I am thinking about trying my hand at DIY amp building. My first choice is the S.E.X. Amp from Doc Bottlehead. Anyone here have any experience with it? Thoughts on it's suitability for use with my Klipsch Heresey speakers?

Thanks!

Hi, I've heard good things about Bottlehead but don't have any experience. I don't know what you've done in the past but if you haven't done a rebuild on a classic amp/receiver, then you might want to consider that for a project. There are some great old amps/receivers out there that just need to be recapped and will give great service with a pair of Heresy's or many other speakers.

I tried the "recap", 3-prong cord replacement, resistor replacement, etc. on older amps. These were an invaluable learning experience and taught me a heck of a lot about safety. A few months back, I built a Foreplay II (from kit). Being safety minded and able to solder, the FP was very easy with good instructions and friendly support. I am happily enjoying this pre as I type. I now even do a little tube rolling (though not on par with the "big boys"). Bottlehead gear is great stuff!

I built a Foreplay II also. The older 150. basic one as they say has no right to sound that good for the money. Easy enough to understand instructions,
buckets of support all over the web, but mine worked perfect on completion.
The S.E.X. Amp is really for experimenting than listening. If you want to listen
instead the Paramours are severe bang for the buck and prolly give you @95
quality db's on your Heresy's.

Carl

S*E*X and the Heresys should be a good combination. Paramours and Cornwalls ARE a good combination, so I extrapolate from there.

Inferring from the Heresy's known properties and the sonic proclivities of the Paramours, though, you might not be totally satisfied with LF performance, though. If so, don't be proud... it's OK to use a subwoofer, even if you use (GASP) a SS amp for it!

Doc's new Paramounts shoud really be dandy, BTW!

If the SEX operates like the Paramours in the bottom end then the Herasy would be a great combo. As good as the Para is the bass is a bit bloated and the Hersy is tight so I think they would compliment each other. Using a SS and subs (stereo is better) would be a great idea, just make sure your low pass is below 100 Hz.

TommyC,

Lotsa great suggestions as always. I'd like to second Jcm and curiseaire's suggestions. A restoration gives you a lot of the skills and insights needed to DIY-and in the end you've got a fully operating and safe amp to boot. Win/win.

It's sure not a pre-requisite to do a restoration before a DIY; but you might think of it as a "boot camp" to get you ready. After digging out old leads, desoldering and replacing caps and resistors in the sometimes cramped confines of a vintage amp; building a DIY kit will be a breeze and building from the ground up and not fighting existing construction will be a welcome change.

Either way, you're in for a fun, sometimes challenging and always rewarding experience. Good luck!

Best,
mojo