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  1. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

      Could it be source related if you had it with previous amps? I would try to run the Crack without any source connected and using a shorting plug (a RCA jack with an around 500 Ohms resistor connecting ground to center). If it's dead quiet with a shorting plug, then it's your source (without...
  2. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

      The stock Crack is musical. It's warm but not laid back or "tubey". The HD 650 are also on the warm side of headphones. Don't get me wrong : that is nice, I can listen to them for hours without any fatigue (like I get with, say, grados). So IMHO, I think you can get a clinical or analytical...
  3. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    ODAC... And spend the rest on a speedball!
  4. ffivaz

    Bottlehead Amplifier Discussion / Comparison Thread: Crack, SEX & Mainline

      Yeah, you could lower the impedance of the output tubes by adding some transformers. But then, it wouldn't be a Output Transformer Less design anymore. S.E.X. has transformers and drives about any headphone you can throw at. Now you have to live with the output tube impedance and choose...
  5. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

      You can replace the crack pot with 100 kOhms resistors. That would sure improve the sound. I think, you can just connect wires white to white, red to red, black to black and put a 100 kOhms resistor between the ground lugs and center of each RCA... It could be also interesting to reduce the...
  6. ffivaz

    Bottlehead Amplifier Discussion / Comparison Thread: Crack, SEX & Mainline

      I'm not sure solid core is the best for a headphone cable since it's rigid and quite fragile if bent.
  7. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    I had the experience two weeks ago. I forgot to bridge the two grounds on a new pot. My resistance went haywire, and I still decided I could start the Crack. Bad move. Even after shutdown and power cable removal, I got snapped when touching something inside. Something I never experienced before...
  8. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

      +1 Don't forget to connect the two grounds when you rewire you new pot. If you don't, your Crack will go crazy and become potentially dangerous (some caps aren't discharging anymore at shutdown). half of the Crack's grounding is done through the small wire on Jamies's pot.
  9. ffivaz

    Bottlehead Amplifier Discussion / Comparison Thread: Crack, SEX & Mainline

      Just to correct one thing. I think that all Bottlehead products never drift out of class A. Crack, S.E.X. and mainline are all Single Ended "Class A" designs, as opposed to other classes that use push pull design for higher output power. You have a maximum output voltage before clipping...
  10. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

      You would receive better inputs if you posted your problems on the Bottlehead forum. Back there, you would be asked if your resistance checks and voltage checks were fine. Were they ? If the noise is only in one channel, then you have a cold solder joint in the signal path of this channel, or...
  11. ffivaz

    Sennheiser HD650 & Massdrop HD6XX Impressions Thread

    Use your Vali and save... for a Crack :)
  12. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    It looks like the microphonics are often associated with the power tube. In my Crack, I tried three different 6AS7G (RCA, Svetlana and Rogers), all were noisy, even after some break in. I finally settle back to a rugged RCA 6080 with RCA or Telefunken 12AU7. I can dance next the crack (which...
  13. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    Ringing sounds like Microphonics! It can be from the tubes (or sometimes caps). Doc said about it on the BH forum something like "It's a feature, not a fault!" Just don't tap the crack :) You can still test which tube is more prone to microphonics, try tapping them gently or around their base...
  14. ffivaz

    REVIEW: The Stunning McIntosh D100

    Nice review! I just don't get one thing. How can this thing be charged 2500$ in the US and like 3000 pounds in the UK, or in my case 3900 Swiss francs in Switzerland! This is like twice the US price.   Shame on importers, or on McIntosh if they fix the price.
  15. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    I think it will work, but not bypass the preamp section of your integrated amp. With tape in, you still have volume control and gain from the preamp section, if there is some gain. Some integrated amps have a bypass, some RCAs that connect directly to the amp section. If you connect the quickie...
  16. ffivaz

    Sennheiser HD650 & Massdrop HD6XX Impressions Thread

      It will be enough at the beginning, but you'll want more of the goodness. You could have ordered the O2 + ODAC combo.
  17. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    HolyCheese, you could try changing the 12au7 for another 12au7. I don't think the 6SN7 is more RFI tolerant than the 12au7.
  18. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    HolyCheese, you could use a tube shield. An aluminium tube covering the tubes, it replaces the metal ring covering your tube socket. Something like that: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/vacuum-tube-shield.
  19. ffivaz

    Bottlehead Amplifier Discussion / Comparison Thread: Crack, SEX & Mainline

      I can only encourage everyone seeking a phono preamp to have a look at the Reduction kit. I have it since june and haven't played a CD since :)
  20. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

      If you correctly braid the three wires from the RCA inputs to the volume pot, you won't have any kind of hum. The noise rejection from correctly braided wires is in fact quite astounding.
  21. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

      You could buy yourself a Bottlehead Quickie preamp. Quiet (battery powered) and fun to build !
  22. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    And you'll end rolling opamps :)
  23. ffivaz

    Bottlehead Amplifier Discussion / Comparison Thread: Crack, SEX & Mainline

      I'm eagerly waiting for the kit to ship from BH :)
  24. ffivaz

    Bottlehead Amplifier Discussion / Comparison Thread: Crack, SEX & Mainline

      I never tried the S.E.X. amp, so I can just talk about my Crack, w/o speedball. If you read all the threads about Crack or HD650 on head-fi, everyone raves about the combination. So do I. I love my HD650s with the Crack. I my opinion, the HD650/Crack Combo is better compared to a "brighter"...
  25. ffivaz

    Crack;Bottlehead OTL

    Thanks! I missed the last updates. So, that will be a Christmas DAC :)
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