Actually moved to tears...

[pduk]

So I spent most of Sunday building the crack that arrived here in the UK late last week, and got up at 6am this morning and finished it off. I enjoyed building it for the most part - the bits I didn't like were the self tapping screw part, and soldering those tiny LEDs onto the small valve socket.

Anyway, all the resistances checked out and so did the voltages (I initially thought something was amiss with the 12AU7 as no heater light was visible - but it is working, and I still can't see any light). Then came the hesitant plugging in of everything and firing it up.

Suffice it to say that it's lunchtime now and I can't tear myself away. I've never heard my 650's sound like this (I was using the O-DAC and O2 before). I just finished listening to Genesis "Suppers Ready" and I'm not ashamed to admit I had tears rolling down my face at one point. This is extraordinary.

And I haven't even started building the speedball kit yet!

Thank you, everyone at Bottlehead.

Paul.

 

[Hornet900]

Congratulations Paul  feels good don't it!

Get to know the amps sound 1st till you upgrade  ;D  Maybe  get some 12AU7 tubes  easy to get hold of.

What tubes did yours come with? My amp came with a Hewlett Packard 5963 (12AU7) and an RCA 6080. ......And  Wait till you the 5998 tube with the speedball !

The amp will sound even better when its  run in  ;D  I'm also in England  built my amp a few months ago.

 

[JamieMcC]

nice

 

[Grainger49]

Good work! 

Music should be an emotional experience regardless of whether you are listening to Zappa or Zubin Metha.

 

[ghost_rider]

Welcome to the Crack family Paul.

I also finished mine 2 weeks back yes I can relate the feeling. It really blows your mind the first time you plug it in

But like hornet said, the speedball update puts it in a whole new level. That is just so much more amazing!! 

Do some reading and get some tubes that suits you best and then just sit and let the music flow...

 

[pduk]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

What tubes did yours come with? My amp came with a Hewlett Packard 5963 (12AU7) and an RCA 6080. ......And  Wait till you the 5998 tube with the speedball !

Hmm... not sure. The small one has green writing on it, JHS 5963 and lots of other stuff that's mostly rubbed off that I can't read apart from "Made In". There is also brown writing above it saying "5963" then "USA" on another line.

The large one is RCA and has "6080 WA" inside a lozenge shaped box in white.

My poor attempt at a photo of the JHS valve is enclosed...

Cheers

Paul.

 

[Karl5150]

Paul, congrats on the build and on being human.
I agree with Grainger good music touches the soul. (Blind Faith's Can't find My Way Home gets me every time)
Enjoy!

 

[pduk]

Well it's been one week on and I am still loving the amp. I've been listening to lots of old classics and rediscovering the pure joy of music.

I couldn't resist building and fitting the speedball upgrade. It's a personality flaw/feature - I can't not have the best possible performance out of something. I can't really say how much the performance improved with the upgrade as I hadn't completely got used to the sound pre-speedball.

Anyway: I have noticed the amp now has a bit of a quirk on startup. I get some very quiet mains hum initially, that then becomes louder (in both channels, though a split second later in the left than in the right). This then gradually recedes into "darkness" and the output is completely silent - and the music then sounds wonderful from then on. This whole warming up period lasts about 30 seconds. If the volume control is at zero or a fraction above, after the hum is gone, I get the hum back. If the amp has been on for a few minutes, then the zero-volume buzz doesn't happen.

It doesn't bother me but I do see it has some correlation with symptoms reported in the 5998 thread. I'm casually wondering whether there's been some sort of component change in the last shipment of speedball that's caused this to happen. I'm happy to take measurements etc if necessary but as I say, it's all working anyway and I love it

Paul.

 

[Grainger49]

Ignore all turn on abnormalities.  All tubes have them.  It is FAQ #1 here:

http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=2408.0

When you put in the C4S circuits the voltages on the tubes change and come on differently so the noises are different.

Now, the buzz at the zero volume control setting can be a bad solder joint or a problem with the pot.  Check your solder joints from the RCA jacks to the 12AU7 pins 2 and 7. 

 

[John EH]

Nice reaction to your new kit.  To be honest I was wondering whether my HD650's and Crack were as good as advertised.  And by that I really mean the match between them.  To be sure the mid-range and bass is beautiful but always sounded a touch flat on the high end.  I also was running an ODAC (and tried several other DAC's) with the same results.

It's also possible the headphones weren't "broken in" too.  Anyway in my quest for great audio and for fun I bought a Fiio E17.  Hooked it to my Mac computer with Sony MDR-V6's and while it sounded good I really didn't like it that much.  Then for the heck of it I hooked it to the Raspberry Pi and ran it into the inputs of the Crack Amp.  Picked up the HD650's and they never sounded so good.  The high end I was missing is there (I cheated and upped the treble a notch on the Fiio).  Anyway the soundstage is amazing and the music for the first time sounds like it's inside my head and not just piped in through the ears.

I'm patiently waiting on the Bottlehead DAC though.  That's what i really want to drop in the system.  A lot of companies sell a lot of gear but the designers of Bottlehead gear must have the same musical tastes I have because I always gravitate towards their gear.

Glad you enjoy it.  It is a great little kit.

 

[serpent68]

It has been more than 6 months since I installed my Crack + Speedball.  I listen to it every day without fail, and I'm still loving every minute I spend with it and the Beyer T90.  Somehow, I feel a strong passion for this amp... I don't know why, maybe it's because of the glorious sound.. or maybe its because I built it myself.

Reminds me of the passion I feel for Alfa Romeo cars.  My Alfa 159 is already 3 years old, but it never fails to bring a smile to my face every time I drive or look at it.

 

[Doc B]

Dude, don't go there. I still miss my Alfas, after 27 years. You're gonna make me cry, particularly considering what a 1969 GTV1750 sells for these days. Although the C230K coupe we have now is pretty dadgummed fun. And more seriously, thank you for the kind words!