Crack OG vs Crack Speedball

[smodtactical]

I got a Crack with speedball (and built my own Crack OG) in so I can directly A-B, my notes:

So far
OG wins
speedball is more clear and crisper
a bit more detailed
but it loses some of the midrange magic and the emotion
and the texture in the singers voice
OG is smoother, more liquid... i think more bassy
speedball reminds me of elekit a bit
ya OG wins hands down... it sounds bigger, more 3d, more holographic... its amazing
the way the mids come forward in such an incredible way... like the singer steps forward out of the music to sing to you personally... its hard to describe
to be fair not the same tubes in each amp so i will try to swap tubes and compare further

 

[kGlerup]

I may have missed something... But what is a Crack OG?

 

[smodtactical]

maybe its also the tubes or something ?
i just did some more AB
when i go to OG Crack
its so 3d sounding
im surrounded by the music'
it pulls me into it
whereas speedball kind has me at a distance
and im watching it
OG is just more engaging
speedball is flatter sounding like elekit
honestly im not even sure speedball is more detailed... id say its 'crisper' maybe
but OG is more natural and has much better flow... the music just pours and spills around you

 

[smodtactical]

I may have missed something... But what is a Crack OG?

Crack without speedball. Stock base crack.

 

[Mucker]

Thanks for your thoughts. I recently ordered a Crack without speedball. I am going to build it and keep it bone stock and then compare it to my different Crack build with speedball, Cree diodes, Triad choke, Alps pot, beer can caps, etc..

The "different" Crack/SB is an excellent performer. I want to see how affected the "different" crack is compared to stock crack ....

 

[TwoThirteen]

Are you A/B testing the two units side by side? Are their internal parts the same minus the Speedball upgrade? Seems odd to hear.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Triodes do distort pleasantly, so the Crack without Speedball will have more there that shouldn't be, but not necessarily in a bad way.

 

[Mucker]

That is exactly what I am looking for, to hear the tubes closer to their raw form.

This is all for fun with no intentions of serious analytical comparison. If I end up with two completely different great sounding amps named Crack, I will be very happy.

 

[Doc B]

I know I flog this, but the lesson to be learned is not that one version or the other is better. The point is you can build it both ways and decide what works best for your ears, your cans, your source, your music, etc.

 

[monsterdonkey]

Sorry to ask this without my amp nearby to look for myself, but how difficult would it be to mod a switch in that bypassed the Speedball and ran it stock? Is it even possible?

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I haven't thought of a good way to do that without introducing substantial reliability issues.

 

[Karl5150]

Having built one of the "other guys" hybrid tube/ss amps as a gift for my son-in-law got me thinking about similar A/B comparisons the other posters here are looking for/at.
A PCB build, and obviously not the full-tube Crack experience, it includes jumpers that allow switching between CCS and resistor plate loads.
Paul, could the Speedball board be retooled to include the resistors and jumpers? I realize the 3k wire wounds need to dissipate a lot of heat - maybe bottom mounted to get them close to the vents?
Sure, the adventurous, and well heeled, DIYr could design and procure a board or two and give it a try; but such a board seems like it would still fit the BH model allowing an upgrade path with the bonus of easily reverting to the "OG" sound when some extra sugar was called for, or desired.
This is just me thinking aloud, let me know what I'm missing...
Thanks as always, Karl     

 

[Doc B]

We're a very lean and mean company staffing-wise these days. Consequently we have to prioritize our projects with that in mind. We still have new upgrades for other kits that we can't find time to get to. So taking something of a redundant design like this through the process of development and manual revision - along with the expected increase in tech support - is unfortunately something that would have to sit pretty low on the priority list.

On the other hand a person could probably rig this up for themselves reasonably easy with some thought.

 

[Karl5150]

Gotcha, Doc.
When I blew-up one of my Eros boards I thought I would dip my toe into board design by copying the ones that came with the kit...I ended up contacting The Queen for a replacement.
We on the other side of the search and the buy buttons forget, or just don't realize, the scope of what must go into the individual products, let alone the whole line.
You guys are doin' the Lord's work by keeping us electrical engineering challenged in our happy listening places,
Karl

 

[Deluk]

Perhaps OC = Original Crack would be better than OG =Original G**** whatever the G stands for?

 

[Paul Joppa]

As I understand it, there are two main OG meanings - Original Gangster (from rap culture) and Ocean Grown (from cannabis culture).

 

[Jay]

I have also heard OG=oldest gangster

 

[smodtactical]

Are you A/B testing the two units side by side? Are their internal parts the same minus the Speedball upgrade? Seems odd to hear.

Yup same. Side by side. Tubes are different though so I still have to swap them and then compare again.

 

[smodtactical]

Justin from ampsandsound likes OG crack more too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-U0XGA_G7E&t=47m44s

 

[Mucker]

I just finished building my non Speedball Crack. I haven't been able to do much comparing yet but I will say this; the amplifier delivers either way you go.

I have a choke, Cree diodes, and some Panny output caps ready for the non Speedball, but will hold off for a good while to get a grip on what I am actually hearing.