SET Asylum: REVIEW: Diyhifisupply The Billie Amplifier (Tube) by Cam Single Ended Triodes (SETs), the ultimate tube lovers dream.

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Model:	The Billie
Category:	Amplifier (Tube)
Suggested Retail Price:	$775
Description:	Monoblock Single-Ended 300b Amplifier Kit
Manufacturer URL:	Diyhifisupply
Model Picture:	View

Review by Cam ( A ) on July 11, 2002 at 14:28:58 IP Address: 64.1.255.70

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The Joys of Kit Building

I had been planning a scratch-built 300b-based SET amp for many months, putting together a list of components based on a few years of exposure and experience. My target was to make the best amp for the cost for my purposes, not to exceed the neighborhood of $1000 in basic pieces (the "minor" odds and ends will kill your budget quite handily). None of the kits available at the time really fit my bill - I wanted tube rectification, a truly adequate power supply, and space for lots of modifications. I knew a good kit would probably cost less than home-brew, and would certainly be quicker to get up and running, IF there was such a kit on the market.

Then I stumbled across Thorsten Loesch's review in Enjoy the Music of a little-known kit consisting of a monoblock pair of 300b amps from a company in Hong Kong with the self-descriptive name of DIY HiFi Supply. I certainly knew about Thorsten, having tried many of his concepts and having received a great deal of help and advice from him over the past 3+ years as I’ve struggled and learned about vacuum tube electronics. Most, if not all, of his advice turned out to be very valid and confirmable – once I figured out what he was saying and how to implement it. My ET Paraglows (started from S.E.X. amp kits) slowly evolved into “Monkey-style” amps, and I built my own version of his “Dual Driver Dynamic Loading for Low Q Driver” speaker system (catchy name), then a transformer attenuator passive control unit he recommended. To cut short a potentially long story, this guy has credibility with me, so his review had weight.

The Billie (or Billies) DID have a fair amount of open space under the chassis, they have tube rectification and plenty of current and voltage for the job, AND with the very reasonably-priced Electro-Harmonix 300b as optional power tubes, the price was $775. For this could I possibly expect output transformers comparable to the Lundahl units I would use for my own design? Well, I felt that Thorsten’s review addressed that – the Billie iron was up to the task of showing off all of T’s various upgrades, and the overall sound was of a high standard even in stock form.

By early 2002, the Billies had been on the market long enough to have a fair following amongst Internet audio forum dwellers, and already there was quite an upgrade path dialog. This was definitely my cup of tea, or box of parts in this case. If I were marketing this product to potential customers like myself, I might advertise, “Don’t miss out on all the fun, get your Billies today - you won't see a better value anywhere!”

I took the plunge. The specially-priced Airborne Express shipping was exceptional – not only cheap but very quick, 3 days to the San Francisco Bay Area. Everything was well-packed and perfectly intact. There is nothing flimsy or under-spec’ed with these units – even the power choke is very substantial, and the chassis metal is as thick and strong as you could ever want. The steel housings for each transformer and the cherry wood faceplate really ice the cake. Serious metal. All components are of very good quality for the cost, and again, it’s all eminently upgradeable – better to not start off with expensive pieces.

I started to build that same day. This was the beginning of some very prompt and satisfactory email exhanges with Brian Cherry, the guy behind DIY HiFi Supply. As with any product undergoing rapid evolution, the assembly instructions were a bit out-of-date; nonetheless, everything was accounted for in some form even if a little confusing. To tell the truth, I didn’t want a kit without some moderate challenges, and when I really hit the wall (a couple of times), Brian had ready solutions.

In two or three days the first monoblock was up and running while I finished-off the second. When both were done and in my system, I had quite listenable sound even with all the raw components. I did need to trim the heater voltages for the 6SL7’s and 300b’s a bit to put them just under spec istead of well over, but other than that everything came up and measured properly. NO other problems of any kind; no defective components or wrong wiring instructions. Yeah!

Now, if you’ve never built an audio component yourself, you haven’t experienced this particular kind of satisfaction – and I think you should. I started making Heathkits in the ‘60s, and I intend to keep building audio kits, or scratch-building them, until I’m too old and infirm to hold a soldering pencil steady. This is one of the joys of my life – really!

But I digress slightly. I now had a good idea of how the Billies sounded in stock form (that is, a few hours of listening), so it was high time to get on with the upgrades! I could have implemented many of these circuit changes right of the bat, but here’s the thing – so much of the fun is in the changing and learning as you tweak and modify the circuit. I wanted to make no more than one or two changes at a time, then listen and evaluate before taking the next course of action.

Here’s the current status of my Billies: Mu-stage 6SL7 (old stock Sylvania/GE), 300b cathode bypassed with Zen 70uF PP, ultrapath with 22uF 400vdc Ansar PP, S&B grid choke, 0.1 SCR tinfoil coupling cap, “tuned” PSU choke with 47Ohm CC resistor/0.3uF PP, and a few other minor mods. Most of these and other upgrade components are available directly from Brian Cherry, and always at the very good prices. I received two subsequent orders from him without incident.

How it works: the main objectives for this amp are that it play a loud, dynamic orchestral crescendos without blurring or compressing, and that it have that vivid, fast, dynamic sound that makes music really sound live, while have a high level of refinement all the while. The answers are all definite YESSES! And it will continue to get better and better as I, ah, develop the circuit. I was very pleased that the circa 8 or 9 watts gave a MUCH more powerful sound than my old 6A3 amps with barely 3 watts. My speakers are near 100db/W, and there is now more than adequate power for them. Of course, lower sensitivity speakers are driven better, too, but I don’t recommend anything less than 95dB/W. In all this, I am absolutely pleased, and cannot recommend the Billie kit more highly. If you’ve considered this kit but worried that you won’t get the support needed, well, stop worrying and get on with the great pleasure of putting these together and into your audio system.

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Product Weakness:	Minor - non-mirror layout with right-side inputs, some lack of clarity in instructions
Product Strengths:	VALUE!, outstanding sound, ease of upgrading, excellent support

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	ET Paraglow, DIY EL84 PP, Michael Yee PA-2
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	DIY transformer attenuator
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Modded Rotel 855/Micro Seiki TT
Speakers:	DIY full-range-Fostex based, Tannoy 15"
Cables/Interconnects:	Various Alpha-core, Kimber, and DIY
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	You name it, I probably play it
Room Size (LxWxH):	13 x 10 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	LEDE, Corner Tunes
Time Period/Length of Audition:	5 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	DIY Risch-style filter
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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