot keep the smile off of my face. So lets get the word out and make Bill a wealthy man, watchout forbes magazine!

Wayne1 · « **Reply #38 on:** 6 Jan 2007, 07:49 pm »

I have spent most of this morning listening to the BBA with various inputs.

The first comment I have is that the stock power cable is not really letting all that the BBA can do, come through.

I replaced it with a Summit AC cable and the mids and highs opened up quite a bit.

The unit I was sent already had quite a few hours on it, according to Bill. I did some comparisons to the direct output of a modded SB2 (Sonicap Platinums and Sonicaps in the outputs, no Bybees).

The direct output sounded clearer and more dynamic.

Bill also sent me some different tubes to try. I will see what changes they make.

The input impedance of the amp I am using is very high, about 1 Megohm. I am running one meter cables from the SB to the BBA and another meter to the amp.

I am sure with a lower impedance amplifier input impedance or a longer interconnect run, the results will be different.

I will continue to listen and perhaps try the BBA in other systems.

sts9fan · « **Reply #39 on:** 9 Jan 2007, 01:29 pm »

So whats everyone thinking? I am enjoying the unit but would like to have the adjustable impedance in known values not just 2 O' Clock gain, 3 O'Clock volume