[williaty]

Quote:

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!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

I did find one but I didn't bookmark it again after I read through it since I didn't think I'd ever be designing a DAC. I would imagine a bit of googling for something like "R2R vs DS DAC" or "non-oversampling vs sigma-delta DAC" would probably turn up good discussions. You'll want to read the ones with engineers talking, not audiophiles.
 

 

[Armaegis]

Here's my latest shot of Crack. I had a rather embarrassing episode when I turned it on the first time and nothing happened, and I spent an hour checking and rechecking all my connections only to discover that I didn't have my extension cord plugged in 

 
Painting and staining probably took longer than the amp assembly itself. I'm half decent with a soldering iron, but my woodworking still needs work 
 

 
Only one channel working so far. One of my tube bias LEDs is dead 

 so I'm waiting on replacement.
 
It's also amazing how much easier life is when you clip all your wires ahead of time...

 

[tdogzthmn]

How do you like the K240 with the Crack?  Im a big fan of the old AKG models.  
 
Quote:

Here's my latest shot of Crack. I had a rather embarrassing episode when I turned it on the first time and nothing happened, and I spent an hour checking and rechecking all my connections only to discover that I didn't have my extension cord plugged in 

 
Painting and staining probably took longer than the amp assembly itself. I'm half decent with a soldering iron, but my woodworking still needs work 
 

 
Only one channel working so far. One of my tube bias LEDs is dead 

 so I'm waiting on replacement.
 
It's also amazing how much easier life is when you clip all your wires ahead of time...

 

 

[Armaegis]

That's my NOS K240 Sextett MP, and it is easily my favourite pairing out of all the gear I've tried so far (which is quite a lot). It's got a great midrange forwardness that brings vocals to front and centre, while being able to keep up with a reasonably deep bottom end.
 
Sadly, it gets almost no head time as I'm rarely home. Heck, I barely even use my portables. I should probably just sell it all to fund other things...

 

[RingingEars]

I received my shipping notification today. Kit will be here tomorrow and I'll order my HD600 on Fri. This is going to be a good weekend.

 

[RingingEars]

Got it done today.
It sounds great. Now I just need to finish the base.
 

 

[skeptic]

Way to get her done RE!  Looks like you may have been enjoying good sound and good beer together per your photo 

 

[RingingEars]

Quote:

Way to get her done RE!  Looks like you may have been enjoying good sound and good beer together per your photo 

Yeah I got after it Fri when I got home from  work and saw the box sitting there. I only live 6 hours from Bottlehead head quarters so it was only a 1 day turn around on shipping.
Nothing like a good Chimay and good music to set the soul right.
I kind of like the amp in the "raw" so I may just oil the base and call it good.
Here are the build pics:

 

 

[MrDavis]

My crack + speedball + some upgrades is coming along slowly but surely. 
 

 

[RingingEars]

^^^That's going to be a nice build when it's done.

 

[caracara08]

ugh im so jealous.  i wish i had DIY skills.  nice job! it looks great. 

 

[RingingEars]

Quote:

ugh im so jealous.  i wish i had DIY skills.  nice job! it looks great. 

The crack is a lot easier to build than you think. If I can build one anyone can.

The included instructions pretty much "hold your hand" through the whole process. Some of the best instructions I've ever seen in a kit.

 

[skeptic]

     Quote:

ugh im so jealous.  i wish i had DIY skills.  nice job! it looks great. 

Edit: RE beat me to the punch here - but to echo his comment...

No need for jealousy.  The stock crack really is a beginner project.  It was my first build aside from terminating some cables, and the step by step instructions (accompanied by color photos) really are good enough to let a total novice (like me) fumble his/her way from start to finish and come out with a **** nice amp. 
 
If you have access to an adequately hot iron (or preferably a soldering station), a youtube video or two will teach you a lot more than you need to know to knock it out.  The through-hole soldering required to complete the speedball upgrade requires some minor skill and a basic understanding of how to form a solder bridge, and then to apply heat from the opposite side of the lead, but again, 10 minutes on youtube will have you in fine form to populate the boards.
 
This thread and the BH forum are also great resources due to the awesome community that has formed around this amp and the frequent help and input provided by the folks at BH.
 
 
 

 

[Armaegis]

The Crack is a fairly easy build. The only part that gets me is the placement of those capacitors. Ugh, stupid fumbling balancing act there. 
 
I also highly recommend cutting and stripping the majority of the wires ahead of time. This makes your life much easier as you build.

 

[breakfastchef]

I built an entire Bottlehead system shortly after building a few CMOY amps. The instructions are very thorough; you just need to learn how to use your soldering iron to make good joints. My Bottlehead system includes two Paramounts (300b mono block amps; one for each channnel), Seduction (phono pre-amp), and Foreplay III (pre-amp). All worked from the start. Follow the directions, take your time and anyone can build a Bottlehead kit.
 
I am smitten by the Crack and long to build one. After selling my HD650's and Woo Audio WA6SE, I still yearn for the times I would have slipped on the headphones and escaped for a little while.