The wait is finally over...... Dodd Battery Preamp
RuSsMaN
Posts: 17,987
I stopped by Gary's house this afternoon and picked up my Battery Preamp. Went blindly with a custom finish no one else had ordered so far, leopard wood - and I'm actually quite pleased. It's not far off from the Teak of my Spendor SP1's. I'm still not sold on 'wood' facia / trim for audio gear, but it's growing on me.
Feels odd actually. I know for a fact I can only do a little better, little worse - the buck pretty much stops here. Could this be the last preamp I buy for the reference rig?
Uses 2 banks of batteries, each bank is good for 12-16 hours playtime, and when one set is drained, simple flick of the switch to the second set, and first set begins a 'smart charge'. Tube compliment is a pair of 6DJ8/6922. I've got some Westinghouse 6922's in there right now. Another neat thing, it uses one 1 triode of each tube, for each channel. The left channel uses the left triode of one tube, the right channel uses the right triode of the other tube. So what, right?
With the low voltage Gary is running the tubes at - the single triode should give 10,12, even 14,000 hours of playtime. If for some reason you listened enough to use up that triode, simply SWAP the left and right tubes - and use the 'other half' of your prized 6DJ8's. That is forward thinking friends.
Anyway, listening time awaits......
Cheers,
Russ
Feels odd actually. I know for a fact I can only do a little better, little worse - the buck pretty much stops here. Could this be the last preamp I buy for the reference rig?
Uses 2 banks of batteries, each bank is good for 12-16 hours playtime, and when one set is drained, simple flick of the switch to the second set, and first set begins a 'smart charge'. Tube compliment is a pair of 6DJ8/6922. I've got some Westinghouse 6922's in there right now. Another neat thing, it uses one 1 triode of each tube, for each channel. The left channel uses the left triode of one tube, the right channel uses the right triode of the other tube. So what, right?
With the low voltage Gary is running the tubes at - the single triode should give 10,12, even 14,000 hours of playtime. If for some reason you listened enough to use up that triode, simply SWAP the left and right tubes - and use the 'other half' of your prized 6DJ8's. That is forward thinking friends.
Anyway, listening time awaits......
Cheers,
Russ
Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
Post edited by RuSsMaN on
Comments
-
Sweet, doesn't get much better than that............HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable
2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable -
Crazy..... those things are pretty expensive and I've heard many good things about them battery Dodd preamps. I was thinking of going THAT SAME route, Russman... but I opted to go with the Cary SLP-98 tube pre instead.
Great score dude!! Another notch in your belt towards your reference rig. You're getting to the point of true diminishing returns. What's next? A $10K pre?? LOL! Have fun man!
JoeyMagico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
The Cary is sick, for sure.
That's the thing Joey, I've heard plenty of 10K preamps, and honestly none of them did anything my Melos SHA-1 can't do. ($1200 retail, about $400 used if you can find them)
I've heard the Dodd, I know how good it is - but this will be the first time I've had one in my rig for more than a weekend, so I'm stoked to Ronco this puppy and get back to listening. The jacked up thing is, straight DC is so dead quiet, I'm going to want battery powered tube amps to go with it!
Cheers,
RussCheck your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
Russ,
Dude.. going battery must be great since you get an absolutely dead quiet background. That Dodd is going to be sick from my point of view.
Havent heard too many $10K preamps yet, trying to keep myself grounded before going nuts on things I cannot and should not afford.
Great that you're getting a chance to play with that pre. My pre arrives tomorrow and I'll be sure to let you know what I think of it compared to the Rogue that I currently have, as you have inquired before.
JoeyMagico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
Very nice! I'm a big fan of the 6DJ8/6922/7308s in preamps and source gear. They seem to deliver a consistent sweet, yet focused, presentation.
I haven't had a chance to talk to Gary regarding the MLP, but I'll catch up with him soon.
Enjoy! -
Sweet! :cool:
I've been chatting with a guy who had a Modwright and now the new Dodd.
He loves both for different applications but is totally impressed with the new battery preamp. Says it's the blackest background, period. -
Yeah, the wood look takes some getting used to, but the battery powered concept is very cool. The innards look great. Dead quiet has gotta sound great (pun intended).
So if you got battery powered amps, would the combo sound too quiet, i.e., sterile?HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes." -
Hardcore......schwing!!! Very very cool!"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
-
The leopard wood looks very nice. Congrats Russ.Salk SoundScape 8's * Audio Research Reference 3 * Bottlehead Eros Phono * Park's Audio Budgie SUT * Krell KSA-250 * Harmonic Technology Pro 9+ * Signature Series Sonore Music Server w/Deux PS * Roon * Gustard R26 DAC / Singxer SU-6 DDC * Heavy Plinth Lenco L75 Idler Drive * AA MG-1 Linear Air Bearing Arm * AT33PTG/II & Denon 103R * Richard Gray 600S * NHT B-12d subs * GIK Acoustic Treatments * Sennheiser HD650 *
-
Russ - absolutely awesome! I love the looks, and I know it's got to sound great! Enjoy!DKG999
HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED
Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC -
Congrats Russ! There's a lot of hype going around about this pre. Let us know how it sounds after spending some time with it.Carl
-
That must be really nice and quiet. Congrats.Sharp Elite 70
Anthem D2V 3D
Parasound 5250
Parasound HCA 1000 A
Parasound HCA 1000
Oppo BDP 95
Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
Totem Mask Surrounds X4
Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
Sony PS3
Squeezebox Touch
Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door. -
Rad. Let us know how it sounds.
-
That thing looks friggin awesome. With the DC power you must have a pitch black back ground. Even the remote is wooden.
-
Very nice, Russ. I see it uses Sonicaps, gotta sound good.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
That wood is sexy, almost gives me wood...
I'm waiting to hear some impressions. -
Enjoy it, what a long wait it was.Dodd - Battery Preamp
Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
Outlaw ICBM - crossover
Beringher BFD - sub eq
Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!
"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..." -
I'm monkeying with my privates.
BDTI plan for the future. - F1Nut -
Congrats RussM on the pre. The Levitator is cool.
Congrats Russ21 on the sale.
I see Gary is now doing business with Underwood.
RT1 -
Congrats Russ! The piece looks gorgeous...
and I'm sure sounds infinitely better.I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore -
reeltrouble1 wrote:Congrats Russ21 on the sale.RT1
Nothing gets by you!Dodd - Battery Preamp
Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
Outlaw ICBM - crossover
Beringher BFD - sub eq
Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!
"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..." -
Troy,
Did you say you had a monkey on your privates??:eek:
RuSs,
I love the wood. Looks unique for sure."SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE" -
Wicked pre RuSs!Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
Awesome.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
-
Sweet piece Russ!
Nice work, again, Garry! -
That is pure kick ****. Congrats man!
I wonder if charging it though a line conditioner would make a difference.
With 6922 or CCa tubes in there, you could get upwards of 20 000hrs minimum.
How would you describe the sound? Neutral, warm, etc? -
Ok, this thing is right there, at the top of my recommended components list. You NEED to get your ears on one. I thought I knew what a black background was, I have officially been schooled.
I've had $10K Jeff Rowland and Proceed preamps. I've rolled through more $500-$5000 tube preamps than I care to count. So far, my untouchable preamp has been the Melos SHA-1, with the Golden Tube SEP-1 following just a hair behind, and the Quicksilver Full Function Preamp bringing up a close third.
The Dodd Battery Preamp is a SHA-1, ten fold over. There is so much life, and presence to the music. It's amazing what it did for my soundstage depth. I've got instruments a good 4-6 feet behind my speakers (its only 2ft to the back wall mind you), and 1-2 feet in front of them. Soundstage width is pushing 140-160 degrees -and the height is phenomenal too, it's as if my Spendors suddenly became line arrays. Vocals are crazy real, it's as close to live as I've ever been in my room. This is the first time I REALLY can't place where the speakers are. They have literally VANISHED.
I've listened for 4 nights so far, and have yet to attach the charger, hell I haven't even switched over to the second bank of batteries!
This is NUTS. I'm actually very excited about CES this year, and focusing on the elite tube and solid state preamps, and getting a feel for what they REALLY bring to the table.
I hate to plagiarize, but I have to use the 'Stereophile' quote when they reviewed the SHA-1 (speaking on it's line stage ability and function):
"I doubt one could do substantially better, at any price"
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the Dodd Audio Battery Preamp.
Cheers,
RussCheck your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
Well, damn!HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes." -
nice Russ"There's a lot of places driving up and down I-95 that smell like ****" F1Nut
-
Whoa. Thanks for the update, Russ.
I'd love to own one but no moola right now. The darker background thing is really spooky. I know my blacks (or grey?) ain't like yours, but getting my background a little darker is spooky. I achieved this by upgrading the stock power cord on my cdp to a PS audio Super Punch. You get a much better sense of realism with a darker background. I can only imagine the difference you heard.
Which tubes are you using right now? I have a pair of Orange label Ampex (dimpled disc getter) I can hook you up with if you're interested. Very nice sounding tubes.
Sean,
He's all the way up there lol:D. Wanna bet Russ will reach audio nirvana before any of us even comes close?
