[bigfatpaulie]

  Just ordered a stock Crack with Speedball with a Mullard 12AU7 and a Tung Sol 5998 from a head-fier. I'm excited to hear how it sounds with my HD650s

 
It will sound sublime.  

 

[Doc B.]

Anyone have ideas for a hard-sided padded case for transporting Crack? Not going to anything extreme like checking it, but for things like taking it to a meetup, friend's house, relative's for the holidays, etc. What have you used?

A cheap alternative is the aluminum cases they sell for at Lowe's every now and then.They have dividers and foam so you can customize them to some extent. I bought three of them years ago and they are great for hauling amps, headphones and cables to meets. That said, atomicbob's setup is pretty slick.

 

[Loquah]

A local member here in Melbourne has a great ABS plastic case with pull out foam. I can't recall the brand, but in Australia and New Zealand they're stocked by Jaycar
 
I tried to get one for the Mainline, but they're just a hair too tight to fit

 

[Demoninja]

Sorry to post this question once again because I'm sure it's been asked but I can't find anything conclusive on it. I decided to order the BHC+Speedball because of the recent deal. I'm planning on pairing these with HD 650s in the future. The question I have, of course, is which DAC to buy. 
 
The three DACs I'm considering are the Modi, the oDAC, or the HRT Musicstreamer II+. My budget is going to be around $250 before tax so the HRT is right at the top of the budget while the Modi is at the bottom hovering around ~$100. If I decide on the oDAC I will be getting the version that also includes RCA so I believe that will cost around  $170. 
 
I listen to a large variety of music so I would like to avoid as much coloring as possible. Given that criteria I believe the oDAC would be my best option but I'm very interested in the HRT. I am not able to find much information about that pairing though so I'm hesitant to jump on that. I believe the Modi is a fine DAC but I don't really want to purchase just the Modi. I would much prefer having the whole stack but since I already ordered the BHC that's out of the question. I would be open to getting it to save ~$70-150 dollars if there really will not be any performance boost over the other two. Anyone whose tried their BHC with these DACs want to chime in to help me finally decide once and for all?

 

[atraf]

  Sorry to post this question once again because I'm sure it's been asked but I can't find anything conclusive on it. I decided to order the BHC+Speedball because of the recent deal. I'm planning on pairing these with HD 650s in the future. The question I have, of course, is which DAC to buy. 
 
The three DACs I'm considering are the Modi, the oDAC, or the HRT Musicstreamer II+. My budget is going to be around $250 before tax so the HRT is right at the top of the budget while the Modi is at the bottom hovering around ~$100. If I decide on the oDAC I will be getting the version that also includes RCA so I believe that will cost around  $170. 
 
I listen to a large variety of music so I would like to avoid as much coloring as possible. Given that criteria I believe the oDAC would be my best option but I'm very interested in the HRT. I am not able to find much information about that pairing though so I'm hesitant to jump on that. I believe the Modi is a fine DAC but I don't really want to purchase just the Modi. I would much prefer having the whole stack but since I already ordered the BHC that's out of the question. I would be open to getting it to save ~$70-150 dollars if there really will not be any performance boost over the other two. Anyone whose tried their BHC with these DACs want to chime in to help me finally decide once and for all?

I was in the same place as you are a few weeks ago, All of the above including AQ dragonfly 1.2 were in consideration.
I finally went with the modi and I will explain, odac is a well known dac for its brightness and neutralism, with a bright headphones it might sound harsh anyway some might like the combination of a dark/warm headphone/amp (HD650 and BHC) with a bright DAC just to even things up, to me it was the other way around, I wanted to preserve the HD650 sound signature as much as I can and just extend everything to its best, so no for the odac.
The HRT and AQ were in consideration for their mobility, and driving my IEM's on the go, HRT is more compatible with mobile phones and the AQ suppose to have a warmer signature and got really good reviews on its DAC capabilities, After reading a quite lot I got to the conclusion that a stationary stand alone DAC will usually be better than dac/amps combos like the HRT and AQ and since the mobility is not a necessity for me I went for what's left and thats the schiit modi.
I don't know for sure If I made the right choice since I didn't have a chance to compare them, but that modi .. I am loving it.
First impression was WOW, it made the biggest improvement in my system, more than the SB.
The best way I can to describe the modi effect on my system is that it just made everything POP and extend, the Bass became more punchy and deeper and the highs and mids became very clear which made vocals sound amazing.
One complaint that I have is that it doesn't support 24/192, but that's no biggy for me.
And for that price couldn't be happier.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Modi and ODAC both work well with Bottlehead.

 

[BlueMax]

To stay within your budget, take a look at the iFi iDSD Nano. If you can stretch your budget, the iDSD Micro is pretty amazing for the price. Either way, you get a device that plays just about every resolution out there right now. I had a Nano originally, but now have a Micro feeding my BH Crack W/ SB and it's a really great combo.
 
Good luck in your search!

 

[nailbunny7]

I'd just get a Modi or Odac and save up for something better later like the Bifrost Uber.

 

[Loquah]

  I'd just get a Modi or Odac and save up for something better later like the Bifrost Uber.

 
Or the Bottlehead DAC

 

[Aeolus Kratos]

   
Or the Bottlehead DAC

Seems like someone just couldn't resist and pre-ordered a Bottlehead DAC 

 

[Loquah]

Who you or me?

I REALLY wanted to, but my upcoming wedding's getting all my funds. Maybe once we've tied the knot (and paid the bills)

 

[jwusoccer]

What would be a good budget tube to replace the 12AU7? Mine is making really loud and obnoxious buzzing noises if the amp gets moved/shaken at all. 

 

[Loquah]

  What would be a good budget tube to replace the 12AU7? Mine is making really loud and obnoxious buzzing noises if the amp gets moved/shaken at all. 

 
An RCA Cleartop 12AU7 is hard to go past

 

[Doc B.]

Are you sure it's the tube? It kind of sounds like a loose connection somewhere. You might want to inspect the solder joints to see if one was missed.

 

[Loquah]

Are you sure it's the tube? It kind of sounds like a loose connection somewhere. You might want to inspect the solder joints to see if one was missed.

 
LOL. I went straight into the consumerism of buying new tubes and completely overlooked the cause