Tubes...Yeah, theyre that good

This is the Bottlehead Foreplay tube preamp, Its sold by the Bottlehead company as a kit which stock costs a mere $149. Mine had been upgraded with the Sweet Whispers Stepped Attentuators using the -20,-50 db resistors. Also i have added the HV snubber and replaced the coupling caps with some 3.3uf Clarity Caps. I also converted the Preamp over to DC heaters using a wallwart rated at 6v 2.1A however I Used a few diodes to bring the voltage down to whats needed under load ( the supply was putting out too much voltage ) I also added an IEC socket for removable power cords and an LED for power on indication on the front.

With a pair of RCA 5963 blackplates plugged in, this thing rocks! Before the foreplay I was using the pre-amp section of my NAD C-370 this thing just blows the NAD's pre-amp section out of the water. Especially considering that i built it myself and how much it costs. The sound is much more clear, focused, realistic and what you might even describe as musical. Soundstage improved immensly, and instruments & voices sound ALOT more realistic than with the NAD. One of the most surprising aspects is that i had never known how harsh the NAD's pre-amp sounded until plugging this thing in. wow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreplay with the new mute switches installed. This way I can keep my power amps on all the time and still be able to turn the preamp on and off. Also comes in handy for smiply using as a mute feature. The switches are wired in parallel to the output so there is no effect on the signal when they are turned off. When the switches are flipped on they short the output to a 10 ohm resistor thats connected to ground. They do let a very small amount of the signal through when turned on however do not let any of the things through that can send an amp into shutdown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kit basically comes with everything you would need to build the preamp as far as parts go, but you will also need additional things such as wood finish, wood glue and of course the basic electronics tools. A good solder iron, good desoldering pump and a set of small pliers, wire cutter and especially needle nose pliers will come in very handy. Note: the base does not come pre assembled. It just looks that way in the picture.

Putting together the kit is a relatively simple task, the supplied instructions are extremely throurough and easy to follow, i had mine built and working the first time in about 10 hours. Bottlehead's service is top notch as well. I was missing the mounting hardware for one of the RCA jacks and they shipped one out to me the next day to be sure i had it.

As for the wood base i chose to go for a close match to my already built rack. I first assembled the base by gluing the corners as well as nailing them with 4 nails each from a nailgun. I then hand sanded the base with some 600 grit paper, and started by putting two coats of some Sikkens stain type stuff, followed by putty to fill in the nail holes. Its crucial NOT to put the putty on before you apply any sort of finish because it can stain the wood. After the putty dried i proceeded to put on three coats of spray polyurethane. For the top plate i simply cleaned it with soap and water to remove any fingerprints and dirt and sprayed it with two coats of clear lacqure. If your thinking of just keeping the top plate plain, you should at least coat it with lacqure because it can scratch very easily along with fingerprints getting all over it.

Most people do not secure the top plate to the chassis but i needed something to secure it without making it permanent. So i settled on some "Finish" Screws from Lowes. I also painted the transformer with some flat black enamel, making sure to mask the wires before doing so.

 

Unlike most builders i also decided to add a bottom cover to my pre-amp. Not only does it keep unsuspecting hands out of the chassis but it also looks good and finishes off the unit. For mine i bought a peice of aluminum sheet at lowes and measured what i needed, cut with some tin snips and then laid out holes for vents and screw holes and after a good coat of lacqure i had it.