[Doc B.]

We will probably start taking pre orders next month. It does not have a tube output. I felt that the sonic quality of this product didn't warrant it.

 

[skeptic]

Can't wait for the formal announcement and details Doc!  The more tidbits I read about your and John's painstaking FPGA design, and John's recent posts on jitter and your careful (and equal) attention to all the various digital input receivers, the more excited I get.  
 
[edit: typo]

 

[Loquah]

  Can't wait for the formal announcement and details Doc!  The more tidbits I read about your and John's painstaking FPGA design, and John's recent posts on jitter and your careful (and equal) attenuation to all the various digital input receivers, the more excited I get.  

 
Ditto. The design process sounds exhaustive and always focussed on the ultimate sound output. Can't wait!

 

[mordicai]

Cancelled my Havana Dac today to wait on the new BH Dac. My E-10 will have to do for now.

 

[JamieMcC]

Thought I would try the easy to do mod of soldering in a couple of 270K resistors inline with the RCA inputs as per Paul's suggested mod in the Crack FAQ section. Using a Vishay 270K, 5%, 0.25W Metal Film and it works a treat.

Resulted in a feeling of having improved range and finer user control of the volume levels it also removed a very slight channel imbalance which was noticeable at the lowest level.
 

 

[Shaldome]

In order to upgrade my headphone equipment I decided to get my self a Crack, which will go along with my newly Order Beyerdynamic T1(which will of course arrive tomorrow while I am still at work). At the moment I have some Sennheiser HD 650 and an ODAC/AMP combo from Epiphany. What I did not consider and totally forgot was, that this combo only has an headphone out for a connection to the Crack, which I understand is not a good option, as the the signal goes through the amp of the ODAC/AMP first before going into the Crack.
 
Now my question is, what are my best options until around the middle of next year, when my Geek Pulse should arrive, to remedy the situation.
 
First would be, still use the headphone out of the ODAC/AMP into the crack.
 
Second would be, plug back in my Asus Xonar ST and use the output into the Crack.
 
Third would be use the onboard sound outputs into the Crack, but that would not make much sense, when I can use the Xonar.
 
So any help would be appreciated to help me in this matter.

 

[Mahdi8]

One option would be take out the odac and put it in its own enclosure

 

[ben_r_]

Does anyone out there with a Crack and installed Speedball have any noise or hum when the volume is turned up say 75% or higher? I have a bit of noise when the volume pot is up that high and I had my buddy bring his over and he has no noise but a humming sound at that same volume level. Now I know there is no way anyone who isnt WAY hard of hearing would ever need to turn the volume up that high and yes both amps are dead silent until you get to those high volumes, I was just kinda wondering if anyone else's did the same thing. Oh and these effects were heard in multiple places around my house to eliminate the possibility of external noise, with and without a source/RCA cables plugged in and I even removed my Speedball and put the Crack back to stock on mine and it was dead silent all the way up so I know the slight noise at 80%+ volume on mine at least comes from the Speedball upgrade. All voltages and resistance checks look good with Speedball in and I have been soldering for well over 20 years so I know its not a build issue. I suppose it might be one of the components in the Speedball boards but I just wanted to ask around and see if anyone else was experiencing the same before I worry any further about it. As I mentioned its only with no music playing and the volume way higher I would EVER turn it up to.

 

[Loquah]

One option would be take out the odac and put it in its own enclosure

 
This is a good option, but the Xonar is also a good option in the interim. Perhaps try both to see which sound you prefer.
 
Alternatively, there are some excellent, cheap DACs around like the ODAC (by itself) and some of the current DAPs offer excellent line-out capabilities if you don't necessarily need to use your computer as a source

 

[palmfish]

There's nothing wrong with using the headphone out from the O2. It might even give you more play with the Cracks volume control.

 

[UmustBKidn]

  In order to upgrade my headphone equipment I decided to get my self a Crack, which will go along with my newly Order Beyerdynamic T1(which will of course arrive tomorrow while I am still at work). At the moment I have some Sennheiser HD 650 and an ODAC/AMP combo from Epiphany. What I did not consider and totally forgot was, that this combo only has an headphone out for a connection to the Crack, which I understand is not a good option, as the the signal goes through the amp of the ODAC/AMP first before going into the Crack.
 
Now my question is, what are my best options until around the middle of next year, when my Geek Pulse should arrive, to remedy the situation.
 
First would be, still use the headphone out of the ODAC/AMP into the crack.
 
Second would be, plug back in my Asus Xonar ST and use the output into the Crack.
 
Third would be use the onboard sound outputs into the Crack, but that would not make much sense, when I can use the Xonar.
 
So any help would be appreciated to help me in this matter.

 
You didn't mention whether or not you were considering a new DAC?
 
It appears your Asus sound card has RCA line out jacks. Personally, I'd just use the RCA line out jacks from your Asus sound card, and plumb them into your Crack.
 
Some folks say that the choice of DAC and cans has a greater impact on the total sound quality than your amplifier. If you're willing to drop $1k on cans and $300 on an amp, I'd drop a few bills for a good DAC to go with the other fine gear.
 
Using a headphone output will double-amp the sound and introduce distortion. It's also possible to over-drive an amp if you turn the headphone output up too much. You have a usable DAC on that sound card, that's the way I'd go. I'd also recommend you spend some money on a better DAC.

 

[Shaldome]

   
You didn't mention whether or not you were considering a new DAC?
 
It appears your Asus sound card has RCA line out jacks. Personally, I'd just use the RCA line out jacks from your Asus sound card, and plumb them into your Crack.
 
Some folks say that the choice of DAC and cans has a greater impact on the total sound quality than your amplifier. If you're willing to drop $1k on cans and $300 on an amp, I'd drop a few bills for a good DAC to go with the other fine gear.
 
Using a headphone output will double-amp the sound and introduce distortion. It's also possible to over-drive an amp if you turn the headphone output up too much. You have a usable DAC on that sound card, that's the way I'd go. I'd also recommend you spend some money on a better DAC.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
As I already wrote, I will have a http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/geek-pulse-a-digital-audio-awesomifier-for-your-desktop Geek Pulse X coming sometimes next year, so the solution would just be temporary. As such, another DAC would be a kind of a waste.
I guess I will think about another amp at the end of next year, depending on how satisfied I am with the Pulse.
The Crack was actually a buy out of curiosity and something to hold me over until the Pulse arrives.

 

[gikigill]

The Crack will be a very diferent animal.
 
I currently have the SEX and waiting for the fully loaded Pulse X with femto, active/passive and LPS4 and not expecting them to
 
match each other at all.

 

[Shaldome]

  The Crack will be a very diferent animal.
 
I currently have the SEX and waiting for the fully loaded Pulse X with femto, active/passive and LPS4 and not expecting them to
 
match each other at all.

I thought as much, but this was more meant as an answer to the DAC questions. Of course I will still be using the Crack when my Pulse arrives. And then maybe later next year I will take a look if I go up a step or two from the Crack.

 

[JamieMcC]

  Does anyone out there with a Crack and installed Speedball have any noise or hum when the volume is turned up say 75% or higher? I have a bit of noise when the volume pot is up that high and I had my buddy bring his over and he has no noise but a humming sound at that same volume level. Now I know there is no way anyone who isnt WAY hard of hearing would ever need to turn the volume up that high and yes both amps are dead silent until you get to those high volumes, I was just kinda wondering if anyone else's did the same thing. Oh and these effects were heard in multiple places around my house to eliminate the possibility of external noise, with and without a source/RCA cables plugged in and I even removed my Speedball and put the Crack back to stock on mine and it was dead silent all the way up so I know the slight noise at 80%+ volume on mine at least comes from the Speedball upgrade. All voltages and resistance checks look good with Speedball in and I have been soldering for well over 20 years so I know its not a build issue. I suppose it might be one of the components in the Speedball boards but I just wanted to ask around and see if anyone else was experiencing the same before I worry any further about it. As I mentioned its only with no music playing and the volume way higher I would EVER turn it up to.

 
Yes I have a slight hum at about 75% volume but I am not sure if its the speedball or not. I do know that without the speedball my Crack was silent right up to 100%.
I only noticed the hum after soldering in a couple of 270K resistors inline with the RCA inputs as per a suggested mod in the Crack FAQ section. So I thought it was that, I plan to take them out soon when I fit a pot upgrade so will check when removed if the hum is still present.