Back in March Bottlehead had a birthday special for the Crack + speedball http://bottlehead.com/?product=crack-otl-headphone-amplifier-kit
Standard price is $414 for Crack and Speedball, during the special you could pick up both for $299!
Build
I do have some soldering experience but this was my first large project (and definitely not my last!). The whole Crack build took about 8 hours with some helping hands from my dad (lots of soldering experience). The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Each step has high-quality photos and descriptions. It's very clear when to solder and when not to (going to add more connections to that point and solder later). Around 4 times during the build you have to stop and take some measurements and confirm that you're still on track. When you mess up, it's easy to find the problem. I can really recommend this for all beginners out there!
I did make a few mistake/issues:
1) Put one of the rectifier diodes in the wrong way. When connecting power for a voltage check, the fuse blew. Took like 2 mins to find the issue and fixed it. Luckily I had an extra fuse spare!
2) Final voltage check for one channel was way off. Should be 75V and I got 170V. Realized that one of the tiny HLMP 6000 LEDs broke off right at the LED. Luckily I had the speedball upgrade kit to steal one from. Bought extras at electronics store nearby for R7 each.
3) The 12AU7 tube really struggled to fit into its slot. Thought I damaged it but turns out its fine.
4) After finishing the crack it had a loud buzz. Thought it was the 12AU7. After some debugging, I realized the Audioquest Dragonfly Black which I was using for a DAC picked up major USB noise. Changed to my ODAC and its gone. There is still some very minor background noise, but I'm sure the speedball would fix it.
Cost
Crack + Speedball + $80 shipping: R5 189
Import tax + VAT: R251
Wood stain: R69
Wood finish spray: R59
Total: R5 568
Note: This excludes some things I already had lying around like sand paper and solder.
Sound
Sounds like a warm tube amp should. Pairs really well with the Sennheiser HD6XX. Opens up the soundstage to X2 levels. Really a must listen to all!
Since it's OTL it doesn't go well with planars like my Audioquest LCD2. Have to turn up the volume and there is distortion in the bass.
The HD800 does work well on the Crack, but I do feel it's not resolving enough. Maybe after the speedball upgrade, I might change my mind.
The Crack+HD6XX is currently my favorite sounding combo I own.
Photos
Yeah, this is what you came here to see! Decided to go with an African Mahogany stain which IMO came out great!
Standard price is $414 for Crack and Speedball, during the special you could pick up both for $299!
Build
I do have some soldering experience but this was my first large project (and definitely not my last!). The whole Crack build took about 8 hours with some helping hands from my dad (lots of soldering experience). The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Each step has high-quality photos and descriptions. It's very clear when to solder and when not to (going to add more connections to that point and solder later). Around 4 times during the build you have to stop and take some measurements and confirm that you're still on track. When you mess up, it's easy to find the problem. I can really recommend this for all beginners out there!
I did make a few mistake/issues:
1) Put one of the rectifier diodes in the wrong way. When connecting power for a voltage check, the fuse blew. Took like 2 mins to find the issue and fixed it. Luckily I had an extra fuse spare!
2) Final voltage check for one channel was way off. Should be 75V and I got 170V. Realized that one of the tiny HLMP 6000 LEDs broke off right at the LED. Luckily I had the speedball upgrade kit to steal one from. Bought extras at electronics store nearby for R7 each.
3) The 12AU7 tube really struggled to fit into its slot. Thought I damaged it but turns out its fine.
4) After finishing the crack it had a loud buzz. Thought it was the 12AU7. After some debugging, I realized the Audioquest Dragonfly Black which I was using for a DAC picked up major USB noise. Changed to my ODAC and its gone. There is still some very minor background noise, but I'm sure the speedball would fix it.
Cost
Crack + Speedball + $80 shipping: R5 189
Import tax + VAT: R251
Wood stain: R69
Wood finish spray: R59
Total: R5 568
Note: This excludes some things I already had lying around like sand paper and solder.
Sound
Sounds like a warm tube amp should. Pairs really well with the Sennheiser HD6XX. Opens up the soundstage to X2 levels. Really a must listen to all!
Since it's OTL it doesn't go well with planars like my Audioquest LCD2. Have to turn up the volume and there is distortion in the bass.
The HD800 does work well on the Crack, but I do feel it's not resolving enough. Maybe after the speedball upgrade, I might change my mind.
The Crack+HD6XX is currently my favorite sounding combo I own.
Photos
Yeah, this is what you came here to see! Decided to go with an African Mahogany stain which IMO came out great!
