Here’s my back-to-back comparison of the Elise and the Crack + Speedball. You’ll find that my initial impressions still hold true; The Elise has details and the Crack has dat bass.
Materials:
FLAC --> MusicBee + WASAPI --> Schiit Bifrost Uber via gen2 USB --> {AMP} --> Beyerdynamic DT880, 600 Ohm
I used the same winged "C" power tubes in both amps. For drivers, I used the original stock tubes in the Elise (not the TS reissues), then a gold-pin JJ ECC802 S in the Crack. I used standard power and interconnect cables; absolutely nothing special.
Methods:
Listened to 8 songs I'm very familiar with, taking brief notes while listening. I played all 8 from the Elise first, then did the same with the Crack.
The xx - Angels
The xx - Try
Vampire Weekend - Obvious Bicycle
Pink Floyd - The Post War Dream
Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
Rage Against The Machine - I'm Housin'
Portishead - Glory Box
Results:
This is what I wrote for each amp
Elise: Space, Separation, Detail, Clean
Crack: Narrow/Forward, Bass + Bass control, Messy
Discussion:
I said before that the Crack is analogous to looking at a picture, while the Elise is like a diorama of that picture. The first thing I noticed about the Crack tonight was how narrow it sounded compared to Elise. It truly sounds like a dimension has been removed from the soundstage, making things seem overly focused. The things in focus dominate the stage, and something has to move out of the way for a new sound to come in. This became a problem for Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against The Machine, where the music is quite busy. The Elise can separate each synth loop in March of the Pigs, but it sounds like a total mess with the Crack.
I also said before that the Crack had distinctly bigger lows and mids. That, too, was on the front of my mind tonight, and that might be where the Crack beats the Elise. The Crack has such deep, wide bass it totally defies the aforementioned narrowness of the soundstage. It sounds like the bass is the canvas upon which the rest of the music is painted, and it sounds awesome with those tracks from The xx. Sometimes, however, the crack sounded like it was overly focused on low-mids. I think this preference coupled with the narrowness of the sound made it sound off-balance at times. In other words, the Elise would present sounds and instruments relatively evenly, while the Crack gave you 1) low-mids and 2) whatever else was “in focus” at the time. It never sounded out of control, but occasionally felt out of place.
Ultimately I think I prefer the Elise, strictly in terms of sound. Although the bass generally sounds better with the Crack, the detail of the Elise is in another league.
Further Research:
I’d like to do this again with the Sennheiser HD650s and with better tubes. I have some C3gs that need to be burned in, and I’d love to find some 5998 power tubes. Now that I have two amps to benefit from the purchase, I might be able to justify investing big bucks in them.
Other Considerations:
Obviously the Crack is a DIY kit. As other reviewers have said, the kit and instructions are great and it’s quite easy to build. Personally, I had no trouble building it, but I had some bad parts that took several months to iron out. I sent it to bottlehead HQ 3 times before it was in perfect order. Repairs and shipping aren’t cheap, so I’m probably into the Crack for as much as, or more than, the Elise. I’ll give bottlehead credit for customer service, but I wish I bought something like the Elise from the beginning. It’s a nice amp, but in my experience, not reliable enough to be your _only_ amp. YMMV – a lot of other people love the Crack.
Hope this was informative,
Karl
