[Mightygrey]

Firing up a Crack with Speedball for my first even listen to this product! Tube wise I've got a Psvanne 12au7 on output and... a French 6080a [Thomson CFS??]? There's two Jan Phillips that came with it but I can figure out what's different about each

Welcome down the rabbit-hole! What cans are you using - 800s?

 

[Paladin79]

One of my latest builds, a headphone stand to match a bottlehead crack. I soon realized the tubes would have to be lit so I worked on that.The tubes are removable and replaceable. I like the ST series of tubes but a 6080 or even an EL 34 could work and on the other side 6sn7's and such.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Anybody own both the HD600 and 650 paired with their Crack? Oddly enough, I have owned every headphone from the family except the 600 (although I did have the HD580 at one time, arguably the same headphone, same driver). I had it on loan for a short time and enjoyed the extra bight in the upper mids. I LOVE the 650, it's a permanent member of the club. Think it is worth owning both? I am a committed Crackhead, almost seems like a rite of passage

 

[DavidA]

Anybody own both the HD600 and 650 paired with their Crack? Oddly enough, I have owned every headphone from the family except the 600 (although I did have the HD580 at one time, arguably the same headphone, same driver). I had it on loan for a short time and enjoyed the extra bight in the upper mids. I LOVE the 650, it's a permanent member of the club. Think it is worth owning both? I am a committed Crackhead, almost seems like a rite of passage

I owned the HD600 along with the HD650, HD58X, HD6XX and had borrowed a friends HD660S: HD600 is the only one that I sold since with some tracks it was a bit sharp/sibilant to me due to the small peak in the 3.5-5khz range and I've found that my Ypsilon S1 does everything the HD600 does but without the small peak and is much easier to drive so it sounds better on most of my other gear.

@Paladin79, so create some of the most inspiring stuff around

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I owned the HD600 along with the HD650, HD58X, HD6XX and had borrowed a friends HD660S: HD600 is the only one that I sold since with some tracks it was a bit sharp/sibilant to me due to the small peak in the 3.5-5khz range and I've found that my Ypsilon S1 does everything the HD600 does but without the small peak and is much easier to drive so it sounds better on most of my other gear.

@Paladin79, so create some of the most inspiring stuff around

Thanks David, we'll see if I find that area problematic. I decided to go for it, open box pair for $210, great resell value if they aren't my thing. A while back, I went on a deep dive down the Grado aftermarket driver rabbit hole, never tried the Elleven Acoustica stuff but wanted to, I had a custom Nhoord Red V2 set as well as a Symphones V8 pair I built, I was a big fan of the V8 driver, great low end, maybe I'll consider giving it another go sometime and try the Ypsilon.

 

[DavidA]

Thanks David, we'll see if I find that area problematic. I decided to go for it, open box pair for $210, great resell value if they aren't my thing. A while back, I went on a deep dive down the Grado aftermarket driver rabbit hole, never tried the Elleven Acoustica stuff but wanted to, I had a custom Nhoord Red V2 set as well as a Symphones V8 pair I built, I was a big fan of the V8 driver, great low end, maybe I'll consider giving it another go sometime and try the Ypsilon.

I got my HD600 a few years back for $210 brand new from Adorama IIRC, back friday sale?, ended up selling them to a friend for $200 a few months later and then my friend sold them for $240 on craig's list to fund a Ypsilon S2 build that I did for her which she still loves to this day. I also have a Ypsilon R1 and had a G1 but ending up selling the G1 since it was so close to the R1, Also built a few with Ypsilon S2 drivers for a few friends and they all love them. Haven't heard the V8 yet but got to hear a V7 build by fleasbaby and it was impressive so I can imagine that the V8 might be pretty good also. The only issue I had with the V7 was that it sounded better with L-pads versus the G-pads that I prefer so I haven't gotten around to doing a V8 build. Also have a Nhoord Red V2 build that I use a lot since it sounds quite good on almost any gear including my Galaxy S9 (which is quite sound average IMO). I'm like you that I love my Crack but aside from slightly better CAPs haven't done much mods to it but it does great for my needs as is.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I got my HD600 a few years back for $210 brand new from Adorama IIRC, back friday sale?, ended up selling them to a friend for $200 a few months later and then my friend sold them for $240 on craig's list to fund a Ypsilon S2 build that I did for her which she still loves to this day. I also have a Ypsilon R1 and had a G1 but ending up selling the G1 since it was so close to the R1, Also built a few with Ypsilon S2 drivers for a few friends and they all love them. Haven't heard the V8 yet but got to hear a V7 build by fleasbaby and it was impressive so I can imagine that the V8 might be pretty good also. The only issue I had with the V7 was that it sounded better with L-pads versus the G-pads that I prefer so I haven't gotten around to doing a V8 build. Also have a Nhoord Red V2 build that I use a lot since it sounds quite good on almost any gear including my Galaxy S9 (which is quite sound average IMO). I'm like you that I love my Crack but aside from slightly better CAPs haven't done much mods to it but it does great for my needs as is.

Oh yeah, headphones like the HD600/650/800 seem to never lose their resale value, they've earned their "classic" monikers after all. That's quite the collection! I'm sure fleasbaby is still churning out those beautiful wood cups. I only ever used the V8 with the L pads which are most definitely less comfortable than the G pads. Pretty sure the V8 were meant for either the S or L pad, but don't quote me, probably also sound good with the TTVJ flats but would make sense they don't play nice with the G's. I want to build another set to wear around the house with my phone like you've done with your S9, gotta love how lightweight those builds are. May be contacting fleasbaby soon...

Probably smart to stop where you did with the Crack, like everything in this hobby, diminishing returns kick in very quickly.

I did the opposite ha! I had the Crack+SB originally, which I loved, didn't mod it but upgraded the tubes and the volume pot. I liked it so much, I decided I wanted a Crack on...crack, so to speak lol. I first compared it to the Felix Audio Espressivo with some high-quality tubes in both, figured it was worth testing other more expensive waters, but the Crack+SB blew the Espressivo away, IMO.

So, I sold the Crack+SB and did a brand new build with BH's Crackatwoa kit. This time I added their stepped attenuator and the biggest, fanciest caps I could fit. More tube upgrades, boutique components, etc. and now I am stuck with this beautiful monstrosity. Let's just say, I am in it for the long haul.

 

[meffisto]

Those caps

Guys i could need help.. im building my crack OTL with speedball, started saturday. My problem is i did DL both manuals at time i ordered kits. I m not able to find them now and not able to DL again. Found some on the net but its not the last version. There are some changes on AC slots.. I emailed bottlehead yersteday and should get an answer soon but if one of you has the pdf and could send it to me (antoinegplus at gmail . com) i would be really gratefull!!

 

[donato]

Those caps

Guys i could need help.. im building my crack OTL with speedball, started saturday. My problem is i did DL both manuals at time i ordered kits. I m not able to find them now and not able to DL again. Found some on the net but its not the last version. There are some changes on AC slots.. I emailed bottlehead yersteday and should get an answer soon but if one of you has the pdf and could send it to me (antoinegplus at gmail . com) i would be really gratefull!!

If you login to the bottlehead site and go into your orders, you'll be able to download your manuals there.

 

[meffisto]

If you login to the bottlehead site and go into your orders, you'll be able to download your manuals there.

its not working.. tried already.. i m told i ve reached the download limit for this file....

 

[meffisto]

Those caps

Guys i could need help.. im building my crack OTL with speedball, started saturday. My problem is i did DL both manuals at time i ordered kits. I m not able to find them now and not able to DL again. Found some on the net but its not the last version. There are some changes on AC slots.. I emailed bottlehead yersteday and should get an answer soon but if one of you has the pdf and could send it to me (antoinegplus at gmail . com) i would be really gratefull!!

Nobody got the manuals for me please?

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Nobody got the manuals for me please?

I would wait for Bottlehead's response. You will hear from them more quickly if you create a post on the Bottlehead forum, that is typically where they operate for customer support, make a post here: https://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?board=24.0

 

[Blommen]

So @L0rdGwyn would you say that the crack +SB is way better than the espressivo? I am thinking about getting a otl amp for my zmf Eikons, from the classifieds.

A plus for me on the espressivo is the preamp function so I could hook it up to my vintage amp but if sq is much better on the crack then that kinda negates that plus.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

So @L0rdGwyn would you say that the crack +SB is way better than the espressivo? I am thinking about getting a otl amp for my zmf Eikons, from the classifieds.

A plus for me on the espressivo is the preamp function so I could hook it up to my vintage amp but if sq is much better on the crack then that kinda negates that plus.

Hey Blommen, yes that was my impression. I compared the Crack+SB and the Espressivo, using higher-quality-than-stock tubes in both. I believe I had a Mullard CV4003 input and Western Electric 421A output in the Crack+SB and Western Electric JW 2C51 input and Foton 6N6P-IR output in the Espressivo. These are nearly the best tubes that can be put in each respective amp.

Of course, it all depends on what you value. For me, the most immediate and high-priority item when comparing amps/tubes is airiness/staging/separation, which lends it self to detail-retrieval as well. The Crack+SB was just more spacious, larger soundstage, and thus, more detailed sounding than the Espressivo with this setup. The Espressivo had a much smaller stage, with sounds/instruments more on top of one-another.

Now if you can sacrifice some soundstage/air and detail for preamp out, that is your call! But I could not overlook it.

Now you do not need a Western Electric 421A to get that airiness, a Tung Sol 5998 will get you 90% of the way there. A decent 6SN7 with an adapter will also be an upgrade over a Mullard CV4003 in the driver position, IMO.

Hope that helps.

 

[Blommen]

Hey Blommen, yes that was my impression. I compared the Crack+SB and the Espressivo, using higher-quality-than-stock tubes in both. I believe I had a Mullard CV4003 input and Western Electric 421A output in the Crack+SB and Western Electric JW 2C51 input and Foton 6N6P-IR output in the Espressivo. These are nearly the best tubes that can be put in each respective amp.

Of course, it all depends on what you value. For me, the most immediate and high-priority item when comparing amps/tubes is airiness/staging/separation, which lends it self to detail-retrieval as well. The Crack+SB was just more spacious, larger soundstage, and thus, more detailed sounding than the Espressivo with this setup. The Espressivo had a much smaller stage, with sounds/instruments more on top of one-another.

Now if you can sacrifice some soundstage/air and detail for preamp out, that is your call! But I could not overlook it.

Now you do not need a Western Electric 421A to get that airiness, a Tung Sol 5998 will get you 90% of the way there. A decent 6SN7 with an adapter will also be an upgrade over a Mullard CV4003 in the driver position, IMO.

Hope that helps.

Thank you, that helps a lot! Those are qualities I value also, as my music is very "busy" (metal).

I guess I'll have to try it, won't I?