I think I can say I am hooked on building audio gear. Though I'm probably due to take a break now.
Just wrapped up my second Crack build. I wanted to experiment with parts and capacitors this time, so I ordered a PT-7 power transformer and top plate from Bottlehead and then sourced the rest of the parts myself. I used bare OCC wire I insulated myself, Ruby Gold electrolytic caps on the power supply bypassed with Jantzen Standard-Z caps, Jantzen Cross-Caps for the outputs, all Vishay resistors, and an Alps Blue Velvet pot. I also used a pair of bakelite tube sockets that use pins instead of lugs. While the pins on the nine-pin socket are tiny and closely spaced it wasn't as hard as I was anticipating to wrap the wire around each one. I got the idea for the solder lugs with the capacitors from another builder, that worked very nicely. No room for a Speedball kit though.
A small scare when the resistance values weren't stabilizing and the fuse popped when I powered it up the first time. Set it down for a day. Found I wasn't getting a good connection with the probes, and I was using .5A fast blow fuses.
I made the zebra wood base at the same time as my Stereomour base. On the crack I was able to wrap the grain around the corners of the base. It looks really cool and I like the matching kit.
Disclaimer: I don't recommend building your first kit this way. Doing it this way also made me appreciate just how nice quality the standard parts are that Bottlehead supplies in their kits.
Just wrapped up my second Crack build. I wanted to experiment with parts and capacitors this time, so I ordered a PT-7 power transformer and top plate from Bottlehead and then sourced the rest of the parts myself. I used bare OCC wire I insulated myself, Ruby Gold electrolytic caps on the power supply bypassed with Jantzen Standard-Z caps, Jantzen Cross-Caps for the outputs, all Vishay resistors, and an Alps Blue Velvet pot. I also used a pair of bakelite tube sockets that use pins instead of lugs. While the pins on the nine-pin socket are tiny and closely spaced it wasn't as hard as I was anticipating to wrap the wire around each one. I got the idea for the solder lugs with the capacitors from another builder, that worked very nicely. No room for a Speedball kit though.
A small scare when the resistance values weren't stabilizing and the fuse popped when I powered it up the first time. Set it down for a day. Found I wasn't getting a good connection with the probes, and I was using .5A fast blow fuses.
I made the zebra wood base at the same time as my Stereomour base. On the crack I was able to wrap the grain around the corners of the base. It looks really cool and I like the matching kit.
Disclaimer: I don't recommend building your first kit this way. Doing it this way also made me appreciate just how nice quality the standard parts are that Bottlehead supplies in their kits.
