[Paladin79]

I have some of the Chatham and Sylvania as well, we all have our favorites. I have the ability at this time of switching back and forth between two crack amps that I have modified to be as identical as I can make them (electronics wise),.I can use my ears as well as an oscilloscope to track the sound. I will not have that opportunity when i ship one of the amps to my son with a set of tubes and no doubt his reaction will be different than mine to the tubes. My newest Crack build will not be very recognizable as a Crack but it will allow for more experimentation with tubes.

 

[attmci]

My favorites are the Chatham 6080 graphite plate, Sylvania 6080GB, and Cetron 7236. The 5998 is a good tube if you're looking for tighter, better defined bass since it has a lower output impedance compared to the other 6080/6AS7G variants.

Chatham 6080 graphite plate could be a bendix.

Clear top 5998 is better than tube labeled 5998/421A.

 

[Doc B.]

The most bang for the buck, easy to get, good sounding tube is the one that comes with the kit. Give the amp a chance in stock form before making arbitrary changes.

 

[Paladin79]

I do believe I received Sylvania and RCA 6080's with my kits so far, fine tubes indeed and buona fortuna with the current sale Doc.

 

[i luvmusic 2]

I agree with the stock tube my kit comes with GE 6080 and RCA 12AU7 and it sound nice after many hours of playtime,The Crack is nice to tube roll with it i've been using C3g,6SN7,6CG7 and some other 7 pin tubes that i have.

 

[Paladin79]

I imagine the 6080's vary a bit but they were good solid tubes with plenty of life regardless of the kit inclusion. I hope to have a third amp completed by Thanksgiving and if all goes well I will ship my son's out next week (carbon fiber and black lacquer.)

 

[attmci]

I cannot imagine some one will go direct to a 5998 without trying a stock tube first.

But after you had tried a 5998 etc, those stock tubes would be in storage at least for me. Hope Doc. B will recycle those tubes.

But I think you may also want to change those 5 buck electrolytic capacitors first.

The crack is the best amp at its price.

 

[Doc B.]

Speaking of price, you guys might want to check it.

 

[Paladin79]

I get the newsletter, $199 for the amp till October 9th is hard to beat. With the kits shipping 4-6 weeks later, it would be a fun little wintertime project for those who have not built the amp. Add your own personal touches and end up with a one of a kind Crack amp.

 

[Paladin79]

I was asked to incorporate a couple of these into my next Crack build so it is time to experiment a bit. As best I can tell they were called magic eye tubes. This build will be seriously steampunk and should be pleasing to the eye as well as the ear.

 

[controllerboy]

My heart skipped a beat on thursday. Received the crack+speedball I ordered about a month earlier, went to the website to download instructions and saw the fresh news of the sale. 106 euros saved if I had just waited one more month

Anyways, I'm building my first crack now. Since I've done a few projects before, I'm not a total beginner, but I'm confident that just about anyone can make this thing.

Heck, with this huge discount, I'm tempted to just order another one. Buy it now!

 

[gwompki]

I just ordered one Friday and am super excited to build. I had been considering selling my HD-6XX but thought I owed it to them to try them from a Crack before I sold them on.

 

[Paladin79]

Those headphones will go well with the Crack no doubt. I may order an extra one just to use a speedball kit I never used. I am not crazy about the way the speedball mounts so I may redo that circuit on one amp, probably single board.

I have another on the way so this will be my fourth build. Hopefully Doc will have another record sale on the Cracks. The more that are out there, the more people are involved in doing modifications.

 

[Paladin79]

I just got some Russian 6H13C tubes (6ASg7) Svetlana tubes and while I have not checked all of them yet, the first is certainly impressive. I purchased four and they shipped five so that was a nice surprise as well. These are NOS. Tight bass, mids and highs are as good as anything I own. Once I match a pair, they will go into my next Crack build.

 

[Doc B.]

Hopefully Doc will have another record sale on the Cracks. The more that are out there, the more people are involved in doing modifications.

We did indeed. It was actually a little difficult to sleep the night the sale started because Eileen and I were both the getting transaction notifications from the phones on our nightstands every few minutes. They kept lighting up the room. Thanks to everyone who participated!