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Crack;Bottlehead OTL
Mar 31, 2014 at 4:39 PM Post #4,456 of 12,335
matttcg said:
  I was really fishing to know what you thought of the hd800 with the crack. 
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Gotcha. I think it's ok. I think a lot of people would be very happy with it as it takes the HD 800 and both darkens and warms it up a bit. Sound very nice with the HD 700 as well. People looking for that warmer tone would be happy, but it does take a bit of resolution away from the HD 800.
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 5:39 PM Post #4,458 of 12,335
lost&confused said:
Lazy!  :)  I think its 120v sotto  but dont quote me on that ...someone will come along and comfirm it.
 
Whats your crack had done to it then? speedball  upgrade ? You in the UK then ?  I was going to buy a pre built one from another member but decided to go for it!
 
 I'm really not sure I wanna install the speedball  :p   I think I'll order the standard parts to put it back to standard if I dont like the speedball ...but everyone says it makes biggest difference installing the speedball.  But loads of ppl say the tungsol is great tube.....I'll  give the other tubes another try. 
 
Maybe the tungsol sounds better with the speedball upgrade but I've read that with the speedball you dont notice tube sound changes as much than with the standard crack.
 
have fun!
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It all depends on ones hearing. I also had Crack with Speedball (bought one from the member who sold it as soon he tested that build works properly) and tried different tubes and while difference sometimes very little and sometimes more noticeable I still heard enough to say that I prefer Sylvania 5814A over GE 5814A when paired with 5998 and but I prefer either 5814As over RCA Clear Top. On the other side I bought famous GEC 6AS7 brown base from another member who spent an evening comparing it with 5998 and heard no difference while for me and many others difference is very noticeable and is considered the best
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 5:53 PM Post #4,460 of 12,335
lost&confused said:
yeah its bad with expense gear from the usa with duty,  I imported the Schiit Vali amp and payed about £30 duty. You can buy online with schitt USA website. 
 
Them usb dacs are meant to be good , also Bottlehead I heard are making a dac  released soon i think.
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If funds permit get yourself a UK Dac Arcam irDac which is ever better than Bifrost Uber
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 6:09 PM Post #4,461 of 12,335
I've tempted by the irDac as well. The laser in my arcam dvd player has started to go, and I like arcam's general sound signature and Wolfson implementation a lot. Reviews are sadly scarce, but Whathifi seems to have heaps of praise for the irDac (more so than for arcam's flagship actually).

Still holding out faith that Mr. Swenson works out the final minor kinks and green lights the bh dac soon though. Per his most recent update, it sounds like a little noise from hotswapping spdif cables, is only real remaining issue.
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 10:18 PM Post #4,462 of 12,335
I also was tempted by irDac and seeing to little reviews but seeing that Whathifi said it Dac of a year and knowing that I can easily send it back to Amazon I finally pulled the trigger. When I got and connected it and started listening I noticed that music sounds differently for me than with any other dac I had. Unfortunately I can't write review like many well known members here but I feel that it most neutral dac I had and I had blackest backgrounds if I understand this right and that micro details of bass region have best clarity I have heard so far when trying it with the moded SEX. I don't have it anymore being tempted to try X-Sabre so I sold it to another local member who now enjoying it with WA7 he bought several weeks before that
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 10:20 PM Post #4,463 of 12,335
olegausany said:
I also was tempted by irDac and seeing to little reviews but seeing that Whathifi said it Dac of a year and knowing that I can easily send it back to Amazon I finally pulled the trigger. When I got and connected it and started listening I noticed that music sounds differently for me than with any other dac I had. Unfortunately I can't write review like many well known members here but I feel that it most neutral dac I had and I had blackest backgrounds if I understand this right and that micro details of bass region have best clarity I have heard so far when trying it with the moded SEX. I don't have it anymore being tempted to try X-Sabre so I sold it to another local member who now enjoying it with WA7 he bought several weeks before that I was using USB only/quote]
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Mar 31, 2014 at 10:21 PM Post #4,464 of 12,335
o
sonido said:
Alas we come full circle to solid state where components should not impart its own sound.
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Luckily for you guys you can build the kit either way and make it as tubby, I mean tubey as you like.
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 5:54 AM Post #4,465 of 12,335
Crack Noir!
 
I had a real hard time finding black smoked tubes to complete the look I was after, I had a Tung-sol 12au7 black glass but finding a smoked driver tube was a nightmare. After a long time spent hunting for one I went with a uber rare and rather special RCA 6080 PIBs and a matching RCA 12au7 PIBs the combination though a little dark sounds pretty good!
 
 
 
 
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 6:09 AM Post #4,466 of 12,335
Wow Jamie that looks really different from all the others I've seen great job!  Your amp would look nice on my desk :) the carbon wrapped on the wood base looks good. Cant remeber seeing yours like that before..... You have spent alot of time on this amp looks amazing mate.
 
I've only sanded and gave mine a clear coat of clear satin! ( a water based 
 
Couldn't you just spray the normal tubes with some high temp spray? lol suppose you would of done that already.
 
Great job
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 12:04 PM Post #4,467 of 12,335
Hi Jamie,
I don't know for sure but your GEC 6AS7G looks pretty strange. It seems to be different from other GECs I've seen and owned ( yours is somehow a bit taller and thinner ) :D
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 12:31 PM Post #4,468 of 12,335
aeolus kratos said:
Hi Jamie,
I don't know for sure but your GEC 6AS7G looks pretty strange. It seems to be different from other GECs I've seen and owned ( yours is somehow a bit taller and thinner )
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Hi Aeolus, most probably its the angle of the camera or lighting, I need to practice my photography skills a bit.  Just checked and it is exactly the same glass shape and plate structure as my other ones.
 
atsmile.gif

 

 
Apr 1, 2014 at 12:55 PM Post #4,469 of 12,335
Hi Guys!
 
Can any of you tell me if I could use these tubes with BH Crack w/ Speedball? I'm asking because the right speaker is dead when I plugged in the tube, both of them.  Bought these off eBay and seller stated they're NOS. Thanks in advance.
 

 

 
Apr 1, 2014 at 1:03 PM Post #4,470 of 12,335
jamiemcc said:
Hi Aeolus, most probably its the angle of the camera or lighting, I need to practice my photography skills a bit.  Just checked and it is exactly the same glass shape and plate structure as my other ones.
 
atsmile.gif

 
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Wow Jamie, such a 'tiny' GEC collection you have :D :D
By the way, how would you compare the straight base version and the round base version of the GEC? I've never heard any GEC round base version so I'm not sure if there is any difference in terms of sound quality between them.

Thanks.

jason8777 said:
Hi Guys!


 


Can any of you tell me if I could use these tubes with BH Crack w/ Speedball? I'm asking because the right speaker is dead when I plugged in the tube, both of them.  Bought these off eBay and seller stated they're NOS. Thanks in advance.
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Jason,

These tubes are Mullard CV4003 and they should work just fine with the Crack.
 
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