[FS]: Bottlehead S.E.X. 3.0 (C4S, Auricaps, Cardas Inputs, Goldpoint V24)

Taken by @Gaspasser!

...

A little deja vu right? Let me explain...

So yesterday I sold this to @tommytakis with the intent of shipping the amp today. Just before shipping it, though, I decided to listen to the amp one more time as a courtesy to tommy to make sure things were alright, and unfortunately there was a massive problem. The right channel suddenly "died" again, with extremely low volume and a whirring "windy" kind of noise. I tried switching tubes, re-plugging in tubes, but it didn't help; it seems at this point a potential solder joint failure or something.

It's so freaking frustrating, because literally yesterday it worked fine for the two hours I listened to it, and sounded glorious.

I could try and take time to diagnose it, but honestly I'm sick and tired of dealing with this amp etc, and don't want to spend any more money or time trying to fix things. I promptly refunded tommy for his troubles, and I'm offering this amp FREE for friends, asking them only to buy the shipping label for me. I would say people local to the bay area could pick it up for free, but with the shelter-in-place order starting today, don't think that's possible. Shipping only in the CONUS for now[1].

I can understand people's hesitation "buying" a dead amplifier. I would say only buy this if you have DIY skills and soldering supplies etc, and are willing to put in the time to thoroughly diagnose any problems. Please use a beater pair of headphones when listening to the amp that you're willing to lose.

Sorry for making this a bigger deal. I'm honestly just done with this amp. If no-one wants to take this off my hands, I will literally chuck it in the garbage.

Recap:
- Original post with pictures here.
- @tommytakis paid, and before shipping the amp I decided to listen one last time for issues and discovered the right channel was dead.
- I refunded tommy, and don't want to spend the time/effort/money to diagnose/fix the issues myself.
- This amp is FREE to any friends who are willing to cover all shipping fees and print the labels themselves.
- Having DIY knowledge/being willing to fix it is a MUST. Risk is on the person who gets it. Again, this is a non-working amp and has a pretty-dead right channel. Left channel is still glorious though.


[1] I'm hesitant to do international because I'm worried about damage from being flown internationally, even if packed super securely; that's why I'd prefer to ship it via ground shipping locally. There's also the coronavirus situation adding uncertainty and such (I hope you're doing alright too, by the way), and it would also be expensive, because the box is pretty big and heavy.

 

I will take it. I need a project right now . PM coming

 

Not that I want to deprive Gaspasser of anything, but you could easily sell for a few hundred dollars just for parts. Anyway, I would have jumped on it had I been awake

 

If @pure5152 want I can strip out the expensive parts (caps and stepped attenuator) and anything else you want and send them back to you. I would like to use the remainders to rebuild it rather than see the beautiful outer shell get chucked.

 

Nah whoever gets this amp can keep the parts, think of it as a present from me to you. My only hope is to be able to hear the amp again eventually if it is restored to proper working condition, maybe if I come visit the east coast sometime again haha. And of course I'm sure the SBAF community would love to hear impressions of it if/when fully restored.

As a small update to everyone, I'm very much interested in sending the amp to @Gaspasser, but @m17xr2b contacted me first, and I want to give him the courtesy to respond first. Since it's midnight in the UK where he is right now, probably won't hear back until tomorrow morning.

 

Well, as much as I want it to compare against my own parafeed, international shipping is still cumbersome and as I've said I'll take it if there's no other interest.

 

Alright, @Gaspasser is taking this. Hopefully closing for the last time on my side. Thanks guys!

 

Thanks for the gift!