Bottlehead Eros Phonostage?

Thinking about purchasing my first DIY kit, which will proably be an all tube phono pre amp. I wanted to know if anyone on the stevehoffman fourms has built one. How does it sound??

 

Nobody has chimed in yet, so I will add my somewhat peripheral experience. While I haven't built the Eros specifically and thus cannot comment on it, I have built a couple of the other Bottlehead kits, namely the Crack headphone amp and Seduction (now called Reduction) phono amp. I have also built many other kinds of amplifiers, outboard processors, and effects from other kits/designers. The Bottlehead kits are some of the most thought out and comprehensive kits I've come across. The instructions are excellent, the customer support is top-notch. Don't underestimate the value of the support. I've built some kits with less than stellar instructions with customer service to match and it can be a real headache if you run into problems. I think Bottlehead have the best support and instructions of any kit I've ever built.

The Bottlehead kits come well packaged and look good when completed, and also offer plenty of opportunity for customization along the way. Although I cannot speak to the Eros, I can say that I've been very happy with both the Crack and the Seduction. I still have the Crack and use it on a regular basis. I upgraded from the Seduction last year.

Hope this helps.

 

My experience is similar to Tiller's. Not the Eros, but have built two Cracks and a Quickie. The instructions are great. Also, I recently received an email from Bottlehead announcing a 15% off any kit promotion through the end of May. If you're seriously considering the Eros, it's a good time to buy.

 

Sounds like fun. I've only heard great things and if I wasn't so damn frugal I'd be building their SET steromour

 

I have built the Eros and it is awesome. I've built quite a few of their other kits, but it was the trickiest by far - some really delicate soldering on the tube sockets and some layering of other boards, that induced some non-child-friendly language. So it's a possible first build, but could be challenging. That said, the Bottlehead support is legendary. And timinds is correct about the 15% off sale. You could also pick up the Quickie preamp, which is a super affordable battery preamp that would be a great first test project to practice on your soldering skills. There's nothing quite like plugging your new build into the wall socket for the first time and sticking your meter probes into 300+ VDC - with the battery-powered Quickie you get a bit of a pass on that thrill.

 

I'm not a dedicated "tube guy," nor do I use a preamp in my system. If I did though, I would have a Quickie on hand for use when I wanted a nice tube sound. And for $99, hard to beat.

 

It's true. The point-to-point work on the tube sockets in the Seduction was quite tricky as well. It's doable if you're patient, mind you; there's no particular amount of skill needed. But you do have to be willing to take breaks if you get frustrated and not just storm through the thing.

 

Thank you for the reply. From the sound of it, they are very fun builds that yield excellent results.

Is that going on now? For how long?

 

Whatever route you choose... get a lighted magnifier. They run $50-$100 and will make soldering much much easier. Using it will let you see those solder bridges BEFORE you apply AC juice.

I have built a number of kits, lots of Hagerman circuits, and using a lighted magnifier has saved my bacon several times.

Oh, get a decent soldering station. Don't even think about building a kit without one.

 

Sale is good through the end of May. Hers' a quote from the email,"Every Bottlehead kit (except the limited edition kits) is 15% off today through Wednesday, May 31st. The nature of our online store is that during a more or less store-wide sale like this the regular prices continue to be listed on each product page. But the 15% discounted price for the product you order will appear when you put the item in your shopping cart."