NAD: Bogner XTC 20th

Steve560":1qgazim6 said:
After having played three different XTCs over the years, I'm waiting for my first Friedman amp, the BE100 DLX. Only the EL34 20TH Anniversary XTC is still on my bucket list. Do you think, they are comparable and cover the same spectrum?


Cheers, Stefan


I have the BE100 and XTC20 and they are both different finely tuned race cars but in the same race......it that makes sense. The XTC20 is a remarkable amp that covers what the classic does so well and that is big, open vintage tones but can get super modern and aggressive with just a few flicks of a few switches. If the 100B, 101B and Classic had a 3 some.........the 20th would be the result. Probably reinhold's best sounding amp to date.

Brent
 
Thank you Brent,


probably I have to have both amps in the end and have to compare. The BE 100 Deluxe will be here next week. I just always wonder, why everyone is so Friedman hyped. Is it that good? Will also get the 20th XTC next week, if it is still available and then compare.
 
Steve560":4itrr7u2 said:
Thank you Brent,


probably I have to have both amps in the end and have to compare. The BE 100 Deluxe will be here next week. I just always wonder, why everyone is so Friedman hyped. Is it that good? Will also get the 20th XTC next week, if it is still available and then compare.
Kool-aid is out there, it's up to us whether we raise a glass or not :thumbsup:
 
Lucky me, I received my Bogner XTC 20th yesterday and I have to say, I'm impressed. I already had 3 XTCs 101B heads (white chassis, 2004 and 2012) in the past and every time it was a cool amp but I was always fighting with the channels and how to get the best out of every channel. The red channel was most of the time my least favourite. Too compressed and too dark and also too chewy.

This time it took half an hour and everything was set. My favourite channel is now the red one. This thing is on fire and I love the aggressive and bright lead tone. In my opinion everything on the 20th version is perfectly balanced and refined. Also the Vintage and modern setting is fantastic.

I have to say, that now, when I compare the XTC to the Friedman Be100 deluxe, the Friedman seems to be a little too well behaved, too tame and not enough aggressive and dynamic. Didn't expect that but maybe this is due to the honeymoon phase;-) Will do further testing! :rock:
 
BrentSP":3c88as82 said:
Absolutely man, love it! Sold most all my amps and am down to the 20th and BE.

Love my BE (especially since changing the filtering and NFB to Smallbox levels), but man I miss the 20th!

Ron
 
Brent, what tubes have you tried for power and pre on the xtc? I’ve mostly bought jj’s and Ehx 12ax7’s and haven’t delved much into replacing el34’s. I’d rather be on the quiet non hum side. .
 
ST.KTULU":3kqbno74 said:
Brent, what tubes have you tried for power and pre on the xtc? I’ve mostly bought jj’s and Ehx 12ax7’s and haven’t delved much into replacing el34’s. I’d rather be on the quiet non hum side. .
In the past I’ve used quite a bit and always came back to either Ruby Chinese or JJ from Eurotubes. These days I just want something that is reliable especially in the poweramp. If I knew what I was doing and knew the EPA guidelines I’d build my own USA tube factory and makes some dang reliable tubes.
 
I love it so much. It just sounds like "me". The BE100 was great. But I feel like I'm "home".
 
Brent-thanks for the feedback. You’ve prob said it before but is 30-32ma what you are shooting for in bias? Where is the test point if I have a basic multimeter?
Rich, good to hear. Haven’t got to play a 20th but been experimenting with the hi/lo inputs and find for some pickups the lo has a certain feel I’ve been after. I’m in Dallas also and would love to grab a beer with a fellow gear head.
 
I have to don a flamesuit here if I'm going to be completely honest... But here goes.

I've run through a few Friedmans (Slax, JJ, Pink...) - and I loved the JJ100 the most. I've also played through a BE100 and a Dirty Shirley (liked the DS a lot). NO doubt about the fact that Friedmans have a very special thing going on their amps - they simply sound fucking awesome. They do. But....

Looking at my Bogners, man, there's just NO comparing them when it comes to the quality of build over Friedmans stuff. No dis, just a straight up, factual honest-to-goodness claim on my personal behalf. The quality of build and layout and design components in Bogners amps compared to Friedmans? Bogner HANDS down. But "do they sound like as much as they cost" - cuz ultimately - sure, the argument can be made "it don't matter, look at Dumble, he used RadioShack parts to get his tone" it's all about how it sounds, not how it looks - fair argument. However, the Bogners have been with me since Day1 (seriously, got one of the 1st 20thA-XTC-EL34s released), and a Shiva20thA, I STILL HAVE THEM. I let the Friedmans go because a) I got to where I wanted to go with my Bogners, the Friedmans were overlapping the same zone, b) I felt the Friedmans were hot-ticket items "that month/quarter" but saw the buy/sell mania going on and just thought great marketing, I don't wanna be left holding the bag, and c) pretty much equal pricing?? If I HAD to guess which amps will be longest lasting (and hey, I'm not there yet, ask Keef about his amps), the build quality in the Bogners to me made me feel as though they'd last, and their prices would stay justified throughout time if ever the grim day came I'd have to sell 'em.

I like the feel of Bogners. I am familiar with the tone of Bogners. I know how to mic my Bogners. I've never had any desire to MOD my Bogners. I've been able to cop pretty much every imaginable TONE out of my Bogners. And they're built amazingly well - not as industrial as Diezel - but for American amps - they're fkn amazingly well built top notch quality top notch parts spec and consistent, reliable, amazing, "my familiar place" of low-mids saggy Bogner goodness.

IME, YMMV, hope this makes sense... I'd love to try out a BE100DLX if ever the day came, but I have no wont or burning "desire" to try one out - I have gobs of goodness in the amps I've got. I have zero GAS (said it, on record, there ya go...worst customer out there - NO GAS - :p??)

If the BE100DLX offered the same tone as the JJ ch.1/2 (JBE was too saturated, my Shiva kicked its ass), and the same tone as 2nd channel of the Slax (even though my D-Moll destroys it), and a BUNCH of other appetite-whetting shoutouts, I'd *maybe* look at a used one, try it out, but like I said, I'm not really needing to reinvent the wheel. And I have to say again, with respect to Dave and his amps, they do sound absolutely incredible - for those people who love 'em, I do not blame them - they're awesome amps.

Peace!!
 
sorry for the necro-bump, this new forum format with notifications is screwing with my head...

anyway - I'll keep my post up for now - sorry for any redundancies
 
If you want some really 3d, cork-sniffer "swirly" tones, the 20th Anniversary with the gains on Blue and Red in the 10:00 area is just amazing. Obviously the gained-up sounds are great as well. I really want to try some nice 6CA7 glass in this. Just to "widen" it out even more.
 
So I have the 20thA 6L6 and just picked up a BE100 Deluxe. I was terrified that the BE was going to supplant the XTC, but man...no! I think of the BE100DLX as a greatest hits of produced Marshall tones - its a fantastic amp. However, the 20th just has its own thing going on. That undefinable Bogner pixie dust :) it’s never going anywhere!
 
I love my 20th Shiva for soloing and rock rhythm. It doesn't get aggressive enough for me for metal. Is the XTC more aggressive?
 
Back
Top