[DenverW]

Haha, no not yet. I also ordered the SW51+, but if I prefer the BHC I will probably upgrade the caps later.

I'm very close to pull the trigger on the Tung Sol 5998. Do you think the Westinghouse 12AU7 would be a good match with the TS 5998?

Thanks for your feedback.

Beware of bright with bright. The Westinghouse especially I found a bright tube.

edit: 5998 isn’t so much bright as...clear. Still not a combo I would recommend.

 

[cddc]

I believe the ECC32 is very expensive. No?

No, it's actually crazy expensive . It's actually the reason why it successfully caught my attention in the first place.

I don't know who pushed up its price, maybe those crazy 6DJ8/6922/ECC88/E188CC users (some premium versions of this ECC88 family tubes can fetch $300-$500+), maybe some Mullard hoarders, or less likely some unwise 6SN7 users.

Then I looked into the ECC32 specs. First thing I noticed was the 0.95A heater current - it's pretty high, actually might be too high for lots of 6SN7 amps, but luckily Crack still has the extra capacity to run it.

But then I noticed its gain of 32, and it immediately turned me off. With a gain of 32, it's actually a 6DJ8/6922/ECC88/E188CC (gain of 33) replacement rather than a 6SN7 replacement (gain of 20).

And I don't like the idea of sticking a 6DJ8/6922/ECC88/E188CC tube or its replacement (ECC32) into the 6SN7 driver socket. 6SN7 amplifies the input signal 20 times, but ECC32 amplifies it 32 times, and this might overheat the power tube, and also might overdrive the power tube grid (which could lead to clipping - chop the peaks off a sine wave and turn it into some square-ish wave). If you're interested in hearing the "overdrive" distortion, here is a video for you:

 

[skhan007]

Based on a lot of suggestions, I picked up two RCA 12AU7 clear tops. The immediate difference over the stock GE (which many have stated, anything would be better) is that it sounds like a blanket has been lifted off the midrange and highs, which suddenly sound more "alive" and crisp. Very noteworthy difference there. Bass doesn't sound much different, but perhaps a tiny bit more clearly defined. This was a very low-cost upgrade and I'm pleased! Now, onto the driver tubes later this week.

 

[Bonddam]

Got some Tung Sol 7236 and currently using RCA 12au7 clear top and the sound is amazing so detailed. waiting for tomorrow when I can swap out the 12au7 and test psvane cv181t mk2 along with the 7236. The 7236 I got are not the military spec units. I can't hear a difference.

 

[RedJohn456]

I have been interested in the Crack for awhile after briefly auditioning 4 years ago. Really close to picking up a used BHC + speedball combo but wondering if it would be better to get the crackatwoa?

 

[DenverW]

I have been interested in the Crack for awhile after briefly auditioning 4 years ago. Really close to picking up a used BHC + speedball combo but wondering if it would be better to get the crackatwoa?

I couldn't find a crackatwoa so eventually built my own. It is a pretty decent upgrade over the crack. If you have the opportunity to build a crack vs. buy one, I 100% recommend building it. Unless you're already experienced the knowledged gained is invaluable. For example, long, long ago I bought a crack. When it stopped working I had to take it to a shop and it took them three months to fix it. It was a blown fuse. Thats it.

Then I built a crack. While upgrading I had some channel issues. Because I had built the amp I was able to trace the problem and fix it. Made a huuuuuuge difference. Besides, upgrading the crack is fun as all get out.

 

[RedJohn456]

I couldn't find a crackatwoa so eventually built my own. It is a pretty decent upgrade over the crack. If you have the opportunity to build a crack vs. buy one, I 100% recommend building it. Unless you're already experienced the knowledged gained is invaluable. For example, long, long ago I bought a crack. When it stopped working I had to take it to a shop and it took them three months to fix it. It was a blown fuse. Thats it.

Then I built a crack. While upgrading I had some channel issues. Because I had built the amp I was able to trace the problem and fix it. Made a huuuuuuge difference. Besides, upgrading the crack is fun as all get out.

That's a fair point, I am also quite deep into mechanical keyboards and so I am no stranger to soldering and desoldering (I have a lot of tools as a result) and am quite handy in that regard. It is literally cheaper for me to buy a 2nd hand upgraded BHC versus ordering it new and importing into Canada.

Edit: typo

 

[PsilocybinCube]

Morning guys,

I just bought a Crack with the Speedball but I'm looking for tubes recommendations. I will use the amp with the ZMF Verite Closed/Aeolus and my DAC is the Bifrost 2.

The seller told me that the amp is coming with the stock input tube, but the power tube was upgraded to the famous electro harmonix that everyone uses.

I don't want to go down the tubes rabbit hole (been there, done that..) and my goal is simply to bring the amp to the next level with some 'affordable' tubes. Affordable = $50/75$ CAD per tube

Thanks in advance

I like the Chatham 6as7g with all Zmf headphones. There is good synergy with their headphone tuning.

I pair mine with a Brimar 12bh7.

 

[DenverW]

That's a fair point, I am also quite deep into mechanical keyboards and so I am no stranger to soldering and desoldering (I have a lot of tools as a result) and am quite handy in that regard. It is literally cheaper for me to buy a 2nd hand upgraded BHC + upgrade versus ordering it new and importing into Canada.

Then grab a crackatwoa if you can locate one!

 

[RedJohn456]

Then grab a crackatwoa if you can locate one!

Sadly not so easy in Canada but I might jsut have to get a fresh Kit in that case

 

[DenverW]

Sadly not so easy in Canada but I might jsut have to get a fresh Kit in that case

Crackatwoa was not an easy build. It was a lot more challenging than the crack.

 

[skhan007]

New Tubes Day! Based on recommendations and reading many entries on this thread, I have acquired some new power tubes to accompany my recently acquired RCA clear top 12AU7 driver tubes.

Just delivered and soon to be test driven are a matched pair of Chatham 6AS7G (even though I only need one, they were sold in a pair) and a single Bendix 6080, all testing at NOS. Really looking forward to seeing if I can hear the difference from the stock BHC Philips driver tube. I'm hopeful I'll hear an appreciable difference, as I did when I subbed in the RCA clear top in place of the stock GE.

 

[raindownthunda]

New Tubes Day! Based on recommendations and reading many entries on this thread, I have acquired some new power tubes to accompany my recently acquired RCA clear top 12AU7 driver tubes.

Just delivered and soon to be test driven are a matched pair of Chatham 6AS7G (even though I only need one, they were sold in a pair) and a single Bendix 6080, all testing at NOS. Really looking forward to seeing if I can hear the difference from the stock BHC Philips driver tube. I'm hopeful I'll hear an appreciable difference, as I did when I subbed in the RCA clear top in place of the stock GE.

Very nice. Let us know what you think!

 

[cebuboy]

New Tubes Day! Based on recommendations and reading many entries on this thread, I have acquired some new power tubes to accompany my recently acquired RCA clear top 12AU7 driver tubes.

Just delivered and soon to be test driven are a matched pair of Chatham 6AS7G (even though I only need one, they were sold in a pair) and a single Bendix 6080, all testing at NOS. Really looking forward to seeing if I can hear the difference from the stock BHC Philips driver tube. I'm hopeful I'll hear an appreciable difference, as I did when I subbed in the RCA clear top in place of the stock GE.

Nice score on the Bendix, that is really hard to find. Do let us know of your impressions.

 

[DenverW]

New Tubes Day! Based on recommendations and reading many entries on this thread, I have acquired some new power tubes to accompany my recently acquired RCA clear top 12AU7 driver tubes.

Just delivered and soon to be test driven are a matched pair of Chatham 6AS7G (even though I only need one, they were sold in a pair) and a single Bendix 6080, all testing at NOS. Really looking forward to seeing if I can hear the difference from the stock BHC Philips driver tube. I'm hopeful I'll hear an appreciable difference, as I did when I subbed in the RCA clear top in place of the stock GE.

Hope you love them! I’m also curious to hear impressions; I actually like the 6as7g more than the bendix, but I’d probably be the minority.