[Jimmy24]

Very clean build sir. As a newcomer myself to the Crack club, I'd like to wish you a warm welcome. Happy listening!
 

 

[rock-solid]

 A bottle of Laphoraig Quarter Cask will elevate a listening system to astounding levels

 
I wish my ears were as good as your eyes... 

 

 I'm looking forward to seeing what you plan on adding next.

 
That will come for sure. But it will take some time. Yesterday I just wanted listen very short if everything is ok with the crack burning. Chose a track of "TRON Legacy" and ended up in listening the whole album. Damn, that Crack is really bad... it won´t let you go to sleep... Coming from my tiny DAC-Headphoneamp-Combo thats a whole new level for me. I think I need some weeks to get used to that new stage. Before that I could not appreciate nor evaluate any mod. It will be hard as the Speedball, caps and stepped attenuator are already here but I hope I will be patient.
 

 Very clean build sir.

 
Thanks. I saw some builds that look a lot cleaner with the wiring routed in right angles. But for me music is more feminin - therefore the cabling should go in nice curves. The electrons should have a nice and pleasant travelling time without turbulences before reaching my ears...

 
 
Alright, think I´m gonna check very short the burn in process with the good old "Reverence" from Faithless. Just one song...

 

[lost&confused]

love my crack and hd600 so much I never come here anymore  

 

[Bwaze]

Woo hoo, order finally shipped! Still have lots of time for reading on how to build this thing...

 

[VALIENTE]

  love my crack and hd600 so much I never come here anymore  

He is already lost and confused.

 

[Klots]

Woo hoo, order finally shipped! Still have lots of time for reading on how to build this thing...

Just follow the manual (which is perfect) and make good solder joints and you will be fine

 Don't overthink 

 

[Jimmy24]

So I've been listening to my Crack+Speedball with my HD 650's for the past few days and I am truly astounded at how good my cans sound now. I was using the 02 + ODAC before this and they don't even compare. They're leagues apart. I'm also rolling with Tung Sol 5998's and CBS Hytron 5814a's. The sound just became so lifelike and the soundstage opened up immensely.  In particular, in recordings with just vocals and acoustic guitar, it sounds as if the artist is singing and playing in the same room with you. It's uncanny. As far as separation of instruments goes, everything is extremely clear. Each instrument sounds as if it's in its own little "zone." Even songs with 6 or 7 different instruments, you can hear them distinctly apart. I am extremely happy I built the Crack. Not only does it sound good, part of the fun is in modifying it and rolling different tubes. If you're thinking of buying the Crack, you won't regret it, it's brought new life to my music listening experience!

 

[dxanex]

  So I've been listening to my Crack+Speedball with my HD 650's for the past few days and I am truly astounded at how good my cans sound now. I was using the 02 + ODAC before this and they don't even compare. They're leagues apart. I'm also rolling with Tung Sol 5998's and CBS Hytron 5814a's. The sound just became so lifelike and the soundstage opened up immensely.  In particular, in recordings with just vocals and acoustic guitar, it sounds as if the artist is singing and playing in the same room with you. It's uncanny. As far as separation of instruments goes, everything is extremely clear. Each instrument sounds as if it's in its own little "zone." Even songs with 6 or 7 different instruments, you can hear them distinctly apart. I am extremely happy I built the Crack. Not only does it sound good, part of the fun is in modifying it and rolling different tubes. If you're thinking of buying the Crack, you won't regret it, it's brought new life to my music listening experience!

That's awesome! Happy to hear you are enjoying the Crack, it is truly a fantastic amp. As much as I love my Sonett 2, I still miss listening to the Crack sometimes, which I've never done with any other previous amp. The TS 5998 just steps it up into a whole other level. Enjoy it! 

 

[skeptic]

Finally got around to installing a pair of those russian teflon bypass caps, in parallel with the obbligatos I'm running as ouput caps, and I dare say my crack is sounding better than ever.  Interested to observe how things change during the burn in process, but thanks again for the recommendation Jamie!  
 
I also stumbled on a cheap Pico Dac in the FS forum, and the combo is making for a really delightful office setup, via hd650's.  (Although still an obvious step behind my main dac, I far prefer this pairing to the sound of my odac -> crack.)  As an incidental benefit, although the Pico needed a hub in the middle with my prior android phone, it functions flawlessly with the usb host in my iphone 6+ lightning->usb connector and doesn't pop up to power consumption error message.  

 

[lextek]

I love my Crack w/Speedball. I think it is the ultimate amp for the HD600. Now these big ass output caps people are adding. What changes in the sound? I am afraid to mess with it.

 

[Jimmy24]

I love my Crack w/Speedball. I think it is the ultimate amp for the HD600. Now these big ass output caps people are adding. What changes in the sound? I am afraid to mess with it.

 
A lot of people say there is a good improvement in sound. How "good" that improvement is, I don't know, but my curiosity got the best of me. I'm about to install some Dayton 100uF 250V that a fellow head-fier recommended. I will make a short review once I get it installed

 

[skeptic]

I love my Crack w/Speedball. I think it is the ultimate amp for the HD600. Now these big ass output caps people are adding. What changes in the sound? I am afraid to mess with it.

 
Frankly, it is a very easy and fun mod, as long as your replacement caps meet the specs.  Audible improvements, to my ears, are subtle, but I find that the sound seems just a little cleaner and as though there is a little less grain.  I also found deep bass to be a little more substantial via 100uf obbligatos vs. 91uf axon's, but this is most likely due to the difference in capacitance and roll off.  
 
That said, there is a measurable scientific basis for the objectivists out there who might be considering trying film output caps.  You can see the difference in signal dissipation factor between panny electrolytics, blackgates and the obbligatos I'm running here: http://www.diyhifisupply.com/opcart/index.php?route=product/category&path=239_179_90_99  This is one of the things that makes the crack such a steal imo.  Woo used to charge hundreds to swap in blackgates as the output caps for their OTL's (because there wasn't enough space in the chassis for film caps) - now the blackgates are basically all gone.  But even modestly priced film caps poop all over the performance of blackgates.

 

[koalapear]

Got my new setup all buttoned up! Sounds great!
 

 

[Jimmy24]

Nice setup and lovin the paint job! Makes me want to turn mine on and start listening. Enjoy!

 

[i luvmusic 2]

Ooops!