[JamieMcC]

Does anyone know who makes a good case for the 650's as I'd like to protect my investment. I can't live without these headphones

 
Go to ebay and type in the search box "ath case" there are quiet a few different types both hard and soft case most have dimensions you should find one that will take the hd650 easy enough not bad prices either.

 

[Solrighal]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I wet for the Slappa because it's the most similar to my V-Moda case. Of course, £25 here! Thanks everyone.

 

[pez]

Huge thread, hard to navigate.
Can someone tell me, quickly, what is the consensus regarding the best portable amps for my new HD650?
Looking at RSA Mustang P-51, Leckerton UHA 6S Mk2 and such.
Much appreciated.

I see no one has really answered your question, and even though I don't have a really complete answer for you, I'll say this:

The GoVibe Magnum Amp/DAC I have sounds better (ever so slightly, but still does) than my Titanium HD + Asgard 2 to my HD650. It also sounds good coming out of my Note 3 DAC to the Magnum and my iPad Mini DAC. The amps are kinda old, I guess you'd say, but I know there's a portable amp thread in the forum somewhere that might let you use my post as a baseline.

 

[MattTCG]

  3 times?....my goodness, how long have you owned the 650s? and how often do you need to clean the pads? thanks

 
I've had the 650 since 2012. About every six months on the washing. 

 

[JamieMcC]

Ray Samuels portables have a good rep I think there is a review on headfi or on innerfidelity of the hornet paired with hd650
 
http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/hornet

 

[cddc]

   
I owned both concurrently for some time, and it was a very easy decision to sell the WA3.  The crack is more detailed, dynamic and punchy - overall more involving to listen to - and, for the record, I was running some super pricey amperex 7308 pq's (among others) and a 5998 in my Woo.  Hd650's sounded good with both amps - albeit substantially better with my crack (even in its stock form).  Hd800's also sound great with the crack, whereas the Woo OTL's are, IMO, to slow and tubey sounding to show off what hd800's can really do.  
 
As noted repeatedly here and in the crack thread, particularly with the speedball in place, the crack is simply a better, more sophisticated circuit than what is under the hood in both the WA3 and frankly, the doubly expensive WA2.  Neither Woo amp loads the tubes with constant current (unless - you do what head-fi member grindingthud did and go to great lengths to diymod the Woo to copy the crack speedball design!).  The Woo chassis are also too small to add film output caps which have a clear impact on the sound quality.  Jamie has posted some excellent write ups on this subject in the crack and cap threads if you're interested.  For further reference, people used to pay out the nose to put blackgate electrolytics in their woos, but frankly, blackgates suck a phatty when you compare their signal dissipation to even cheap film caps.
 
All in all, the funds bottlehead allocates to quality components and circuity, woo spends on heavy case work and labor to assemble the amps.  There's nothing wrong with that, but if you're willing to pick up an iron and follow the step by step directions, crack far outclasses the WA3 sonically.

Great review! Thank you very much for comparing the Crack with WA3.
 
After seeing what's under the hoods of Crack with Speedball and WA3, I would definitely agree that Crack with Speedball has more money allocated to components and circuits.
 
But looking at the parts of Crack alone (i.e. without Speedball upgrade), I personally think WA3 might have better components. Well, to be honest, I am not too familiar with electrical engineering. All I can do is to compare the appearance of electric components and guess what is more expensive - i might be totally wrong doing this way. I have attached some pictures showing the parts of Crack and WA3. 
 
- To me the circular transformer used in WA3 seems better than the ordinary transformer used in Crack. I have seen some pricey amps use this kind of circular transformers.
- WA3 uses 6 big capacitors (the black tubes in the picture, if I am not wrong), while Crack only uses 3 big and 2 small capacitors.
- I don't know what the 3 blocks in gold color are. But they exist in WA3 while not in Crack.
- WA3 uses 3 tubes while Crack uses 2. The bigger tubes are the same on both amps, if memory serves.
- Resistors seem equal on both sides.
 
So I will guess WA3 has more expensive components than Crack does. However, I do not know the synergy among the components, maybe Crack will sound better even with less expensive components.
 
I'd really appreciate it if you could shed some light on the components.
 
 
    Transformer of WA3
 
  WA3 parts
 
 
Crack parts
 
Crack- built

 

[kamenal]

I was thinking of a portable amp.
Seems like RSA would be a good choice.
I live 15 min from him, so I might stop by tomorrow and take a look.
Thank you for your advice,
A.K.

 

[jboehle]

  All I can do is to compare the appearance of electric components and guess what is more expensive - i might be totally wrong doing this way.

 
Yes, you are doing it the completely wrong way.  Judging an electronic circuit based on how attractive or how many components there are is just asinine.

 

[mcandmar]

- To me the circular transformer used in WA3 seems better than the ordinary transformer used in Crack. I have seen some pricey amps use this kind of circular transformers. - WA3 uses 6 big capacitors (the black tubes in the picture, if I am not wrong), while Crack only uses 3 big and 2 small capacitors.
- I don't know what the 3 blocks in gold color are. But they exist in WA3 while not in Crack.
- WA3 uses 3 tubes while Crack uses 2. The bigger tubes are the same on both amps, if memory serves.
- Resistors seem equal on both sides.

 
The Woo users a toroid transformer, vs the Bottlehead transformer which is custom made.
 
Extra capacitor is due to split power supply layout because of the extra tube in the Woo.
 
Gold blocks are wire wound resistors, equivalent to the white cement wire wounds in the Crack.  Woo would have used them to transfer heat into the chassis due to the sealed enclosure.
 
6922 tubes used in the Woo have one section inside , vs 12au7 in the crack has two sections inside the glass, hence only one physical tube needed.
 
In short, there is nothing of any note to be read from looking at the stock components, its the circuit design that really matters.  I had the same decision to make between the Wa6 or S.E.X. and ultimately went with the Bottlehead kit.  Having got to know the Bottlehead guys and the level of support they provide on the forum the S.E.X. was absolutely the right choice for me, i would put my money into a Crack any day.  If you are keen to learn and do a little DIY modifications then its a no brainer.

 

[cddc]

   
The Woo users a toroid transformer, vs the Bottlehead transformer which is custom made.
 
Extra capacitor is due to split power supply layout because of the extra tube in the Woo.
 
Gold blocks are wire wound resistors, equivalent to the white cement wire wounds in the Crack.  Woo would have used them to transfer heat into the chassis due to the sealed enclosure.
 
6922 tubes used in the Woo have one section inside , vs 12au7 in the crack has two sections inside the glass, hence only one physical tube needed.
 
In short, there is nothing of any note to be read from looking at the stock components, its the circuit design that really matters.  I had the same decision to make between the Wa6 or S.E.X. and ultimately went with the Bottlehead kit.  Having got to know the Bottlehead guys and the level of support they provide on the forum the S.E.X. was absolutely the right choice for me, i would put my money into a Crack any day.  If you are keen to learn and do a little DIY modifications then its a no brainer.

Okay, I might be too naive comparing the components.

 
If the gold blocks are just resistors and Crack has equivalent ones, then I will say there is not much difference.
 
Thank you very much for your opinions.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  I was thinking of a portable amp.
Seems like RSA would be a good choice.
I live 15 min from him, so I might stop by tomorrow and take a look.
Thank you for your advice,
A.K.

 
May I ask your source?  If its your computer or iPhone/iPod/iPad, or any A&K Dap, then I can't recommend the CEntrance HiFi-M8 enough.  The synergy is fantastic...

 

[JamieMcC]

  Okay, I might be too naive comparing the components.

 
If the gold blocks are just resistors and Crack has equivalent ones, then I will say there is not much difference.
 
Thank you very much for your opinions.

 
If you do a google image search "270 ohm 5w resistor" you will see both types they do the same thing just transfer the heat generated differently. 
 
Four white cement ones are used in the standard Crack when the speedball upgrade is add two are removed and two large heat sinks are used instead.
 
The gold ones are wire wound but in=cased in alloy to transmit the heat to the case. Crack case is open underneath with vent in the top plate for air circulation. 
 
Here's a pic of a standard Crack and then with speedball note the extra circuitry and the two large black heatsinks which replace the two long white cement resistors shown in the lower half of the first pic.
 
                  
 
 
 
.

 

[JamieMcC]

  I was thinking of a portable amp.
Seems like RSA would be a good choice.
I live 15 min from him, so I might stop by tomorrow and take a look.
Thank you for your advice,
A.K.

Don't forget to take your phones with you.  Some feedback from your visit would also be very welcome.
 
Have a good time

 

[kamenal]

Centrance HiFi M8 looks good, but a bit spendy. In this price range ($600-700)  RSA SR 71B would be my choice.
But I would like to stay under $400.
My source is an iPod Classic 80GB and  an Android LG G2 phone.
Will report after my visit to Ray Samuels.
Thanks.

 

[cddc]

   
If you do a google image search "270 ohm 5w resistor" you will see both types they do the same thing just transfer the heat generated differently. 
 
Four white cement ones are used in the standard Crack when the speedball upgrade is add two are removed and two large heat sinks are used instead.
 
The gold ones are wire wound but in=cased in alloy to transmit the heat to the case. Crack case is open underneath with vent in the top plate for air circulation. 
 
Here's a pic of a standard Crack and then with speedball note the extra circuitry and the two large black heatsinks which replace the two long white cement resistors shown in the lower half of the first pic.
 
                

 
Thanks very much for explaining the resistors and heat vent.
 
BTW, I saw some pictures of your crack with speedball...very neat and nice. Wondering how the holes were cut on the carbon fiber around the vent?
 
I am also quite curious to know how the huge capacitors and the resistor cylinder that you added can improve the Crack with speedball? What do they do?
 
Carbon Fiber
 
Large Capacitors and Resistor Cylinder