Butler tdb 2250

VR3

I absolutely agree!

jdjohn

I texted the seller, with whom I have a relationship on previous sales, and he actually CALLED me back. We had a nice conversation about the provenance of the piece for sale...and we will go from there. Hopefully, we can come to an agreement next week (after Xmas). This particular unit is a consignment piece for him, so he is somewhat constrained, but he is willing to work with me on some trade-in pieces, if they fit-the-bill for him.

VR3

This pleases me

Go Jody!

tonyb

Probably the best amp I've ever had. It has a muscle behind it, like it wants to rip and your holding it back. Plays well with most things, aside from SDA's, it doesn't seem to jive well with those. It's got balls so don't worry about what speaker your hooking up to it. It does sound better under a load though, easy to drive speakers won't wake it up. 4 ohm. inefficient speakers, seems to shift that puppy into high gear and it just rocks. Few pro reviews on the web, you don't see these come up very often on the used markets, betcha Kerry probably still has the one I sold him.

One more note, those tubes are soldered in, so there is no changing them without sending the amp back to Butler. The amps circuit doesn't drive those tubes hard so they do last a very long time. However, get a feel for the age of the amp, if it's rocking 15+ years, and it was used fairly normally, it might be up for a refresh. You can call Butler and get an Idea of the cost, and maybe use that info in your negotiations to buy it. Good luck to you.

The other amp I have high regards for, in the affordable landscape, is B&k reference anything. I have a Ref 4420 which would never leave here too, if it hadn't gone south recently. Tube like sound with balls, 70+ amperes peak to peak. Currently looking for a decent amp myself, not sure if I want to go big or integrated or tube integrated.

Clipdat

He does still have it.

treitz3

jbreezy5 wrote: »

It would help if people didn’t resurrect the dead.

Help with what? So long as it's on the same topic, what is the harm? Or do you prefer the same responses, typed out in a brand new thread?

I kinda like it when people post threads from the past. Things change, systems change. Tastes change. Some people may wish to update their thoughts/observations based upon new experiences. Older members that no longer post show up and it reminds some members (or at least me) of good times gone by.

I guess I can't quite get why it would help anything....these kinds of resurrection posts makes it easy for the topic to stay the same and not be segmented into 3, 4 5 or more posts. Besides, why would we encourage new people to run a simple search (that ain't so simple with Vanilla) but turn around and say this? Part of the reason one would run a search is to not open up the same topic already being discussed on a new thread....

I mean, If I were ever interested in this amp, I would much prefer to look up one or two posts on the subject versus 10 or 12...but that's just me. I personally don't care how many years or decades old the discussion is.

Tom

jbreezy5

@treitz - Helps prevent confusion for persons perusing the sales section of the forum.

Obviously, Tonyb is not selling this amp 8 years later. Why would anyone looking for current sales ads expect this old sell offer to be resurrected?

Persons seeking advice about the referenced amp would more logically start a new thread as a discussion.

treitz3

Ah, fair enough. I did not realize it was in the FS section of the forum. That's something I rarely, if ever look at, unless I am posting a new thread and need to choose where it goes before posting.

Tom

msg

I agree 101% on posting on old threads. Otherwise, why even keep them around. Hate when old threads get locked. Plus, this forum doesn't have the best search feature, nor is it particularly accurate. Google searches on the site help some, but kinda cumbersome.

I'd rather peruse and skim past the old content if I choose to, and possibly see or learn something interesting or unexpected that I'd likely miss on an all new thread.

VR3

So did you buy it??

txcoastal1

jdjohn

Sorry for all the confusion. When I searched for information about the amp, this thread popped-up, so I decided to add to it instead of starting a new thread.

The one I'm looking at is local...not Tony's old one. The seller and I are going to get together after Christmas.

jdjohn

Pulled the trigger on this rascal from a local seller on Craigslist.

Fired it up today after some help from my wife getting it positioned, since I tweaked my back yesterday. That is love, my friends.

I had to improvise on IC cabling (utilizing adapters), going from the balanced/XLR outputs on my Benchmark HPA4 preamp into the RCA inputs on the Butler power amp. I'll definitely need to find some better, more permanent, cable connection options.

I probably haven't gotten it out of second gear yet, but I'm liking what I'm hearing so far. Early impressions are that it excels in mids and highs, although 'hot' mixes are coming through exactly that way for me, in my system...hot, and unforgiving. I'm still undecided on fully-characterizing the lows at this point.

pitdogg2

Purty

jdjohn

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Right Purty

Fixed it for ya

treitz3

Jody, I am sorry to hear about your back. I feel your pain (trust me). This is no laughing matter and I am glad your better half has helped!

Sorry for the off topic post. Carry on...

Tom

jbreezy5

@jdjohn - Congrats!

treitz3

BTW, I have requested that this thread be moved. Whether or not that happens? Well, that remains to be seen. Let's hope that this thread moves to another section of the forum.

Tom

jdjohn

Thanks for your sentiments, Tom. You only know if you know, when it comes to back pain. She is a saint, for sure...and she loves tequila!

jdjohn

Just for @VR3 , here are pics of the Supra Quadrax bare speaker connections to the Butler amp.


Paired conductors of red/blue for positive signal, and black/white for negative signal.

VR3

Totally photoshopped!

Congrats!

treitz3

We will need today's news paper and a $20 bill in the photo in order to confirm the legitimacy of that photo.....otherwise? It didn't happen.

Alternatively, you can send me one of your bottles of Tequila.....but don't tell anyone about it....

That will be a "secret" between you and I. *wink*

Tom

tonyb

You'll find the Butler responds very well to cable and gear changes. More load you give it, the better it sounds. I've ran acoustic zen cables, Wireworld, analysis plus cables all with good results. A tube pre is also a good move to pair with it, I used a Joule pre, on Legacy Focus 20/20's and I'll tell ya, should never have sold off that system.

jdjohn

Interesting development today: while my wife was upstairs running her hair dryer, I experienced transfomer hum in the amp. The hum stopped when the hair dryer stopped. The respective plugs are on different circuits. Not the end of the world, but a head-scratcher for me.

Tom, what expression of tequila is your favorite - blanco/silver, reposado, anejo, extra-anejo?

VR3

That's pretty bizarre, best that your wife no longer uses hair dryer

treitz3

jdjohn wrote: »

Tom, what expression of tequila is your favorite - blanco/silver, reposado, anejo, extra-anejo?

In me belly.

As for the hair dryer. I would venture to say that it was on the same leg within the circuit breaker. The hair dryer simply introduced noise into that leg.

To seriously answer your inquiry about tequila? I am not anywhere near your connoisseur level. What I have settled on, in terms of taste is this...



Tom

jdjohn

The plugs for my stereo system, and the plugs for the master bedroom (hair dryer plugs), are indeed on the same leg. Also, I've been told by electricians familiar with my neighbor development, that the houses do not have a true earth ground. The ground is tied into the neutral service line...or something like that.

Ah yes, Tom, I remember seeing bottles of Olmeca Altos in the background of some of your pics. It is a popular choice by many tequila connoisseurs for making cocktails, so a fine option.

GlennDog

I thought the "same leg" theory was with respect to older panels, where they are actually separate of each other. Pretty sure the new ones are ganged. I remember having to "balance" the 2 legs . . . . I'll have to check

pitdogg2

In most electrical panels neutral and ground go to the same place. Pretty sure at the incoming feed and meter outside you have a 8', 10' or 12' copper ground rod driven into the ground. My panel is the same way. You may also have solid copper 4/0 feed to your cold water pipe.

jdjohn

I think I have an aluminum rod connected to the copper water main...but that is just speculation.