[Angerer]

My best advice is to hunt and peck for deals on ebay. Start cheap with an old stock tung sol 12au7, still one of my favs, that can easily be found for under $20 and some mil spec 6080's, which can be had for <$10 each. Ramp up from there if need be.

Also, always bear in mind that if the cost of your crack, speedball, mods, tubes etc. starts to approach the cost of a mainline, you have gone off the trail and into the weeds.

 
Cheers fella,
 
Will hit the bay when I finish my shift =)

 

[299792458]

Like so many things in life I'm a day late and a dollar short, but is there any chance of another crack + free/discounted speedball sale in the near future? Wanting one badly but have a feeling I can't place an order until a sale returns.

 

[heliosphann]

Joined the club!!! Thanks to a fellow Head-Fi'er I now own a BHC w/Speedball. Listened to it for a while with my 650 and was utterly blown away.
 
Now to collect some addition tubes.

 

[Allanmarcus]

My best advice is to hunt and peck for deals on ebay. Start cheap with an old stock tung sol 12au7, still one of my favs, that can easily be found for under $20 and some mil spec 6080's, which can be had for <$10 each. Ramp up from there if need be.

Also, always bear in mind that if the cost of your crack, speedball, mods, tubes etc. starts to approach the cost of a mainline, you have gone off the trail and into the weeds.

How much difference is there between NOS old stock tung sol 12au7 and the new reissue version?

 

[networkn]

What's the estimate to build the speedball upgrade in?
How many hours do I need to set aside?

 

[Valhallatier]

Hey i just joined the OTL+hd650 bandwagon, and i got the crack of course. Though i found out the stock tubes are a bit harsh on the highs, what should i get to make it smoother and perfect for my hd650? thanks
and oh yeah im not using the speedball upgrade for various unimportant reasons

 

[DDDamian]

  What's the estimate to build the speedball upgrade in?
How many hours do I need to set aside?

It's not too bad at all - depending on your skills anywhere from 2-6hrs should do nicely.
 

  Hey i just joined the OTL+hd650 bandwagon, and i got the crack of course. Though i found out the stock tubes are a bit harsh on the highs, what should i get to make it smoother and perfect for my hd650? thanks
and oh yeah im not using the speedball upgrade for various unimportant reasons

The Mullards are generally considered a warm driver tube. Lot's of reading here : http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=663.0
 
Congrats on the new Cracks guys

 

[networkn]

I apologize if this is not considered appropriate, but is there an equivalent Solid State AMP of the same standard as say a Gustard H10, which is DIY and as well thought of as the crack amp (Which I am adding speed ball to today.

 

[DDDamian]

I apologize if this is not considered appropriate, but is there an equivalent Solid State AMP of the same standard as say a Gustard H10, which is DIY and as well thought of as the crack amp (Which I am adding speed ball to today.

we are turning blue holding our breath

 

[JamieMcC]

  I apologize if this is not considered appropriate, but is there an equivalent Solid State AMP of the same standard as say a Gustard H10, which is DIY and as well thought of as the crack amp (Which I am adding speed ball to today.

 
Dsavitsk's new Torpedo Mk3 is looking very interesting its a hybrid rather than solid state and currently undergoing some fine tuning prior to release. Looks like it might be a nice project. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/570317/dsavitsk-beezar-torpedo-build-thread/735
 
The Bottlehead Mainline is just out standing by the way if funds allow...

 

[ZachPtheDude]

I did a lot of research on the L'espressivo/original Torpedo, it's a less powerful SEX with much worse transformers, but they can be upgraded like Bottlehead.

Both the sex and torpedo are parafeed designs. The torpedo is a good amp to build from scratch if you're itching for a new project.

 

[Doc B.]

Another hybrid possibility might be the Quickie and the Quicksand. It's two separate chassis but a creative person could squeeze it all into one. It's also off the grid, FWIW.

 

[skeptic]

Depending on how ambitious and technically inclined you are, the wire, dynalo/multiamp mk2 or one of the first watt designs (with an attenuator in front) would also be worthy solid state contenders, but these aren't kits and require real case work.  
 
Having had populated wire boards sitting in my garage for god knows how long now, I can tell you there is a surprising dearth of pre-made/pre-cut amp chassis on the market for those of us who lack the skills to cut aluminum to fit, for example, a snap in IEC inlet.  Hard to appreciate how nice and well thought out bottlehead kits really are until you attempt to figure out your own enclosure.    

 

[JamieMcC]

  Depending on how ambitious and technically inclined you are, the wire, dynalo/multiamp mk2 or one of the first watt designs (with an attenuator in front) would also be worthy solid state contenders, but these aren't kits and require real case work.  
 
Having had populated wire boards sitting in my garage for god knows how long now, I can tell you there is a surprising dearth of pre-made/pre-cut amp chassis on the market for those of us who lack the skills to cut aluminum to fit, for example, a snap in IEC inlet.  Hard to appreciate how nice and well thought out bottlehead kits really are until you attempt to figure out your own enclosure.    

 
Do you mean something like First Watts Amp camp amp it looks like a good intro into low cost solid state kit building.  I wonder if it is quiet enough for headphone use? The market seems awash with amps at the moment. Plenty of used options offering good value.
 
Also another option is to check out GARAGE1217 they offer kits I believe the project Ember has had some good feed back not sure if they have any solid state offerings.

 

[networkn]

On page 15 of the Speedball Manual, there are two TIP50 assemblies to be made involving a heatsink. Annoyingly, my kit is incomplete as the second "lock" washer isn't present in my kit. 
 
How important is it? Will it stop the product from working properly? Can I assemble it without this?