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Crack;Bottlehead OTL
Oct 5, 2013 at 4:41 AM Post #2,837 of 12,335
loquah said:
   
Yeah, I held back from commenting on the superficial fact that I'd almost stick with the 6AS7G JUST because it looks awesome! 
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Haha, and if you are willing to spend $170 just to make your Crack look more awesome, get a GEC
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Unfortunately, I am
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Oct 5, 2013 at 4:54 AM Post #2,838 of 12,335
Tube rolling skeptic? Don't bother reading this. 
 
Believer?  Read on!
 
"Goodbye Crack" tube liquidation!
 
I'm auctioning off all my tubes, gents.  Could be a chance to get some rare and awesome tubes for $20.00.  Silver plate Siemens ECC82?  Check.  Chatham 5998?  Check (in the form of a 2399).  Slotted graphite plate?  Amperex 7316? Tung Sol 7236?  Check, check and check.
 
Check it out!
 
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Winter-Cottage-Books/Audio-Tubes-/_i.html?_fsub=6093602015&_sid=1070780425&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322
 
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I have no affiliation with this seller, other than being the seller himself. 
 
Oct 5, 2013 at 3:38 PM Post #2,839 of 12,335
So while waiting for the tubes I ordered from Nathan to arrive I got Winged C 6H13C to try with HD700 and after few hours of listening to tracks of different style and recording quality (they are all loseless) I prefer it over 5998 tube cause it adds more body to the bass and gives less shrill to highs while maintaining clarity and details
 
Oct 5, 2013 at 11:03 PM Post #2,840 of 12,335
I'm happy to say that my Crack is built and working :D
Took a few hours to troubleshoot what end up being a cold solder joint.  All in all the build was fun and very straightforward.  I soldered more on this build than the rest of my life combined.  I ended up retouching some of my solders by the time I was halfway done because my soldering skills got better as I built.  I would say it took me about 12 hours to build plus another 3 to troubleshoot.  I also set it up to simplify the Speedball upgrade by putting in standoffs so wires would be routed around them and mounted the output capacitors so they wont be in the way of the Speedball.
 
First impressions: WOW!  I am glad I got this thing and can't wait to see how it will be with the Speedball upgrade.
I'll be pairing it with my Uber Bifrost later.  Testing with an iTouch now because it was simpler.
Also got a few tubes from Nathan on the way which I will be testing and a Tung Sol 5998 courtesy of Pepper that I'll be trying this week.
 
Now I have to somehow pull myself away from my Crack to get some sleep.  Not sure I will be successful at that :p
 
Steph
 
Oct 6, 2013 at 12:37 AM Post #2,843 of 12,335
sjeffrey said:
Pictures soon, first I have to stain the base. I also painted the plate and bell but messed up the bell a little :|. As long as she sounds fine I don't mind a few scars.
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I can fully relate. My Crack was very "no frills" and has some minor scarring, but I love the sound regardless. I took more time on the SEX and had the benefit of a working Crack to keep me busy while I waited to perfect the paint finishes.
 
Oct 6, 2013 at 12:44 AM Post #2,844 of 12,335
Finally got a chance to try HD800 with silver/cooper cable instead of stock one with the gear I have. First of all I found out that sound great with Crack using KENRAD 6SN7/VT231 and Winged C 6H13C i prefer with HD700 but it's clear that HD800 is better mach for Crack. For those who want to save money on tubes I would recommend  to use provided 6080WA tube paired with Westinghouse 12AU7 black plate from 1956 but if you want more highs clarity I would use Chatham 5998 labeled 2399 instead of 6080 cause difference is easily noticeable. I also tried RCA 12AU7 Cleartop instead of Westinghouse with the tubes above but prefer Westinghouse over RCA.
 
Oct 6, 2013 at 5:11 PM Post #2,845 of 12,335
So I wanted to try a used 5998 tube that I have and after a few seconds of turning it on and both tubes glowing there was smoke coming out the case.  I put the stock 6080 tube and had popping sound when plugging the headphones in.  Well the popping I figured would be a bad ground connection as it was only happening when inserted my headphones plug.  Got that resolved pretty easily.  It might be worth mentioning that over at the BH forum the guys mentioned you can connect all 3 outboard connections on the TRS jack which will keep the voltage at 0 when no headphones are plugged in.
 
So now my stock tube is playing fine, headphones are also fine.  What could cause the smoke?  Should I try the tube again?  Also wanted to mention there is a lot of broken glass in the 5998 tube.  I read it should be ok but this is not a small amount, I would say at least a dozen pieces, small bigger than others.
 
Thanks,
Steph
 
Oct 6, 2013 at 5:25 PM Post #2,846 of 12,335
sjeffrey said:
  So I wanted to try a used 5998 tube that I have and after a few seconds of turning it on and both tubes glowing there was smoke coming out the case.  I put the stock 6080 tube and had popping sound when plugging the headphones in.  Well the popping I figured would be a bad ground connection as it was only happening when inserted my headphones plug.  Got that resolved pretty easily.  It might be worth mentioning that over at the BH forum the guys mentioned you can connect all 3 outboard connections on the TRS jack which will keep the voltage at 0 when no headphones are plugged in.
 
So now my stock tube is playing fine, headphones are also fine.  What could cause the smoke?  Should I try the tube again?  Also wanted to mention there is a lot of broken glass in the 5998 tube.  I read it should be ok but this is not a small amount, I would say at least a dozen pieces, small bigger than others.
 
Thanks,
Steph
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My crack is finished, but i installed a 12bh7 first with resistors in place of LEDs. However, it burned out my 2 sets of 5w cement resistors so im waiting for replacements. I scoured the BH forums and a guy installed a 12BH7 and had same resistors burnt out. It turned out to be a bad 12BH7. I have a new BH7, but am waiting for my resistors. Im dying to hear my maxed out crack lol!
 
Oct 6, 2013 at 8:51 PM Post #2,847 of 12,335
sjeffrey said:
  So I wanted to try a used 5998 tube that I have and after a few seconds of turning it on and both tubes glowing there was smoke coming out the case.  I put the stock 6080 tube and had popping sound when plugging the headphones in.  Well the popping I figured would be a bad ground connection as it was only happening when inserted my headphones plug.  Got that resolved pretty easily.  It might be worth mentioning that over at the BH forum the guys mentioned you can connect all 3 outboard connections on the TRS jack which will keep the voltage at 0 when no headphones are plugged in.
 
So now my stock tube is playing fine, headphones are also fine.  What could cause the smoke?  Should I try the tube again?  Also wanted to mention there is a lot of broken glass in the 5998 tube.  I read it should be ok but this is not a small amount, I would say at least a dozen pieces, small bigger than others.
 
Thanks,
Steph
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I just tried the tube again and was keeping an eye on the tube and board.  Everything was fine up until about 3-4 minutes.  Smoke started gathering in the top right corner where the power is fed.  The plate was propped open on top of the box as I dont want to put the tube with all broken glass upside down.  I posted in the BH forum, hopefully someone can give me hand.  I had the Crack running for about 1 hour this morning with the stock tube and there was no smoke at all.
 
Oct 6, 2013 at 9:19 PM Post #2,849 of 12,335
sjeffrey said:
  I just tried the tube again and was keeping an eye on the tube and board.  Everything was fine up until about 3-4 minutes.  Smoke started gathering in the top right corner where the power is fed.  The plate was propped open on top of the box as I dont want to put the tube with all broken glass upside down.  I posted in the BH forum, hopefully someone can give me hand.  I had the Crack running for about 1 hour this morning with the stock tube and there was no smoke at all.
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So is the smoke coming from the Crack wiring or the tube? (I'm assuming the Crack because the tube should be sealed)
 
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