[ZachPtheDude]

He could always have someone on Head-Fi build him a crack if he is completely against building his own kit. IIRC, there was a member posting in this thread who offered to build someone (maybe multiple persons) crack for a cheaper price than what Bottlehead's own semi-official kit builder (he charges $250 to assemble a crack last I checked).

If he doesn't like it I'm sure he would have no trouble selling it without much of a loss if any at all.

 

[MattTCG]

I have a brand new crack w/sb for sale. Newly assembled by a guy who lives just a few blocks from me. PM me if you are conus and interested. 

 

[Anavel0]

I have a brand new crack w/sb for sale. Newly assembled by a guy who lives just a few blocks from me. PM me if you are conus and interested. 

YOU JUST GOT THAT! (Unless I'm wrong.) I don't know how you move through gear so quick.

 

[Hunter220]

I guess upgraditis or new gearitis strikes again, I keep hearing how good the Crack sounds but I cannot decide if I want to try building one now or wait till summer when I have some more time.  For any of the DIY'ers how hard is it to assemble versus other DIY kits like Project Ember, etc.

 

[MattTCG]

YOU JUST GOT THAT! (Unless I'm wrong.) I don't know how you move through gear so quick.

 
Not mine. He has two others for sale. 

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

I guess upgraditis or new gearitis strikes again, I keep hearing how good the Crack sounds but I cannot decide if I want to try building one now or wait till summer when I have some more time.  For any of the DIY'ers how hard is it to assemble versus other DIY kits like Project Ember, etc.

You might consider buying one sooner than later, as it takes about a month or two for BH to ship. I ordered my Crack and Speedball kit a month ago and haven't heard anything. As for the build difficulty, I'll let you know when it arrives, but I've seen lots of people who say they'd never held a soldering iron before report that assembling the Crack was still very fun and easy.

 

[raybone0566]

Talked to Jeremy at garage1217 yesterday. They have the new project Polaris solid state amp shipping now. Comes with cnc finish or acrylic. Looks very nice and has lots of power. Supposedly pairs well with hd650's. My wife is not very happy right now

 

[Hunter220]

Talked to Jeremy at garage1217 yesterday. They have the new project Polaris solid state amp shipping now. Comes with cnc finish or acrylic. Looks very nice and has lots of power. Supposedly pairs well with hd650's. My wife is not very happy right now

Yeah I was looking through their site and they have some really nice builds.  Can't decide if I like the cnc or acrylic, since it would be kind of cool to see the innards if I ever bought an amp from there.

 

[effles]

  What about Bottlehead CRACK?HD 650 and Crack very nice pairing at least to my ears.
 
MK III if running it stock it will not do much for your 650 unless you are welling to use C3g tubes and adapters which are not that cheap to begin with.I would say go with the CRACK if you can DIY.
Building your own amp kit is FUN.

Yeah, that is another option I have looked into, but living in the UK, the import costs are pretty high and the Crack+Speedball actually comes out as the same as the used Wa3 I'm looking at. I'm also not too good with electronics and the prospect of building a pretty expensive headphone amplifier as my first project is fairly daunting. 

  Trafomatic Audio Experience Head One (tube amp), used is worth looking into.  It's the best tube amp I've heard with the HD650.  Brand new they go for $1,600.00 but there was one for sale recently in the HP amps for sale forum that was selling for $500.00 & looked to be in great shape.  Unfortunately I checked the forum after starting this reply & it looks as if it was sold.  Just another suggestion/HP amp to think about.  To my ears it's vastly superior to some of the ones you listed & that I've owned in the past namely Schiit Lyr & Lyr2, Valhalla 2 & Asgard & Asgard 2.  Good luck, hope you find something you enjoy.  The HD650 is a fabulous HP.  

Cheers for the suggestion, I'll look into it. It's slightly out of my price range, but I'll look around for a used one.

 

[i luvmusic 2]

 

  I just received my Teac HA-501 a few days ago.  I wholeheartedly agree that it is a magical combination with HD 650's.  I never want to come out from under the cans.

I agree that it's a wonderful combo.  It's a shame the Teac doesn't give more love around here.  It's largely ignored because it wasn't handmade by monks and cryo treated with unicorn tears and sold one at a time from an exotic site located in Germany who only accepts oyster shells as payment.

Occasionally i  plug-in my HD 650 into my TEAC UD-H01 i like the MIDS and the soundstage but to my ears this UD-H01 is lacking some BASS it's not bad though compared to my Bravo Ocean.

 

[m8o]

Anyone else act on the Adorama $290 1day sale? (Perhaps a silly question as all prior posters are already owners) Mine should arrive tomorrow. Looking forward to try it with my various sources and amps.

 

[ZachPtheDude]

You might consider buying one sooner than later, as it takes about a month or two for BH to ship. I ordered my Crack and Speedball kit a month ago and haven't heard anything. As for the build difficulty, I'll let you know when it arrives, but I've seen lots of people who say they'd never held a soldering iron before report that assembling the Crack was still very fun and easy.

If you're wondering how long until your Bottlehead Kit ships this link is a godsend; http://bottlehead.com/bottlehead-kit-delivery-status/.

Updates every Monday or Friday.

Also, the Bottlehead Crack is a very nice design and quite simple to assemble (for the most part). Bottlehead's own site says complete beginners should be able to finish the kit in a couple of nights. If you're truly worried about your soldering skills not being up to par I'd suggest to just order the crack kit, and also find a cheap CMOY kit. Or Radioshack sells a few different soldering kits designed for ages 7 and up.


Anyway, back to HD650 talk:

This Dyson Audio cable is fantastic. I am really liking the 4 conductor litz and that only makes me want to try the 8 conducter and see what, if any, changes it makes to the sonic signature in comparison.

 

[xpboy7]

Hey guys, What do you say, the HD 650 are now on sale on Amazon, only 290$ for this beauty, i know that's a steal, but is it any cheaper somewhere else? moreover, I've got a Creative Sound Blaster ZX (600 Ohm) it should be enough to drive this pair (300Ohm) but will it (Blend?) sound good enough? I will use it mostly for FPS games, rock music, movies

 

[hodgjy]

  Hey guys, What do you say, the HD 650 are now on sale on Amazon, only 290$ for this beauty, i know that's a steal, but is it any cheaper somewhere else? moreover, I've got a Creative Sound Blaster ZX (600 Ohm) it should be enough to drive this pair (300Ohm) but will it (Blend?) sound good enough? I will use it mostly for FPS games, rock music, movies

At the price the HD650 is at right now you should strongly consider getting it if you like a smooth, laid back sound.  The amp isn't as influential to the sound as the headphones are.  Plus, the HD650 are relatively easy to drive.  If you need more power, a FiiO E11 is cheap and good.

 

[xpboy7]

Thanks for the fast reply, I really think I'd buy it, (for now without any amp).
does the price get cheaper on Amazon? I will only be able to buy it a month from now, I have a friend which will get to the USA on April and can get it back to me