NAD: Bogner Helios 50 watt - Short review, and issue...
- Thread starter napalmdeath
- Start date
steve_k
New member
napalmdeath":2nc2da3p said:
I would look to the "demo" being the problem with noise. You never really know what someone did to or with the amp. My 2016 50w Helios is really quiet. I keep mine on the Plexi input with the gain dimed, boosted with a Bogner LaGrange OD and no noise whatsoever. I haven't messed with the other input modes much but a quick run through them, I didn't hear much noise with the gain at a respectable level. It's a fantastic amp.
Racerxrated
Well-known member
DAMN you all with your GAS inducing threads!cecilbag":2vfps6ue said:
cecilbag
Active member
I got to try it but not properly. They had one at my local gc that had been damaged as in the head shell had literally been broken in half. They wood glued it and marked it for 2400. It was "new" before it was punted off the ups truck. Either way there was no way I was buying that one but got to plug a stray into it. At low volumes with a single coil it sounded great so I knew it would only get better with my own guitars and a good cab.
D
Deleted member 13074
Guest
OP - you get your replacement amp?
The Helios 50 cured all my lust for modded Marshalls.
It is Reinhold's masterpiece.
The Helios 50 cured all my lust for modded Marshalls.
It is Reinhold's masterpiece.
D
Deleted member 13074
Guest
tested them side by side in an iso room along with a Phil X, so 3 great modded Marshall pretendersRockyStar":spsszijn said:
the 100 and 50 were so different, I wouldn't put them as siblings
the 50 sounds creamy where the 100 barks - a top end break up that I couldn't dial out
I was looking for that brown zone
and only the 50 was voiced where I wanted it to bereplacing the variac on the 100 with the 100/30 switch was a mistake for the market IMO
the Phil X was ideal to hear in this company and was a more compressed distortion, further back from the speaker
it was at one end of the distortion scale, the 100 at the other, with the 50 somewhere in the middle
it has a sweetness the others lack. changing between 70s/80s mode sounds like another preamp tube is added, so more compression
for harder hitting hands (not as much as the Friedman). it works really well that way. in 70s mode, notes leap out and it has that chirp
the switch options are many and allow full control over that core voice - EQ off, variac, bright 1/2, punch, depth knob, hot/reg inputs
the only thing it doesn't do is allow a decent clean sound along with that drive
you cannot switch between the inputs as one disables the other (I tried with a Mayer Crossroads)
being able to switch between the inputs, would make it the perfect amp
I do wonder if the 100 has been changed since as some have mentioned comparisons to the 101B
the amp I tested was polar opposite to the 101B, an amp too soft for my needs
if the 100 was a bigger brother to the 50 I'd have gone that way, and still might if it has been redone as I love headroom
I have Both! Intention to keep one but a month in can't part with either. The 50 has KT77s and is glorious sounding. It is slightly more compressed and sweeter sounding. A little friendlier and smaller sounding in frequency range and girth. Not that similar but certainly of the same sonic family. I love both and I have not been able to decide which one to keep or if I should keep both for a while. Had the 100 since they came out and I dig it a bunch. The 50 is absolutely amazing.
riffermadness
Member
I agree with you,I am practically drooling here and can't do a damn thing about it!Racerxrated":1blhe0ex said:DAMN you all with your GAS inducing threads!cecilbag":1blhe0ex said:
Sick Squid":4j05664e said:tested them side by side in an iso room along with a Phil X, so 3 great modded Marshall pretendersRockyStar":4j05664e said:
the 100 and 50 were so different, I wouldn't put them as siblings
the 50 sounds creamy where the 100 barks - a top end break up that I couldn't dial out
I was looking for that brown zone
replacing the variac on the 100 with the 100/30 switch was a mistake for the market IMO
the Phil X was ideal to hear in this company and was a more compressed distortion, further back from the speaker
it was at one end of the distortion scale, the 100 at the other, with the 50 somewhere in the middle
it has a sweetness the others lack. changing between 70s/80s mode sounds like another preamp tube is added, so more compression
for harder hitting hands (not as much as the Friedman). it works really well that way. in 70s mode, notes leap out and it has that chirp
the switch options are many and allow full control over that core voice - EQ off, variac, bright 1/2, punch, depth knob, hot/reg inputs
the only thing it doesn't do is allow a decent clean sound along with that drive
you cannot switch between the inputs as one disables the other (I tried with a Mayer Crossroads)
being able to switch between the inputs, would make it the perfect amp
I do wonder if the 100 has been changed since as some have mentioned comparisons to the 101B
the amp I tested was polar opposite to the 101B, an amp too soft for my needs
if the 100 was a bigger brother to the 50 I'd have gone that way, and still might if it has been redone as I love headroom
Cool, thank you for the feedback. I gather from what all I already have the 50 would get me the most juice from the proverbial lemon.
krueger
Well-known member
I absolutely love my Helios 50. I only use the loop as a boost with a short cable from the return to the send. At unity gain I have no noise. This amp also loves NOS tubes and 8th generation preamp tubes for sure. I am currently running NOS Tesla EL34's in it and it just killz!
napalmdeath
Well-known member
tonedog":2ogur44b said:I have Both! Intention to keep one but a month in can't part with either. The 50 has KT77s and is glorious sounding. It is slightly more compressed and sweeter sounding. A little friendlier and smaller sounding in frequency range and girth. Not that similar but certainly of the same sonic family. I love both and I have not been able to decide which one to keep or if I should keep both for a while. Had the 100 since they came out and I dig it a bunch. The 50 is absolutely amazing.
Haha, you must have bought my 50? I put the 77s in it.
cecilbag
Active member
napalmdeath":1s4bzwlc said:tonedog":1s4bzwlc said:I have Both! Intention to keep one but a month in can't part with either. The 50 has KT77s and is glorious sounding. It is slightly more compressed and sweeter sounding. A little friendlier and smaller sounding in frequency range and girth. Not that similar but certainly of the same sonic family. I love both and I have not been able to decide which one to keep or if I should keep both for a while. Had the 100 since they came out and I dig it a bunch. The 50 is absolutely amazing.
Haha, you must have bought my 50? I put the 77s in it.
So you didn't like it after all or found something better?
D
Deleted member 13074
Guest
Your thread until you were changing the amp then went AWOLnapalmdeath":hwr9b04l said:
I put some 6CA7's in my Helios recently and opened up a whole new dimension. It's smoother, more low end, more headroom on the high input, and a quicker pick response. Some of the mids seem pulled back, but since the Helios seems to like the bass above the 12:00 mark, it seems to work very well. Cleans are stellar and more lively. Crunch is slightly preferable with EL34's only because it sounds grittier, but some people may not prefer that. High gain, whew! 6CA7's are awesome.
Having said that, I tried KT77's prior. I'm on the fence about whether I prefer KT77's or 6CA7's, but I might drop back in the KT77's only because they are slightly more similar to EL34's. I highly recommend experimenting with power tubes in the Helios 50. I have never experimented with tubes in the Helios 100, but I wouldn't imagine it would make as much difference as in the 50. The 100 seems a bit more opened up than the 50, but the 50 is a bit sweeter.
If I had a do-over, I might have chose the 100 only because it has a little stiffer feel. Sometimes the 50 feels a bit spongy. However, the tube replacement has cured all of that though. Who cares man. If you can score a 50 or 100 it doesn't matter. The only real big advantage of the 100 is that you can get a little louder headroom than the 50.
Having said that, I tried KT77's prior. I'm on the fence about whether I prefer KT77's or 6CA7's, but I might drop back in the KT77's only because they are slightly more similar to EL34's. I highly recommend experimenting with power tubes in the Helios 50. I have never experimented with tubes in the Helios 100, but I wouldn't imagine it would make as much difference as in the 50. The 100 seems a bit more opened up than the 50, but the 50 is a bit sweeter.
If I had a do-over, I might have chose the 100 only because it has a little stiffer feel. Sometimes the 50 feels a bit spongy. However, the tube replacement has cured all of that though. Who cares man. If you can score a 50 or 100 it doesn't matter. The only real big advantage of the 100 is that you can get a little louder headroom than the 50.
D
Deleted member 13074
Guest
might give that a puntSavageRiffer":392iie7i said:
to what level did you bias (not used those tubes before)?
which brand of 6CA7s do you recommend?