Sooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter groomster
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The volume control is not actually a volume control, it's a gain control. There are no reliable standards on signal voltage level, so if your source puts out a lot of voltage then at maximum gain you can overload the amplifier and get distortion.

You can also overload headphones; there's no guarantee which will overload first.
 
With tubes, those guitar amp scenarios are usually driving the tubes much harder than hi-fi gear.  And I also know that some tubes last longer than others and some tubes of the same type are built to last longer than others of the same type.  I think that many of the ruggedized JAN tubes are a good example of the latter.  Although I do have some that look exactly like their non-JAN counterparts.  

I have a question for you, Paul if you are still lurking this thread.  What is the input sensitivity for Crack?  I think I read 2 volts.  So with a source outputting a clean 2 volts, Crack should be clean with no attenuation ("Volume" control wide open) correct?  More than that and it will clip before the volume knob (gain control)  is turned all the way clockwise, correct?   The reason why I ask is that my main source is spec'd at 2 volts.  But I recently moved my old AH Tjoeb 99 CDP over to the Crack system as well and that thing was spec'd at 3.5 volts out from a couple of old reviews I read.  So if input sensitivity of Crack is 2 volts,  the Tjoeb with 3.5V output would have the potential to overdrive the Crack,  especially with "hot" CD's, correct?  
 
Playing with or rolling tubes is a big part of the fun of owning and using the crack. So get some tubes and start rolling and at the same time you will be building a nice stash too!

Groomster, one thing about the crack is that to me it is very revealing, and as such will show just how good or bad a recording is; at the same time it will also show how your source sounds! mpeg through iTunes, through your computer might not be the best source. I use a computer as my source because all my music is stored on hard drives in lossless format. I us Windows 7, Foobar 2000, with either kernel streaming or wasapi (this to bypass windows sound stuff) and then coax digital out (SPDIF) to a mid range DAC (AMB Labs Gamma2). I have to say this combo really sounds great and has lots of WOW!

My rig aside, one thing for sure about using the computer is to make sure the volume control in the software application, iTunes, Winamp, Foobar, etc. Is turned all the way up. Something about insuring all the music's digital information is passed to the DAC otherwise it will not sound as good as it can.
 
Laudanum said:
...
I have a question for you, Paul if you are still lurking this thread.  What is the input sensitivity for Crack?  I think I read 2 volts.  ...
The spec is a gain of 15dB and max output of 10 volts (both are approximate, and into a 300 ohm or greater load). 15dB is about a factor of 5, so the input sensitivity for max output is as you say around 2 volts.

Note that 10 volts is twice the voltage of the IHF/IEC headphone standard. With more or less average headphones, 10v can generate over 120dB, which is 30dB above the threshold for hearing damage (90dB) - that's 1000 times the acoustic power!

Please also note that I didn't design the Crack (PB, aka Caucasian Blackplate, did), and I've never done any measurements on one. That's why I rarely post in the Crack sub-forum - I don't have the knowledge base to answer more than a few kinds of questions.
 
I too bought a 6as7g tube for my crack.  I found it to be more detailed however a little more laid back (but that too can be a good thing depending on the music). I got the 6as7g from tubedepot.com for about $20 Plus shipping.  I think your money at this point would be best spent on higher impedance cans, the crack is designed for a higher load and you will not be experiencing all that your crack can deliver without them (believe it or not it will sound much better with them). 
 
Def. go for high impedance cans as mentioned. There are several different nice models Sennheiser HD600/650 and Beyerdynamic are a few good high impedance headphones within reasonable prices!
 
Groomster, if you like the DT 770's bass response, it's going to be difficult to find a new high impedance can that can hang with it in terms of bass impact/quantity .  There just arent a lot of high impedance cans being made any longer.  You can always consider a higher impedance version of the same phone you have or maybe the DT 990 if you want to go to an open phone but still stick with a bassier phone.  I have the DT 990 pro 250 ohm among a few others and they are may favorite phones.  I like having a few different phones for different music genres or change of pace or mood or whatever the case.  But, if I only could keep one of my present phones, it would be my DT 990's.  The 990's also are strong in the bass dept. but I have never done a side by side comparison with the 770's.  

AKG makes the 601 which is 120 ohm.  Bass shy compared with the Beyer 990's and your 770's But Im liking them more and more with much of the blues I listen too, especially well recorded live blues (and even better with 5998 tube).  Fischer Audio has the FA 011 at 160 ohm (hard to get in the states).  MB Quart has some high Z cans but these are no longer made (See my thread "Hi-Z phone heads up thread" linking to a couple of ebay buy it now listings with 2 different Quart models on closeout).  German Maestro is making high Z phones (took over production from MB Quart if think).  KOSS has some High Z models and then of course there is the very, very popular Sennheiser.  Im sure there are a few other manufacturers but that's all I can think of.  And of course, there is the used market for out of production Hi-Z phones.  Best you can do is check all the reviews that you can find and try to listen to some of the phones locally if possible.  

Also, replacing the 6AS7 with a 5998 will lower the Cracks output impedance to about 70 ohms.  That may or may not help your 80 ohm Beyers, sonically.  But it is a very nice sounding tube (thanks again Jim) and you may or may not prefer it over the 6AS7.  They are however, harder to find and signifigantly more expensive.  And because of that, not a good tube to trust to any ole' ebay seller.    One other thing about the 6AS7 ... NOS or good used, they can be had for relatively little money if you search for deals.  Some of the USA JAN's or the RCA's come up all the time on ebay.  You are kind of at the mercy of the sellers descriptions and their meters and ability to use them.  But there are good deals to be had from sellers with good reputations. And sometimes a deal can be so good to be worth the  small monetary risk.  I picked up an excellent and what looks to be NOS RCA 6AS7 for, if memory servers, under 10 dollars.  Also an excellent RCA JAN for around the same.  It amazes me how many different size bottles they used for these tubes.  I think I have 3 or 4 different size bottles all with, visually, the same internal construction.  Personally, any differences in sound between these seem to be subtle at best when internal construction is the same regardless of whether they are labeled RCA, RCA JAN, JAN, GE JAN, CRC etc..  But YMMV.  I think it is definitely worth picking one up when a good deal arises  to compare with the sino that you have on the way.  There is also the Russian 6H13C or 6N13.  A lot on ebay, mostly from european sellers.  Also several tube retailers seem to have these.

Im no expert on this stuff but hopefully some of this info is helpful.
 
I just cannot prevent myself from being very, very careful how I phrase any sentence on this forum in which I use the word "Crack".  I know, I know, Im too easily amused but re-read your first sentence.  Happy that you like the tube but Im laughing aloud right now :D
 
Well, he did say he likes the heater elements -- wonder if it has magic fingers too. :

-- Jim


Laudanum said:
I just cannot prevent myself from being very, very careful how I phrase any sentence on this forum in which I use the word "Crack".  I know, I know, Im too easily amused but re-read your first sentence.  Happy that you like the tube but Im laughing aloud right now :D
 
Glad Im not the only one who is easily amused.  Groomster, you're a good sport. 
And obviously the Bottlehead gang have a good sense of humor with the names they give to their creations.
If you guys run out of interesting names, I offer up my moniker, feel free to use it, I'd be honored :-)    Although, the headphone amp currently in the works is right up the same alley with a name like "Smack".
 
My shoes should be on the way. If they look like they are supposed to they will make their debut at the California Audio Show. I have already received polos for Shawn and me, and they look great.
 
the senns at gc give you an idea of how they sound.  they are very neutral...meaning they arent going to have this large bass.  i actually really like them because they sound like real instruments.  i would not recommend them if you like electronic or hip hop music because i think they can take the magic away from "colored" music.  if you like music with actual instruments i think they are very nice.

my one observation is im not hearing the 3-d soundstage from them.  they are wide but i dont hear a whole lot of depth unless the source music is very well mixed and recorded.  to be fair though i havent heard any headphone do that well and my experience with headphones is very limited.



 
Groomster, I had read a post somewhere after we "talked" about someone who switched from the 80 ohm to 250 ohm 770's.  Im not sure what amp he was using but he stated that the 250 ohms sounded much better.  Im glad that you find that to be the case as well with your new 250 ohm 770's.  I dont see any reason why the bass wont open up with break in.  I would think that with the 250 ohm version you should end up with a bit better extension and probably better control on the Crack amp.  But there are bound to be some differences between the two versions.  Glad to read that it appears to have worked out for you.  They should get better with use.
 
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