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Crack;Bottlehead OTL
Feb 26, 2019 at 5:20 PM Post #9,526 of 12,335
Just a heads-up! There's a Crack sale coming this weekend!

Even with a Mainline and S3X, what i said a year ago still stands:
Tom-s said:
Crack's been my first DIY kitbuild. I learned to solder by building Crack.
Thanks to the superb manual, even with skill-level 0, Crack is a safe bet.
Be confident, you can build it.
For the money, and how it taught me a lot about how audio, tubes and stuff works (all, that standard, of the shelf stuff didn't) it is probably the best amplifier i ever bought and ever will buy.
Compared to many (more expensive) amps the last few years, i can say with confidence that the Crack is indeed a gaint-killer with Sennheiser HD6xx/HD800 headphones.
The journey, building it, enjoying it, modding it, enjoying it further is what makes the Crack special. Don't miss out on that, build one yourself.
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Mar 1, 2019 at 11:06 PM Post #9,530 of 12,335
The tube I'm liking is the Raytheon CK6080. I've only tried two tubes with the crack, RCA 6AS7G and Raytheon CK6080. I definitely prefer the Raytheon CK6080.

This is how it looks like.
i-img1200x900-15366873725r6kyp318855.jpg
 
Mar 7, 2019 at 10:56 PM Post #9,531 of 12,335
I'm not sure what it is, but I've tried a Russian 6H13CC 8702 winged tube, and also an RCA 6AS7G tube, and they sound fairly bright. Don't get me wrong, they have more detail and separation than the stock Tung-Sol 6080 tube I received with the kit, but they are just too bright for me, even when using input tubes that aren't bright. Almost hurts my ears actually.

I've only been listening with Sennheiser HD-600s, and this amp for about 9 years now with not much tube rolling other than the aforementioned, but the stock 6080 output is what really sounds best to me in terms of longer listening sessions. Other output tubes in the 6AS7G variant are rather fatiguing to me in this specific amp.
 
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Mar 7, 2019 at 11:07 PM Post #9,532 of 12,335
IMG_3654__124471.jpg
Mak333 said:
I'm not sure what it is, but I've tried a Russian 6H13CC 8702 winged tube, and also an RCA 6AS7G tube, and they sound fairly bright. Don't get me wrong, they have more detail and separation than the stock Tung-Sol 6080 tube I received with the kit, but they are just too bright for me, even when using input tubes that aren't bright. Almost hurts my ears actually.

I've only been listening with Sennheiser HD-600s, and this amp for about 9 years now with not much tube rolling other than the aforementioned, but the stock 6080 output is what really sounds best to me in terms of longer listening sessions. Other output tubes in the 6AS7G variant are rather fatiguing to me in this specific amp.
Click to expand...
This?
 
Mar 8, 2019 at 11:03 AM Post #9,535 of 12,335
Hello, are capacitor upgrades worth it? Those film caps I see you guys using here are $$$ and how does bypass caps help in the sound? So far the stock crack with speedball and alps pot + rca cleartop 12AU7 and Svetlana 6H5C sounds great with the HD650.
 
Mar 8, 2019 at 11:06 AM Post #9,536 of 12,335
cebuboy said:
Hello, are capacitor upgrades worth it? Those film caps I see you guys using here are $$$ and how does bypass caps help in the sound? So far the stock crack with speedball and alps pot + rca cleartop 12AU7 and Svetlana 6H5C sounds great with the HD650.
Click to expand...

The super expensive ones are not really worth it.

The cheaper / vfm film caps help noticeably.
 
Mar 8, 2019 at 11:20 AM Post #9,537 of 12,335
Mak333 said:
I'm not sure what it is, but I've tried a Russian 6H13CC 8702 winged tube, and also an RCA 6AS7G tube, and they sound fairly bright. Don't get me wrong, they have more detail and separation than the stock Tung-Sol 6080 tube I received with the kit, but they are just too bright for me, even when using input tubes that aren't bright. Almost hurts my ears actually.

I've only been listening with Sennheiser HD-600s, and this amp for about 9 years now with not much tube rolling other than the aforementioned, but the stock 6080 output is what really sounds best to me in terms of longer listening sessions. Other output tubes in the 6AS7G variant are rather fatiguing to me in this specific amp.
Click to expand...
I didn't find the RCA 6AS7G bright sounding (at least not more so than the Raytheon CK6080). I thought it was smoother sounding than the Raytheon CK6080. A bit less clear, smoother and a bit blended in smoothness for imaging (so not as distinct sounds). CK6080 had better clarity and imaged better with more bite/peak to the treble presence.
 
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Mar 8, 2019 at 11:25 AM Post #9,538 of 12,335
Have you guys noticed differences between the different 6080? I personally liked couple of 6080 tubes I've tried, and wondering if there are differences in sound between the different 6080 tubes.

What is yall's top sounding tubes?
 
Mar 8, 2019 at 12:26 PM Post #9,540 of 12,335
SilverEars said:
Have you guys noticed differences between the different 6080? I personally liked couple of 6080 tubes I've tried, and wondering if there are differences in sound between the different 6080 tubes.

What is yall's top sounding tubes?
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My top sounding tubes are a Chatham 6080, Tung Sol 5998, and a NOS RCA 6AS7G for power tubes.

for driver tube it is the Melz 1578 (6sn7) with appropriate adapter, a couple 7n7 tall bodies which are Loktals (another adapter), and twin Sylvania 6J5's as shown in the photo.IMG_0511.jpg This is a single triode arrangement that is a sub for a 6sn7 which has twin triodes built in. It might be more complex than what you are looking for but these old Sylvania tubes have an excellent SQ. NOS RCA 6as7G in the background. I am going to do some work with adapters so they match the theme of my amp so this is a work in progress right now.
 
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