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Crack OTL or Darkvoice 337SE or LD MK IV for High Impedence Headphone

post #1 of 8
3/18/11 at 7:37am
Thread Starter 

I want to buy a good tube headphone amp for my HD600, DT880 and T1. Considering the Crack OTL, or Darkvoice 337se or LD MK IV, or Woo Audio or......

 

Appreciate comments and opinions.

 

Thanks.

 

Andy

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post #2 of 8
3/18/11 at 1:24pm

Well the Crack is a DIY amp so you must have tools to complete it - soldering iron, wire cutter, etc. It is a pretty easy build though and has great instructions. I can only speak from experience with the hd600s but it sounds great with them, almost as good as my beta 22. A bonus point is that it is also the cheapest amp on your list if you already have tools.

 

I have not heard any of the other amps on your list though so I don't know how it compares with them. 

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post #3 of 8
3/18/11 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for sharing your experience on Crack and that on B22.

 

I should be able to assemble the Crack as I have done a few tube gear kits and solid state kits before. The Crack is really tempting and may have good potential to upgrade.

 

By the way, when compared with the B22, did your Crack incorporated with the Speedball upgrade and other tweaks such as upgrading the ouptput caps. If I go for the Crack, I will incorporate the speedball upgrade, output caps upgrade and may be other tweaks.

 

It seems that the DarkVoice 337SE has gained some good reviews and thus I want some feedback on those users have experience on them. Experience/comments on the Crack compared with other amps are also welcome.

 

Andy

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post #4 of 8
3/19/11 at 9:49am

I do not have any upgrades on the Crack - just stock caps and no speedball constant current source upgrade. I will most likely get the CCS sometime in the future but I doubt I will be swapping caps out. 

 

It is hard for me to do a direct A/B between the beta 22 and crack since at the moment I have to manually swap the source between the amps, which takes 20-30 seconds including power up. However, the crack definitely has a bit of that tubey sound, a lusher midrange. The beta 22 is extremely technically proficient, everything is very fast, tight and controlled and more neutral than the crack. I really like a neutral sound so I prefer the beta 22. The speedball upgrade is supposed to tighten up the bass and increase the speed of the amp so perhaps that might bring the crack closer to the level of the beta 22. To be fair though these amps are not really on a level playing field as the cost of PCBs and parts for the beta 22 alone is close to three times the price of the entire basic crack kit. I also spent a good amount on casing, which doesn't affect sound but sure makes it look nice biggrin.gif

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post #5 of 8
3/19/11 at 9:45pm

Go for the crack.

 

I would.

 

This is not advice, but encouragement!

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post #6 of 8
3/19/11 at 11:37pm

That sort of encouragement would normally get you arrested. biggrin.gif

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post #7 of 8
3/20/11 at 9:24pm

"Get amp'd up off the Crack, and if you have some dough left over get the speedball".

 

 

Disclaimer to the DEA: we are talking about audio equipment.

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post #8 of 8
3/20/11 at 11:13pm
I'd also recommend the Crack. You have more options for upgrades and it is point-to-point. You should also pick up the skills to build a more complex amp, too. That will save you a lot of money compared to buying an amp when you want to upgrade.
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