I'd say thats a pretty good deal. Make sure it is properly packaged for shipping, however. Assembled Bottlehead amps don't tend to ship well, due to the "gravity chassis". Check the Bottlehead website for packing tips. See here: http://www.bottlehead.com/loosep/packing_your_bottlehead_gear_for.htm

I prefer 63/37. If you can, try to get a no-clean version. It doesn't matter for purposes of the Crack, but it is useful if you ever build a DIY solid state amp (which you will want to do after this)... I happen to like Kester 245 solder. From memory, .031" is a good diameter to use.

I should add that it only takes about 30 minutes to build, and when complete, you will have all the experience you need to build the Crack.

If you want a simple project to get some soldering practice before you tackle the Crack, check here: http://www.rock-grotto.co.uk/x-feed.htm It's very simple, good experience, you can't really break anything, and you'll have something potentially useful when you're finished.

Doesn't really matter one way or the other.

In that price bracket (or at least, reasonably close thereto), I quite like my JDS Labs c421, which has since been replaced by the c5 (which I haven't tried). The bass boost on the c421 works pretty well with the HD600s, and helps compensate for the loss in bass impact when using the HD600s with...

I got it, I was just going for humor (fail). Didn't mean to confuse...

Mu --> mew --> purr --> vibrations --> holding cat close --> transconductance --> you feel the cat Mu-ing --> I'll shut up now. It was a long day at work. I was trying to inject some offbeat humor.

That only happens when you hold the cat close enough to feel the vibrations.

Purr?

Thanks, Doc. I've since become aware of that solution.

"@amcananey, its mild steel of course its going to oxidize with moisture, they paint cars for that very reason. " That's great...as long as you know that it is "mild steel". And how exactly am I supposed to know that? I wouldn't know steel from any other metal. I know the chassis is aluminum...

  Doc, I'm a big fan of your products, own 4 of them, and regularly recommend them quite loudly here. But I do find the issue of the bell end frustrating. When I see a couple of unfinished wooden blocks in the package, with instructions on how to glue them together, it is obvious to me that...

In theory, it's a plug and play affair even without the Speedball. As I understand it, the 6SN7 is just a 12AU7 in a different package. It isn't a near-equivalent, it IS equivalent. In any case, I have the Speedball installed. And I have tried 4 different adapters and probably 15+ different...

I would say: don't bother. I do NOT have any problems with noise from my router (or any other source), but I have 4 of those adapters from 3 different manufacturers and all of them induce intolerable noise with 6SN7s. You can avoid the issue by building a separate power supply for the input...

FWIW, my experience has generally been that leather pads on open-backed headphones are not an upgrade. I do have leather pads (including several pairs of J$ pads) on all of my closed-back headphones. My guess is that creating leather pads for the HD600s (a) isn't worth it, and (b) will be much...

I'm not a big believer in differences among DACs, but I've managed to convince myself that the best DACs I've heard are Audio-Gd DACs based on PCM1704UK chips. I have 3 of them, one of which can play high-rez files. No idea if that answers your question, though!

Yeah, I'm just reacting to the tendency when buying a DAC to focus on the maximum resolution it can handle. I think people focus on that because it is a number they can easily point to, and higher resolution always has to be better, right? I followed that thinking myself when buying DACs, only...

The important part of that statement isn't the "ALL", it's "the information that's picked up by the microphones and recording equipment". If you capture all of the information recorded by a poor microphone and recording equipment, then you still don't have as much information as a 44.1 kHz...

Were any of those albums originally recorded on high-rez equipment? (Before you answer, bear in mind that just because something is analog doesn't mean it is necessarily high resolution.) A high resolution version of a standard resolution recording doesn't provide you with anything other than a...

Nobody needs 192kHz. Can you name 10 albums that you would actually want to listen to that are available in a format over 96/24?

As President of The Ugly Crack Guild, I would remind you that pretty isn't the only way to go... ;-)

  You won't get any argument out of me on that front, and it is something I have said many times in this thread. The HD600s sound good out of just about anything, but I do find that they sound particularly good with the Crack. I'm reminded of a discussion I had a while back with someone about...

Look, I'm not saying that damping is BS. I'm not saying that good engineering practices are BS. I'm not saying that scientific measurements are BS. Nor am I saying that I have golden ears or that I would generally survive a double-blind test of much of my gear. But if there is anything in this...

Yes. Sort of. Use these: http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Labs-Line-Level-Attenuator/dp/B0006N41B0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383060429&sr=8-1&keywords=harrison+labs+12db+attenuators Don't bother going for anything less than 12dB, you won't notice the difference.