[roguegeek]

 
That would be Head-Fi user themusic2's build, and that was an early rendition. You can see more of the final version here: LINK
 
That chassis plate was a custom design and cut deal and IIRC it was $120 to have made.

Spoiler: Pic

 
Seems so worth it. What I'd like to do is build it as directed and spend some time with it like that just so I'm familiar with the construction. Then I'll look at changing things around. I'm guessing a lot of the parts attached to the chassis plate are easily removed (looks like simple bolts from the pics I'm seeing) and to get the right placement, it just means extending or contracting certain wires. Would this assumption be correct?

 

[ben_r_]

   
Seems so worth it. What I'd like to do is build it as directed and spend some time with it like that just so I'm familiar with the construction. Then I'll look at changing things around. I'm guessing a lot of the parts attached to the chassis plate are easily removed (looks like simple bolts from the pics I'm seeing) and to get the right placement, it just means extending or contracting certain wires. Would this assumption be correct?

If you have a decent amount of experience with doing stuff like this it would be MUCH better to have it all built out your modding plane ready to go before you ever build it as it is much more than a few bolts to remove all the stuff from an already built Crack. There is a lot of de-soldering and moving of parts. Id say you have to disassemble maybe 30% of the amp to get it entirel out of the chassis. Maybe more.

 

[Doc B.]

Do bear in mind however that whenever you change positions of components you can run into noise pickup issues that may not be there with the stock layout. Not saying don't do it, just saying beware that you may have to incorporate some changes like shielded input wiring.

 

[Serenitty]

I've tried searching for it, but do you know if anyone has mounted an ODAC board inside the Crack case?  I imagine that might require some shielding.  Though you could make the input wires short by hard-wiring to the volume control.
 
I am looking forward to this kit... Should be lots of fun.

 

[ben_r_]

  I've tried searching for it, but do you know if anyone has mounted an ODAC board inside the Crack case?  I imagine that might require some shielding.  Though you could make the input wires short by hard-wiring to the volume control.
 
I am looking forward to this kit... Should be lots of fun.

Hardwiring to the volume control? Wouldnt you hard wire it to the RCA inputs of the Crack?

 

[Serenitty]

I shouldn't have said anything.  i don't have my kit yet, I haven't read my instructions, I just thought the braided wires from the back of the amp went from the rca inputs to the potentiometer.  And since they can pick up noise, shortening them would potentially be good if you were looking to mount a DAC in the cabinet.  I know someone posted in 2012 that they were going to do that, but I can't find any posts about the results.  it might be a disaster, or require more shielding than it's worth.  I don't know.
 
Thanks..

 

[ben_r_]

  I shouldn't have said anything.  i don't have my kit yet, I haven't read my instructions, I just thought the braided wires from the back of the amp went from the rca inputs to the potentiometer.  And since they can pick up noise, shortening them would potentially be good if you were looking to mount a DAC in the cabinet.  I know someone posted in 2012 that they were going to do that, but I can't find any posts about the results.  it might be a disaster, or require more shielding than it's worth.  I don't know.
 
Thanks..

Im sure it would be fine. And your thinking is not incorrect, I was just thinking the RCA jacks since they are at the back of the amp and thats where I would imagine one might want a USB cable hanging out.

 

[Serenitty]

Not that I'm anywhere near doing this, but from looking at the ODAC board, the USB input is already hardwired to the board, so I figured I'd run the usb cable under the lip of of the amp and plug it in internally.
 
Realistically I'll be running the amp off my E17 for a while as I get used to it, integrating a DAC would be a later step.  I'm already planning on building my own box before my kit arrives to make it taller, both for a possible integrated DAC and maybe if I end up with larger caps later on.
 
That and I want to have the woodwork done before the kit arrives.  And if I can get a layout of the top plate, I may prep a plate beforehand so I can do metal front and back with the wood sides.  I really like how that looks.  Especially getting the power and inputs off the top.

 

[ben_r_]

  Not that I'm anywhere near doing this, but from looking at the ODAC board, the USB input is already hardwired to the board, so I figured I'd run the usb cable under the lip of of the amp and plug it in internally.
 
Realistically I'll be running the amp off my E17 for a while as I get used to it, integrating a DAC would be a later step.  I'm already planning on building my own box before my kit arrives to make it taller, both for a possible integrated DAC and maybe if I end up with larger caps later on.
 
That and I want to have the woodwork done before the kit arrives.  And if I can get a layout of the top plate, I may prep a plate beforehand so I can do metal front and back with the wood sides.  I really like how that looks.  Especially getting the power and inputs off the top.

Or if you wanted to get fancy it could be easily wired up to something like this after a hole was drilled into the chassis plate: LINK
 

 

[cheneric]

My crack just shipped! Only took 2 and a half weeks! WOOOOO!
 
inb4NSA

 

[bdr529]

I've tried searching for it, but do you know if anyone has mounted an ODAC board inside the Crack case?  I imagine that might require some shielding.  Though you could make the input wires short by hard-wiring to the volume control.

I am looking forward to this kit... Should be lots of fun.

I was thinking about the same thing! I spent a long time looking on mouser for a suitable plate mount USB connection but didn't have any luck. If you find something be sure to share it.

edit: This was the closest thing to what I wanted that I could find. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Amphenol-Commercial-Products/MUSBD111M1/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMulM8LPOQ%252byk2gY1MHiEitGbcPcC%252bF64O8%3d

 

[mcandmar]

Or try the Neutrik http://ie.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Neutrik/NAUSB-W/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMulM8LPOQ%252bykxlHbbYuR%252bstGsMnbIcUG4E%3d
 
Its a pass through connector so i would use a short shielded USB cable and an encased ODAC inside the chassis to shield it.

 

[mordicai]

  I need a splitter on my DAC to my crack since I also use studio monitors. Will this affect volume or quality? I would have a total of 3 splits from my dac: bottlehead, subwoofer, and studio monitors. 
 
Edit: Took me about 3 days to read all 272 pages of crack goodness. I can't wait for mine to ship!!! Got the speedball also. Hopefully I can hold myself back from installing the speedball for a while!

I run my Crack with Powered monitors........Macbook Pro>JRiver>Emotiva Dac with xlr outs to the speakers, USB out to the Crack. Its one of the reasons I bought the Emotiva DC-1 Dac.

 

[bdr529]

Or try the Neutrik http://ie.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Neutrik/NAUSB-W/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMulM8LPOQ%252bykxlHbbYuR%252bstGsMnbIcUG4E%3d

Its a pass through connector so i would use a short shielded USB cable and an encased ODAC inside the chassis to shield it.

Yeah, that's the thing I don't like. It's not really a device USB port and is quite large.

 

[roguegeek]

  My crack just shipped! Only took 2 and a half weeks! WOOOOO!
 
inb4NSA

So... I just ordered last night. How long is this thing going to take to get to me?