[Paladin79]

Here is my latest endeavor, a Crack cabinet for a friend. Front and back plates, quartered oak cabinet, 1/8 inch copper.

 

[cobrabucket]

Here is my latest endeavor, a Crack cabinet for a friend. Front and back plates, quartered oak cabinet, 1/8 inch copper.

Day-um! That is sexy. Very nice!

 

[cobrabucket]

Just bought a BHC from S3nsoryDeprivati0n. Super stoked!https://www.head-fi.org/members/s3nsorydeprivati0n.443922/

 

[cobrabucket]

I'm guessing that the BHC is not a particularly good pairing for either a HE 400i or Argon Mkiii, eh?

 

[Tom-s]

Being low impedance headphones Crack won't be the best match.
It will truly shine with the HD6xx headphone mentioned in your signature.
For the HE 400i or Argon MKiii i'd look at the S.E.X. 3.0 kit first and Mainline kit as a second instead.

 

[Tom-s]

For everyone looking for the best bang for buck DIY OTL high impedance headphone kit: Crack's on sale from October 4th to October 8th!

I'm just promoting this as it was the DIY Kit that got me into the world of DIY audio and saved me a lot of money in the process!

I honestly think, because of the good manual and support forum that everyone can build one.

 

[larcenasb]

For everyone looking for the best bang for buck DIY OTL high impedance headphone kit: Crack's on sale from October 4th to October 8th!

I'm just promoting this as it was the DIY Kit that got me into the world of DIY audio and saved me a lot of money in the process!

I honestly think, because of the good manual and support forum that everyone can build one.

Wow, great sale right now... And I totally agree, we're in the same boat, the Crack saved me tons of money and continues to supply aural nourishment each evening for me. I remember seeing Skylab's ranking of tube amps here on head-fi and being shocked at how high the affordable Crack was placed (#8), it clearly represented amazing value on that list. So, that's when I bought it! Also, it was placed way above the Woo Audio 3 (#17) which was $495 while the Crack was $219 + $99 for the speedball at the time--so $495 vs $318. And the amps that placed higher than the Crack were $750, $620, $1K, $2K, $4K! What makes me content is to know that ranking was of a stock Crack and Speedball...mine is completely modded out and no where near stock! So, I have no desire to upgrade from my beloved Bottlehead, just headphones later on perhaps.

EDIT: Here's that Skylab ranking: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rev...2-tube-and-tube-hybrid-headphone-amps.402585/
It was a great resource for me starting on my headphone journey, hopefully it's of help to anyone who hasn't seen it.

 

[Paladin79]

Listening to a set of Tung Sols in the Crack, I am suddenly a huge fan of 6SN7's but most of you probably know about them. Feeding the Crack from a Schiit Gungnir multibit DAC and a Freya preamp just to allow some easy switching and a bit more tube sound. Tung Sol 6sn7's in that as well. I own ten or more headphone amps but always find myself returning to the Crack, I love this amp.

 

[larcenasb]

Oh my goodness, your build is more gorgeous than I remember! And I love the black tube adapter it really blends in better than if it were gold and white! It's nice to know you love your Crack when you have so many other amps as well, that makes me cherish mine more than I already do. Here's to more hours into the night, getting some tube nourishment!! Cheers!

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

Listening to a set of Tung Sols in the Crack, I am suddenly a huge fan of 6SN7's but most of you probably know about them. Feeding the Crack from a Schiit Gungnir multibit DAC and a Freya preamp just to allow some easy switching and a bit more tube sound. Tung Sol 6sn7's in that as well. I own ten or more headphone amps but always find myself returning to the Crack, I love this amp.

Where did you get your feet and the vent cover? I'd like to buy something like them.

Are the Tung Sols new or NOS? How do they compare to other 6SN7s?

Have you tried any 6F8G's? I've seen a lot of pics of what looks like them installed front tube socket.

 

[Paladin79]

I ordered the feet off of Amazon, if I can find the link I will send it to you later.

The vent cover is the inside of an old pocket watch, all brass I believe. I found it in a group of such things I bought on Ebay so it is pretty well one of a kind. Since I knew I was doing Steampunk, I bought lots of old watch parts and gears. Some of them I used in two copper and brass headphone stands I built. I traded some of those out and put in an Edison light that you can nearly make out in the photo. Originally I just had a hole in the top plate and copper mesh under it to allow for ventilation. There are plenty of gaps in the pocket watch to allow air flow.

The Tung Sols were probably used but in good condition as far as I recall, I have hmmmm 200 tubes, it is kind of tough to recall the origin of each. I did receive an RCA tube from 1942 from a gentleman on here, 6sn7, that has to be my favorite tube but last night I was just swapping tubes for the heck of it. To be honest I found the Tung Sol 6SN7 in a drawer and did not realize I even owned it. It was made in the US and is a GTB, The new ones that Schiit supplies with the Freya are Russian built. They have to use tubes they can buy by the 100 and match for that preamp.

I have not tried 6f8g's that I recall.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

I ordered the feet off of Amazon, if I can find the link I will send it to you later.

The vent cover is the inside of an old pocket watch, all brass I believe. I found it in a group of such things I bought on Ebay so it is pretty well one of a kind. Since I knew I was doing Steampunk, I bought lots of old watch parts and gears. Some of them I used in two copper and brass headphone stands I built. I traded some of those out and put in an Edison light that you can nearly make out in the photo. Originally I just had a hole in the top plate and copper mesh under it to allow for ventilation. There are plenty of gaps in the pocket watch to allow air flow.

The Tung Sols were probably used but in good condition as far as I recall, I have hmmmm 200 tubes, it is kind of tough to recall the origin of each. I did receive an RCA tube from 1942 from a gentleman on here, 6sn7, that has to be my favorite tube but last night I was just swapping tubes for the heck of it. To be honest I found the Tung Sol 6SN7 in a drawer and did not realize I even owned it. It was made in the US and is a GTB, The new ones that Schiit supplies with the Freya are Russian built. They have to use tubes they can buy by the 100 and match for that preamp.

I have not tried 6f8g's that I recall.

They require another adapter too if you want to connect the terminal on the top of the tube, it frees up pin 1 in the base for a shield and has a classic bottlehead shape.

 

[Paladin79]

Ah I have seen those as I recall, I need to run but I will be around later.

 

[larcenasb]

I am a HUGE fan of 6F8G tubes! If you guys like the 6SN7GT, the next step would definitely be to start treasure hunting for 6F8Gs. They sound just as good as 6SN7s; some even say better but it's hard for me to say something like that so easily without scientific testing. The real advantage is that a lot of times you can find the 6F8G for less because they aren't as in demand as 6SN7s. They are the precursor to 6SN7s though, in fact I have an RCA 6F8G that was from 1937...so amazing to me. The 6SN7 is easier to start with though because they're less susceptible to microphonics (in my experience). That said, the 6F8G is no more microphonic than the 6AS7G...so it's all worth it.

This may sound strange at first, but I LOVE that the Crack uses the 12AU7 at 6.3V, I wouldn't change it. This is because I find it's much easier to use an adapter with the octals, rather than plugging in a cumbersome 6F8G right into the amp. I can easily pull out the 6F8G with the adapter and roll different ones into the socket away from the amp...much easier handling and tube rolling. There's just so many options with the 12AU7 socket...can easily plug in a 12BH7, and can find many different adapters for octals...it's perfect for this flexibility. Plus the adapter acts as a pedestal, or a kingly throne, for these wonderful tubes.

If any of you are interested in learning more about the octals' sound, I did a pretty in-depth comparison of the many 6SN7GTs and 6F8Gs I have. Here's the link: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/6sn...of-wwii-era-octal-tubes.890205/#post-14521083

Cheers!

 

[wwmhf]

Listening to a set of Tung Sols in the Crack, I am suddenly a huge fan of 6SN7's but most of you probably know about them. Feeding the Crack from a Schiit Gungnir multibit DAC and a Freya preamp just to allow some easy switching and a bit more tube sound. Tung Sol 6sn7's in that as well. I own ten or more headphone amps but always find myself returning to the Crack, I love this amp.

I envy you to have that big box of CRACK!