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Crack;Bottlehead OTL
Aug 15, 2012 at 1:13 PM Post #1,246 of 12,412
We just got a large batch of power transformers and chassis plates in. We're on vacation for a week or so and we will be getting back to packing and shipping when we return, so the wait could be a little shorter than usual.
 
Aug 17, 2012 at 2:59 PM Post #1,248 of 12,412
We do sell the chassis plate for $45, but we don't sell that particular power transformer (PT-3) due to our agreement with the designer. We have a very similar transformer, the PT-7, that differs only in having a single high voltage secondary winding rather than two windings that are each rated for half as much current in the PT-3. I'm out of town until next week and don't have access to the prices, but I think it is around $80 or $90.
 
Aug 28, 2012 at 11:03 AM Post #1,250 of 12,412
Hi all,
 
I'm new here and I was curious if anyone had any humble advice for me regarding amps. :)  I have a asgard/650/bifrost now and I think its great. However, been thinking about to the crack w/speedball.  Regarding music genre, I listen to acoustic/shoegaze/punk rock.  Would the crack be "worse"?  I was thinking about the figaro 339 but I heard its slower, and the crack is faster. I assume this affects the genre of music.
 
What's the approximate build price for good tools for the kit? I have no tools and no experience, otherwise its about 620$ prebuilt vs my 250$ asgard.
 
thanks in advance for any advice!
 
Aug 29, 2012 at 7:00 PM Post #1,251 of 12,412
spaceunicorn9 said:
Hi all,

I'm new here and I was curious if anyone had any humble advice for me regarding amps. :)  I have a asgard/650/bifrost now and I think its great. However, been thinking about to the crack w/speedball.  Regarding music genre, I listen to acoustic/shoegaze/punk rock.  Would the crack be "worse"?  I was thinking about the figaro 339 but I heard its slower, and the crack is faster. I assume this affects the genre of music.

What's the approximate build price for good tools for the kit? I have no tools and no experience, otherwise its about 620$ prebuilt vs my 250$ asgard.

thanks in advance for any advice!
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I'd say the tools would be in the range of $100 if you had absolutely nothing and depending on what quality you wanted. I used a Hakko 25W (I know higher watt is recommended, but I had it already) that was $25-30, a $5 soldering iron stand, a helping hands tool (so it can hold a PCB for example while your hands hold the iron and solder) for <$10, and you'll want a multimeter ($30?), wire-stripper (<$10), needle nose pliers (<$10), solder. Nothing I have is great, but they're all good enough quality to be reliable and re-use.

I see Cracks on the FS forum from time to time as low as $300, so you can always keep an eye open for a used one as well if you want to save some $, but they don't seem to come up really frequently.
 
Aug 29, 2012 at 7:57 PM Post #1,252 of 12,412
Couple of things I should mention -
 
one is that we have stopped offering kit assembly for a flat rate. One important aspect of the sound to me is due to the fact is that it is hand wired, point to point. While the process does not require extreme skill, it does require a fair amount of time investment to hand wire a complete amp with care. That combined with the fact that the number of amps that we sell assembled is tiny compared to the number of amp kits we sell (which is awesome, as DIY rules) has made us realize that we can't really cover our labor at the old prices. So we would have to charge our full shop rate to build an amp. That might cost about as much as the amp itself. 
 
the other thing is that we see a fair number of amps coming in that were purchased used and need repair. Bear in mind that what may seem to be a great deal may end up costing more in terms of repair. Some folks meticulously build beautifully crafted amps. Some folks hurry and disregard some suggested tools or techniques and may end up with something with problems. Naturally we have no control over this. My suggestion is at the very least ask for a photo of the underside if you are considering a used amp. It it looks great and the seller promises it works you will probably be OK. If it looks scary and the seller is vague about operation you may end up with more than you bargained for. And by the way we only work on stock builds. A different set of caps or a couple different resistors is fine, but if an amp has been heavily modified with custom attenuators, different tubes, etc, we can't work on it.
 
Probably the last thing I should mention is that we have been cranking to get caught up on orders after a family member passed away earlier this month. We have some needed components arriving in the next couple of days and quite a few Crack kits will be shipping next week.
 
Aug 30, 2012 at 11:11 AM Post #1,254 of 12,412
Thanks, for the kind words. It was my 94 year old mom who passed, so it was not like we didn't expect it someday. But even so there is some time needed to recover. On the brighter side we got a few of the oldest Crack kit orders out yesterday and I got word this morning that the tube sockets and some tubes we need will be here tomorrow, so I am envisioning more kits leaving for their new homes Monday.
 
Aug 31, 2012 at 10:45 AM Post #1,255 of 12,412
Thank you very much Captouch and Doc for your informative replies. I appreciate it, however I called Elieen at Bottlehead a couple days ago and I was lucky enough to grab a prebuilt crack/speedball that another customer cancelled. She was very nice and helpful.  I cannot wait to fire it up. 
 
Doc, sorry to hear about your mother, condolences,  sounds like she lived a very full life.
 
Aug 31, 2012 at 11:56 AM Post #1,256 of 12,412
spaceunicorn9 said:
Thank you very much Captouch and Doc for your informative replies. I appreciate it, however I called Elieen at Bottlehead a couple days ago and I was lucky enough to grab a prebuilt crack/speedball that another customer cancelled. She was very nice and helpful.  I cannot wait to fire it up. 

Doc, sorry to hear about your mother, condolences,  sounds like she lived a very full life.
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Perfect, sounds great. Let us know how you like it!
 
Sep 5, 2012 at 10:58 AM Post #1,257 of 12,412
I just swapped out my Asgard for the Crack/Speedball and it really brings these headphones alive, its unbelievable and somewhat surreal.  The depth, clarity and soundstage is outstanding.  These should come bundled with this amp!  Great combo.   Wish I had time to build this amp, maybe down the road but for now, I can't thank that person enough for cancelling this beauty.  Kudos to Doc and his crew!!  I can't wait to experiment with tube rolling. I hear its fun. 
 
Any good recommendations for rca (digital or analog?)interconnects? I'm using a set of high end component video cables at the moment. 
 
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