CTC BBQ - NAKED

[dorokusai]

I have been meaning to post a couple pics of the "Beast". This amplifier is one of 5 custom built by CTC Builders. John Curl, Carl Thompson and Bob Crump. John Curl is well known for being the man behind Parasound, and a designer with the original Mark Levinson. CTC Builders is well known for the CTC Blowtorch Pre-Amplifier, and they are a staple at CES along with Parasound.

It was named after Bob Crump's favorite food, BBQ. The amplifier is the original prototype to the current Parasound JC-1 monoblock.... albeit in a 2 Channel design. Parasound put them out of business, when they dropped the HCA-3500...then later commisioned CTC to design the BBQ, but in a monoblock format.

The chassis is the Parasound HCA-3500, with some extensive custom metalwork and internals modified. They modified over 200 parts, and the board layouts were all custom worked by Carl Thompson. Wired internally with Vampire Wire, Nichicon Muse and Harris, just to name a couple manufacturers of the guts. Bob spec'd it at 450x2@6...so my SDA1C's are fairly maxed out, and that is a good thing.

I have only conducted a small demo, couple hours, and all I can say is...this amplifier will be with me in the grave. I still have to get some IC's and Signal will provide the PC's.....and if I buy enough Root Beer for F1Nut....he may help me build my rack.

Thanks for taking a look.

19x7.5x22 100lbs.

[dorokusai]

Front

[dorokusai]

Here is a naked photo off one of my previous HCA-1500's....it is definetly different eh?

[RuSsMaN]

****in' awesome man.

One of FIVE built - way to GO!!! What a NEAT piece to own, I bet it sounds even better than it looks.

100 lbs eh? That'll be tough to tuck under one arm and 'Heisman' my way out your front door.

Cheers,
Russ

[fireshoes]

The 1500 is the one that looks naked. :)

[F1nut]

BBQ...yummy :p

Looks good bro, can't wait to hear it.

[Zero]

That is freakin' awesome. How does one schedule a demo ? heh

[dorokusai]

F1 - :D

Fireshoes - LOL

ATC - You are welcome anytime, but let me iron out the IC's situation first. Perhaps when I get set on my end you can come up, demo and pick that NAD gear up also, if you still want to check it out....or just buy it :D

[Zero]

Mark,

It may be awhile until I navigate my way up north again. Im certain by then your interconnect problem will be weeded out. This amp looks like it means serious business. Would love to hear her in action.

As for the NAD gear. Once again, thanks for the offer. As it is, I may end up parting with the C 370 integrated. I have a little tripath powered amp coming that Im going to do a little shoot out with. Should be fun.

What pre will you be using with your amp?

[dorokusai]

I picked up a minty Anthem Pre2L from Soupbone, and I have been running headphones, and the SACD through it recently... :D....its very nice.

I am real excited to get into the tube genre. Tom was nice enough to include a set of Mullards for me, but I currently have the stock tubes installed.

The gear is on the floor, but it aside from some AC protection, I will keep it simple.

[hoosier21]

very nice looking amp, glad you got the mofo finally. You were not kidding, that thing needs a custom stand, how freaking deep is it?

[Ceruleance]

about time we got some pics :D

You aren't gonna leave it on the floor like that are you? At least get some sort of solid surface under it so it gets some air flow on the bottom. When I had mine on the floor I picked up some little wooden 'plaques' i guess you could call them from the fabric store to prop it up above the carpet nap. My 3500 gets uncomfortable to the touch, so I can imagine the BBQ with an even higher class A bias would be smoking. On that note I relocated my pre-amp off of my amp because it was getting too hot for my comfort (sadly that means no more tennis balls in the rig)

Anyways, hopefully we can A-B yours and mine sometime and see how much better Mr. Curl is at designing amps when he is not tied down by the corporate strategy. I have got you in one regard though, The 3500 still looks better, that beast is definitely a utilitatarian design..

P.S. added a pic for comparison's sake

[dorokusai]

Cer - I was hoping you would post a picture, I think it's a fantastic amplifier. Once you own a monster like this, there is no going back to puny stuff eh? It is a beast either way, lol.

My wife freaked out when she saw it....said I didn't "disclose" how large it was....ugh, well, it isn't going anywhere. Women...they just don't understand sometimes :D

[Tour2ma]

Congrats doro... and thanks for sharing the pics.

Did they report its HCC? I'll wager the peak to peak it's in the 80 amperes/ ch range.

Noticed the twin power switches, does the BBQ take one or two power chords?

Anyway very sweet. I'm definitely coming calling whenever I make my east coast swing this year.

[RuSsMaN]

Originally posted by Tour2ma
...does the BBQ take one or two power chords?

It can take all the power chords, B, D, E - you name it.

Cheers,
Russ

[dorokusai]

Tour - Anytime man, anytime. I will be your tour guide.

120+ amps
Dual Power Cords(HCA-3500 also has this feature)

It is similar to the HCA-3500, with respects to solid published spec's. The power output was increased, thus many figures should change. No manual was provided. If John Curl and Bob Crump are happy with it, and used it in their homes until the JC1, then I just had a baby.

[gidrah]

Sexy! 2 out of the 3 pics depict how an amp should be built. You be the judge as to which 2.

[tonyv1]

Doro,
Let me know if you want the specs that make the Anthem PRE 2L upgradable to the "Special Edition" version. Next time I open my Anthem, I'll snap some pics highlighting the mods. My next tubes to try in the preamp are the Amperex 7308 (man, they're expensive). So who gets dibs on those when you move up to the JC-1s?