Hi Everyone
Long time lurker here, first time poster. So after alot of research I found a nice pair of HD 650s from Kogan for $400 odd bucks shipped to my house. My gaming headset was playing up and my PC deserved a nice new set of headphones. My Auzentech XFI sound card seaming willing to put some form or music through these cans..........I knew there was so much more tho....soooooo much more. I Read as much as I could without being able to listen to examples.......... But after alot of internal debate, the crack came out ontop, Owning the 650's for a few months, I was well aware of the " dark veil" so much talked about
All I can say is WOW... What a difference the kit has made....... A big thankyou to Doc & the BH crew for the kit that arrived. I must say the quality of instructions & kit enabled me to build a nice "to spec amp" in a day. Was almost therapeutical to build, Tried to neaten the wires as much as possible why trying t get it done quick. I rerouted terminal 4 from 14U to 14L for easier access and neater bend of wire, I tried to get exact twist's in my cables... The drill trick worked wonders for this.
She fired up first shot, I tentatively probed her (hehehe) while keeping a hand in my pocket lol. All checked out good and that night I was blown away by the power of the Crack and the heat she produced was amazing ...... But I knew instantly that the speedball upgrade would give me what I wanted. The next day I hacked her up again...... I knew I wanted extra punch that would move those 650's to the next level. I had plenty of solid wire left from the initial build, so I decided to measure out the Speed Ball with the larger gauge wire and bend it to the connections on the PCBs... Seamed easier than the smaller gauge wire included. All worked fine and fitted nicely. Although some trial and error was used to get the right length and bends, I felt proud as it seamed like my first "Mod" in a way.
I did make oner mistake in my excitement to get the Speed Ball going... Soldered the 2N2222A transistor hard against the main board and clipped the legs (I missed reading the part where it said leave a gap until after I solder it, I Left a gap on A & B boards after that) Went to my local Jaycar for a spare 2N2222A, thinking that its possible my solder could have snaked up the legs and may short against the metal body (didn't want to risk it)... Their 2N2222A looked different with a plastic body, I wasn't too sure if it was suitable. Improvised by de-soldering with braid, cutting a washer in half with a Dremel, shimming it against the short 2N2222A transistor & the PCB board, masking taped the transistor so the legs were just poking through, soldered her up.... Left a nice gap in where I could check my joins and the connection looked good and shiny.
The heat sink join was funny, I thought my little Potasol Technik Gas Solder Pen had some heat to it, but the sink proved me wrong.
With the cabinet, i'm still a bit undecided as what to do, I Dark stained it in Feast & Watson Black Japan & Walnut, but it looked splotchy. I hard sanded it back and sorta like it currently, looks "washed out", but I think my top plate would contrast better with a darker stain. Also not sure if I should lacquer/Gloss it as well in the current state. waiting to decide until I put the badge & feet on. What do you guys think???? be nice to hear some feedback from fellow owners.....
Planing on some upgrades when I can, first off will be external DAC to eliminate as much "computer noise" as I can. Computer sucks as a source but all my FLAC are there. Thinking Blue Alps Pot, better plugs all round, possibly cap replacement down the track.....Overall one very happy customer.
Long time lurker here, first time poster. So after alot of research I found a nice pair of HD 650s from Kogan for $400 odd bucks shipped to my house. My gaming headset was playing up and my PC deserved a nice new set of headphones. My Auzentech XFI sound card seaming willing to put some form or music through these cans..........I knew there was so much more tho....soooooo much more. I Read as much as I could without being able to listen to examples.......... But after alot of internal debate, the crack came out ontop, Owning the 650's for a few months, I was well aware of the " dark veil" so much talked about
All I can say is WOW... What a difference the kit has made....... A big thankyou to Doc & the BH crew for the kit that arrived. I must say the quality of instructions & kit enabled me to build a nice "to spec amp" in a day. Was almost therapeutical to build, Tried to neaten the wires as much as possible why trying t get it done quick. I rerouted terminal 4 from 14U to 14L for easier access and neater bend of wire, I tried to get exact twist's in my cables... The drill trick worked wonders for this.
She fired up first shot, I tentatively probed her (hehehe) while keeping a hand in my pocket lol. All checked out good and that night I was blown away by the power of the Crack and the heat she produced was amazing ...... But I knew instantly that the speedball upgrade would give me what I wanted. The next day I hacked her up again...... I knew I wanted extra punch that would move those 650's to the next level. I had plenty of solid wire left from the initial build, so I decided to measure out the Speed Ball with the larger gauge wire and bend it to the connections on the PCBs... Seamed easier than the smaller gauge wire included. All worked fine and fitted nicely. Although some trial and error was used to get the right length and bends, I felt proud as it seamed like my first "Mod" in a way.
I did make oner mistake in my excitement to get the Speed Ball going... Soldered the 2N2222A transistor hard against the main board and clipped the legs (I missed reading the part where it said leave a gap until after I solder it, I Left a gap on A & B boards after that) Went to my local Jaycar for a spare 2N2222A, thinking that its possible my solder could have snaked up the legs and may short against the metal body (didn't want to risk it)... Their 2N2222A looked different with a plastic body, I wasn't too sure if it was suitable. Improvised by de-soldering with braid, cutting a washer in half with a Dremel, shimming it against the short 2N2222A transistor & the PCB board, masking taped the transistor so the legs were just poking through, soldered her up.... Left a nice gap in where I could check my joins and the connection looked good and shiny.
The heat sink join was funny, I thought my little Potasol Technik Gas Solder Pen had some heat to it, but the sink proved me wrong.
With the cabinet, i'm still a bit undecided as what to do, I Dark stained it in Feast & Watson Black Japan & Walnut, but it looked splotchy. I hard sanded it back and sorta like it currently, looks "washed out", but I think my top plate would contrast better with a darker stain. Also not sure if I should lacquer/Gloss it as well in the current state. waiting to decide until I put the badge & feet on. What do you guys think???? be nice to hear some feedback from fellow owners.....
Planing on some upgrades when I can, first off will be external DAC to eliminate as much "computer noise" as I can. Computer sucks as a source but all my FLAC are there. Thinking Blue Alps Pot, better plugs all round, possibly cap replacement down the track.....Overall one very happy customer.
