[RingingEars]

Quote:

We are awaiting a new shipment of chassis plates. Apparently the company that laser cuts the panels for us had to find a new company to grain finish the panels for them, and this has caused a bit of a delay. We were hoping to see the panels by the end of this week, so hopefully we'll see them sometime next week.

Thanks for info Doc. Appreciate it. I'm looking forward to this build and the tweaking that will come later.

 

[thewolf1976]

I am thinking about adding a set of inputs and a toggle switch to my Crack. What is the best way to drill holes in the plate? I have a stepped drill bit and also a dremel. Do I need a punch, then drill? I don't want to screw up my plate.

 

[Aart]

I'd post this on the bottlehead forum but I'm still awaiting my approval.
 
There is a possibility that one of my LEDs (HLMP-6000) is broken, I know bottlehead will ship me new LEDs if I ask for it but shipping x LEDs from America to Europa seems "meh..." 
 
Called my local electronics shop and asked for "HLMP-6000", they didn't have those but the person on the phone did take a look at the datasheet and told me it looked like a regular LED. This true? I can just go to that store and get a normal LED and it'll work? Or should I ask for something more specific?

 

[williaty]

You need to match the specs listed on the datasheet exactly. Small differences matter.

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Called my local electronics shop and asked for "HLMP-6000", they didn't have those but the person on the phone did take a look at the datasheet and told me it looked like a regular LED. This true? I can just go to that store and get a normal LED and it'll work? Or should I ask for something more specific?

That LED is commonly used in tube amps for a very specific reason - it has a very low and flat dynamic resistance. You can match the specs to build the amp initially without 'hurting' anything, But ultimately, you do want to replace it with the correct LED.

 

[Doc B.]

Beefy is right that we have chosen the HLMP-6000 for its linearity at low currents. The most important consideration is that the HLMP-6000 has a voltage drop of 1.56V. If you do decide to use some other LED it must have that same voltage drop, that is to say a 2V or other voltage drop will not set the current to the proper value.

 

[RingingEars]

Man Doc. I'm chomping at the bit. I even bought myself a new soldering station just for this build.

 

[tdogzthmn]

Has anyone experienced good synergy with a particular DAC and their Crack?  I have been meaning to pick up a good DAC to pair with my crack but I would like to hear what users are having good experiences with!

 

[williaty]

My setup of a HRT MusicStreamer II+, Crack+Speedball, and Sennheiser HD600s is working EXTREMELY well. They all seem to want to present the music in a particular way that's very clear, very revealing, but at the same time not pushy or fatiguing. They just sort of get out of the way really well.

 

[BmWr75]

Crack+Speedball and a Cambridge Audio DACMagic work very well together for me.

 

[skeptic]

In truth, any competent dac will probably sound really good with your crack.  nick_charles' posts in this sound science thread regarding dac performance are definitely worth a read: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/560122/all-dac-s-sound-the-same/150#post_7571556

I'm continuing to thoroughly enjoy my current setup, from pc -> blue circle usb "thingee" -> keces 131 dac -> crack -> HD800.  That said, I'm also really looking forward to the release of bottlehead's dac kit.

 

[RingingEars]

As soon as I get mine in and built I'll report with the Fubar II MKII running both the LM4562 and the AD797AN chips. I'll also run it with the stock NOS Valab.

 

[tdogzthmn]

My setup of a HRT MusicStreamer II+, Crack+Speedball, and Sennheiser HD600s is working EXTREMELY well. They all seem to want to present the music in a particular way that's very clear, very revealing, but at the same time not pushy or fatiguing. They just sort of get out of the way really well.

I have basically the same setup minus the music streamer DAC so it's good to hear it's working well for you. I really think the crack does a great job of creating a very life like sound with great detail and I'm hoping to keep those great qualities. I do know bottlehead has been working on a dac but no release date has been given as of yet.

 

[williaty]

Quote:

I have basically the same setup minus the music streamer DAC so it's good to hear it's working well for you. I really think the crack does a great job of creating a very life like sound with great detail and I'm hoping to keep those great qualities. I do know bottlehead has been working on a dac but no release date has been given as of yet.

I remain hopeful but skeptical, if that makes any sense, of the Bottlehead DAC. I have a great deal of respect for their engineering ability and a great deal of faith in their drive to produce good products, which is the reason that I'm hopeful. I became very worried when I heard they were going to use a non-oversampling (aka NOS, R2R) circuit topology. While it's possible to end up with a good product using an R2R topology, there's just so many significant technological limitations to that circuit design that I am left wondering why they chose it. It's a way of doing it that sounds good at first, but when you look at some of the secondary and tertiary consequences of using R2R, it just stops making sense. Sure, you could fight a boxing match with one hand behind your back and a 3-weight class disadvantage, but the odd are not in your favor for it ending well. I will be very interested to hear what their final result sounds like.

 

[skeptic]

Williaty - is there an article or site you could link that discusses the pros and cons of nos vs. oversampling dacs? I'd be very interested to read more on the topic and about the limitations you referenced. Thanks!

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