Now that you have your Bottlehead back up and running, any chance of a comparo with the Tuba?
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I actually sold my Tuba to @j.fopps. But the quick takeaway is that the Tuba is a cleaner, less tubey sounding tube amp. The BHC is more traditional tubey sounding OTL. The Tuba is definitely more versatile having a low and high z output. The thing is, the only headphones I own that are not well driven on the BHC are the Elegia (which I currently am trying to sell) and the LCD-2 pre fazor. My DT880, HD650, Atticus and Aeolus all sound better on the BHC to my ears. Keep in mind that I prefer fun over neutral though.
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I think I might be happier with a BHC than the MAD amp also. I don’t find it overly tubey. Soft, airy and clear and are not really what I look for.
I think the Vio has cemented my likes and has given me a framework going forward.
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Sounds to me like we both have a similar sound signature preference. The nice thing about the BHC is that if for some reason you wanted a cleaner and airier sound, you can pop in a different tube. I personally do that when using my Atticus on the BHC. I have a Siemens E80CC (also referred to as a 6085 tube) that is detailed and more solid state sounding than the 12AU7 tubes.
I have collected quite a few tubes for my Bottlehead Crack. If you and others would like a write up on each tube I have, I was actually thinking of doing that as @M0N actually suggested it, which I agree is a cool idea. There is a lot of information one should learn before jumping into buying vintage or new old stock tubes, so sharing the knowledge I’ve acquired over the past few months sounds like a great idea.
It will have to wait just a bit as I have a 12AU7 to 6CG7 adapter slowly making it’s way to me from China. My buddy gifted me a Raytheon 6CG7 and a Tung Sol 6CG7, so I’m really looking forward to that adapter arriving.
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Yes please.
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I just posted my impressions in the Bottlehead Crack thread regarding power tubes (Since I have no more inbound and had enough time with them to form my opinions).
The Preamp tube impressions post will have to wait until my 12AU7 to 6CG7 adapter arrives.
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Sure, the more knowledge the better. I was already buying tubes for my eventual delivery of my DarkVoice. Since that fell through I am selling the 6SN7 tubes as a batch.
I am going to hang on to the power tube in case I do go for a BHC down the road.
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Looks beautiful! 
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How do you like your Tuba? I think it’s a great amp for the price. The wood looks great.
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I love it. It’s a real fun amp to experiment with since it can drive low impedance headphones.
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What tubes are you running? It took my awhile to find the “right ones” lol.
With the HD800S, I primarily use EI El84 tubes which can be purchased for $60; it’s a smooth warm leaning tube. At the moment I have stock tubes back in it because I found they paired better with some of my other headphones. You can find other recommendations up the thread.
What tubes did you end up settling on?
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Nice job!! Its a really a very special amp!!
I tried several tubes the EI’s were my favorites.
Alex
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I use Tungsram 6BQ5/EL84. I like the Ei’s too. I didn’t like the stock tubes. I think they were Mullards?? Tube rolling is always fun.
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I randomly got a marketing email from Hagerman Audio for the first time ever. He’s offering some new fancy mahogany wood side panels. Honestly I prefer the simpler look of the smaller wood blocks.
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Would agree, kinda a weird design that I don’t know if it fits the amp as well. Feel like it would look better if it was darker and also more boxy and less rounded like the previous wood panels
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I spoke to Jim the other day and he is close to having sold all his existing Tubas and is wondering if its
going to end here or will he do another batch.
Its been 4 years and approx 100 built and sold world wide.
Its a great amp, solid design, hat to see it become a collectors item…
I bought one and made my own panels…easy to do.
Alex
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Wish he would make a higher end version, seems he’s no longer interested in that market though. Do remember him making higher end phono stuff like the trumpet reference (that was really well received, although I’ve never heard it since I don’t care about vinyl lol), would be cool to see a headphone equivalent product of that caliber
According to Jim he has no intentions of changing the Tuba itself. No talk of a higher end headphone amp AFAIK.
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