[BoneEnterprise]

  I'm obsessed with cables, but will be one of the first to tell you that you should spend your money first on a good DAC and amp.  You will get FAR more improvements with those than with any cable, no matter how much unicorn hair was used in building it.  

What DAC would be a good compliment for the Crack?
I have not even considered getting a DAC at all yet so will be up to whatever suggestions there are.

 

[olegausany]

 I'm obsessed with cables, but will be one of the first to tell you that you should spend your money first on a good DAC and amp.  You will get FAR more improvements with those than with any cable, no matter how much unicorn hair was used in building it.  

What DAC would be a good compliment for the Crack?
I have not even considered getting a DAC at all yet so will be up to whatever suggestions there are.

You can start with Bifrost Uber or DacMagic Plus

 

[upstateguy]

 
What DAC would be a good compliment for the Crack?
I have not even considered getting a DAC at all yet so will be up to whatever suggestions there are.

 
You might look into the O DAC.

 

[cddc]

Convinced by this thread, I recently purchased an HD650
 
With little knowledge on amps/dacs, I think it's better to start with something not so expensive. So I am considering buying a Hifiman EF-2A for my HD650.
 
Do you guys think it will be a good staring point? Will EF-2A be a good fit for my HD650? Or do you have other rigs to recommend?
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[cddc]

One more question on my HD650 is about the serial number. The number on my HD650 is 170,xxx. Some rumor says that Senn has implemented some improvements over the latest HD650s (with serial number above 170K).
 
Is that true? If so, what kind of improvements? Thanks.

 

[HPiper]

  Convinced by this thread, I recently purchased an HD650
 
With little knowledge on amps/dacs, I think it's better to start with something not so expensive. So I am considering buying a Hifiman EF-2A for my HD650.
 
Do you guys think it will be a good staring point? Will EF-2A be a good fit for my HD650? Or do you have other rigs to recommend?
 
Thanks a lot!

Maybe I posted this on the HD600 thread but I think it was here. In fact that is completely backward thinking. Without an adequate amp the money you spent on the HD650 is wasted because you will never hear what they are truly capable of. I have an EF2a and yes it does have plenty of power for the HD650's, it also has plenty of distortion and a pretty high noise floor, in other words you can listen to music on it just fine, but you probably won't be real impressed.
 Case in point and it is funny you posted this today, as I just connected my HD650's up to my new Lyr amp. I don't know what to say other than I feel like I just got a new and MUCH better set of headphones. I thought my Little Dot Mk3 was doing a good job. but I was way wrong. This amp is the real deal. I had NO idea the improvement would be so great. Literally night and day. So to answer your question simply, yes the EF2A will work just fine but if you ever listen to your headphones on a better amp you will be kicking yourself for not getting a good amp to begin with.
 In fact, send me a PM if you really want an EF2a and I will send you mine...free  It is just sitting in the closet now and will be pretty much forever at this point.

 

[JamieMcC]

 
Other than the Speedball upgrade that I intend to to right off the bat, what other upgrades are there to do on the Crack, I assume tube rolling?

Take a look at some of the mods I have done to mine over the last few months it will give you an idea of some of the options. The bottlehead forum is full of great ideas and helpful folk if you spend a little time routing around.
 
http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=5284.msg50967#msg50967

 

[DaemonSire]

 
Take a look at some of the mods I have done to mine over the last few months it will give you an idea of some of the options. The bottlehead forum is full of great ideas and helpful folk if you spend a little time routing around.
 
http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=5284.msg50967#msg50967

absolutely amazing....love the carbon...it looks like a mirror! 

 

[cddc]

 
Maybe I posted this on the HD600 thread but I think it was here. In fact that is completely backward thinking. Without an adequate amp the money you spent on the HD650 is wasted because you will never hear what they are truly capable of. I have an EF2a and yes it does have plenty of power for the HD650's, it also has plenty of distortion and a pretty high noise floor, in other words you can listen to music on it just fine, but you probably won't be real impressed.
 Case in point and it is funny you posted this today, as I just connected my HD650's up to my new Lyr amp. I don't know what to say other than I feel like I just got a new and MUCH better set of headphones. I thought my Little Dot Mk3 was doing a good job. but I was way wrong. This amp is the real deal. I had NO idea the improvement would be so great. Literally night and day. So to answer your question simply, yes the EF2A will work just fine but if you ever listen to your headphones on a better amp you will be kicking yourself for not getting a good amp to begin with.
 In fact, send me a PM if you really want an EF2a and I will send you mine...free  It is just sitting in the closet now and will be pretty much forever at this point.
 

 
Thanks a lot for your opinions.
 
Lyr should be a good amp. Just read the comments on Amazon, and saw some nice reviews about it. It seems you'll also need a DAC (e.g. Modi) to pair with it. But this combo might exceed my budget.
 
Compared to EF2A, do you think Modi & Magni would be a better option to start with?  

 

[Tuco1965]

   
Thanks a lot for your opinions.
 
Lyr should be a good amp. Just read the comments on Amazon, and saw some nice reviews about it. It seems you'll also need a DAC (e.g. Modi) to pair with it. But this combo might exceed my budget.
 
Compared to EF2A, do you think Modi & Magni would be a better option to start with?  

I can tell you that the Magni and Modi are outstanding value.  If you upgrade down the road they make a great work or bedroom stack.

 

[MattTCG]

I made my base from hardwood....walnut. But you can get very creative. Here's mine.
 

 
Here are some others:
 

 

 

[bleudeciel16]

Woot, my crack w/speedball shipped!  Can't wait!!!!!!
 
Also, I wish people would stop mentioning cables as an upgrade in sound quality.  That's just plain myth that's making companies that sell these stupid silver cables rich, while screwing gullible newbies into buying that crap when they can spend their money on other stuff that will ACTUALLY affect the sound.

 

[zeher]

Did anyone ever figure out whether the Senn rebate will work with the Razerdog audio pricing?

 

[abablitz]

So should I spend more on a better DAC than an amp?
 
Right now my HD 650 is paired with a modi/vali. Is there really big difference between the modi and upper level dacs?

 

[Byronb]

  So should I spend more on a better DAC than an amp?
 
Right now my HD 650 is paired with a modi/vali. Is there really big difference between the modi and upper level dacs?

 
Yes there is quite a bit of difference to my ears between the Modi and the Bifrost or Gung. There is more resolution and less grain. Both are more dynamic and IMHO present a better sound stage.