Anyone heard the Helios hot channel?

[glip22]

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well done.It will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a Plexi.Not as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

 

[djpatb]

Glip22, Thanks for a useful answer finally!

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Nice write-up Gary, very informative.

 

[sjk]

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well done.It will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a Plexi.Not as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

Real nice review! but are you 100 percent certain it has clipping diodes...it would seem the obvious with the volume reduction you and others report with the gainier setting but you are the only one I have seen state this out of various forums? Did you see this when you opened it up?

 

[glip22]

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well done.It will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a Plexi.Not as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

Real nice review! but are you 100 percent certain it has clipping diodes...it would seem the obvious with the volume reduction you and others report with the gainier setting but you are the only one I have seen state this out of various forums? Did you see this when you opened it up?

Bogner told me it has the clipping diodes. That's as much as I know. What I thought might be them in the circuit has heat shrink on it. FWI the effects loop board is the Atma board. Says it on it.

 

[Erock]

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well done.It will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a Plexi.Not as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

excellent review Gary! Spot on.

 

[November5th]

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well done.It will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a Plexi.Not as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

Nice way of getting this thread back on track, by giving us a great review of the Helios. Your review and Erock's clip have made me think about going down the Bogner road again.

 

[Ventura]

You're a troll, plain and simple. Recently met a couple of guys who know you very well. Stop talking about me behind my back, it's a small world and you've dicked around with quite a few builders dealers etc. You also have a big mouth. So which guy were you in Svengali pstar? Your name is not listed anywhere.

By the way, my dad's dead but thanks for that.

Poor taste m'man, but forum bravado is nothing, it's just forum bravado. Maybe check the headspace before you reply, this retort has me thinking "cool" ain't a solid trait of yours. And sorry to rehash the shitstorm, just calling it out as this was simply bad reactive behaviour.

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well <SPAN class=skimlinks-unlinked>done.It</SPAN> will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a <SPAN class=skimlinks-unlinked>Plexi.Not</SPAN> as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

I'm in. Even though I'll be 4000miles from my destination of delivery, it'll be nice to have in the repertoire. I plan in moving my life down here within the next couple months. The studio will be climate/humidity controlled and soundproofed - we're ace!!!

Can't wait till I get back to my gear, er, my gear gets back to me.

Peace Gents.

And pstar, be like teflon, let nothing stick to ya... Water off a duck's back - done - fin - over - finito.

Peace Gents,
Mojo

 

[ttosh]

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well done.It will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a Plexi.Not as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

Thanks Gary, you just made my wait more excruciating!!!

 

[ttosh]

You're a troll, plain and simple. Recently met a couple of guys who know you very well. Stop talking about me behind my back, it's a small world and you've dicked around with quite a few builders dealers etc. You also have a big mouth. So which guy were you in Svengali pstar? Your name is not listed anywhere.

By the way, my dad's dead but thanks for that.

Poor taste m'man, but forum bravado is nothing, it's just forum bravado. Maybe check the headspace before you reply, this retort has me thinking "cool" ain't a solid trait of yours. And sorry to rehash the shitstorm, just calling it out as this was simply bad reactive behaviour.

Anyone know how it compares to the Ecstasy Blue Channel?

There are loads of tones in the Helios. It's a killer amp. BTW, the price has already gone up and may even more. I detected none of the XTC red channel in it. There are aspects of it more so in the midrange that reminded me of the Blue. It's not as soft as the blue though. It has the tighter Plexi feel maybe even tighter. The clipping is not overdone by any means. I did not detect that unmistakeable affect clipping has on a circuit. Very well <SPAN class=skimlinks-unlinked>done.It</SPAN> will never be said this head has a blanket effect. It's very Marshall in it's layout on the turret board. The build will surprise most. No Metro board in this amp. A beautiful build with very solid grounding. Very carefully selected caps throughout the circuit. Even one red Jupiter cap at the PI in I think. The amp will cut through any mix I can think of with none of the harshness you might hear in some Marshalls. It is a little more refined in that it is capable of much higher gain than a <SPAN class=skimlinks-unlinked>Plexi.Not</SPAN> as thick as an early Plexi. The amp is very quiet even with gain up. In 70's mode gain all the way up is plenty. Takes a pedal as well if you want it tighter. Bright switches are just that. Bright caps across the volumes, just like Marshalls,. It relies on this for it's tone and brightness like most Marshalls. It has some of the Bogner signature mids but not as much as you might think. It's definitely upper mid as it should be. It comes loaded with JJel34 and JJ preamp tubes which had me thinking if it can be this bright with JJ's how will it sound with them replaced. It might be one of those amps that likes JJ's like the MCII. I have to think it was carefully designed around these tubes. A lot of R&D went into this amp.Transformers are by Magntetic Components I think. I know the choke is. And 30 watt mode is sweet.

I'm in. Even though I'll be 4000miles from my destination of delivery, it'll be nice to have in the repertoire. I plan in moving my life down here within the next couple months. The studio will be climate/humidity controlled and soundproofed - we're ace!!!

Can't wait till I get back to my gear, er, my gear gets back to me.

Peace Gents.

And pstar, be like teflon, let nothing stick to ya... Water off a duck's back - done - fin - over - finito.

Peace Gents,
Mojo

Cool on the move MO, hope everything makes it safe for you!

 

[btdvox]

Helios seems to be a kick ass amp at a great price. I have a PWE incoming but seriously considered the Helios. I'll probably get one some day.

Interesting that it isn't spoken of that much here.

 

[richedie]

Helios seems to be a kick ass amp at a great price. I have a PWE incoming but seriously considered the Helios. I'll probably get one some day.

Interesting that it isn't spoken of that much here.

BTDVOX, all of the amps mentioned in this thread are great. Nothing wrong with including other great amps in this or any forum.

On the Helios, I know Nick has the Helios and loves it and he also had an XTC. He is a great guy and could give you some great advice I am sure.

peace....

 

[buckwild]

IMO having played both the helios is just a much more open sounding and brash amp. Not as refined/modern as the Ecstasy...mind you I had an Ecstasy classic. Really a huge Helios fan though so I'm biased

 

[depechex]

Helios, the one and only... the unknown by the most...