The included tubes are of decent quality and can be expected to provide years of great sound. Tube rolling with the bottlehead crack, any advice or. Upgrading the bottlehead crack headphone amplifier. Nos tung sol 12au7 not to be confused with the newly manufactured tung sols nice neutral sounding tube, good all arounder, cheap and abundant. Bottlehead crack wspeedball headphone amplifier for sale.
We ordered a couple of cracks right before the price increase was announced more on that later so that probably. Little hours on all four tubes, as well as the crack itself. Admittedly the hd650 and crack pairing is the very definition of synergy, and seems to bring out the best in both partners. It was with some glee that i opened the box from bottlehead, anxious to plug in my hd650 and see if the crack deserves its reputation as the king amp of sennheiser headphones. Tung sol 7236 orange text, if i remember correctly, this might be a bit.
While the initial frustration regarding the ordering almost made us gave up, by the moment i received the package i really couldnt wait to start the build and to finally hear what the crack is all about. The crack, shod with tung sol tubes, also sounds more alive and engaging through the sennheisers. The tung sol 12ax7 is one of the best usa made 12ax7 ever produced, it has an extremely dynamic response, very musical with superb tone and balanced soundstage, better sounding overall than rca. I cant imagine anyone being bored with the 650s with the above. After much research, i purchased this amplifier to. Otl addiction i think im far more excited about the crack than lieven is. Or, by upgrading to the full version the software will automatically download and install. What ive discovered since is that the crack is more responsive to tube rolling than any piece of equipment ive ever heard. The tung sol 5998 and siemens 5814a tubes provide an uncanny and natural to your music. This fully upgraded crack with speedball upgrade will give you improvements in many areas over the stock version. Power tubes tung sol 6080 came as stock tung sol 6080wb solid graphite plates w copper grid post chatham 6as7g bendix 6080wb slotted plate w copper grid. I bought mine already assembled by a member at headfi if i remember correctly.
I did in the crack but just wanted to double check for use with its big. I have no idea why from an engineering perspective why that would be, but it. In this regard the standard bottlehead crack with a westinghouse branded tung sol 6080wa tube scores best and gives you the heaviest bass. Ive tried most of the the usual suspect and im currently running a tung sol 5998 and a cbshytron 5814a in mine and lovin every minute of it. If youve ever been interested in developing some soldering skills and learn about whats going on inside of a tube amp, bottlehead kits are a great place to start. Overall the 339 is smoother, warmer and laid back with an even bigger sound stage.
So, the ge fivestar 6005 are the best performing shunt regulator tubes in the crackatwoa. Most of the 5998s were made by tung sol, chatham, and western. This was with a sylvania 12bh7 driving a tung sol 6080. In terms of tubes, the best output tubes i have are the western electric 421a, the tung sol 7802. I have a bottlehead crack with speedball output transformerless otl headphone amplifier in excellent condition for sale. Now its all there except the highs still seem somewhat muted. Bottlehead crackatwoa otl tube headphone amplifier build. The military tung sol with castiron plates are also very nice. Hi all, as an avid tube roller and owner of a bottlehead crack speedball, i wanted to start a dedicated thread for tube rolling. Some tubes labeled 2399 may also be exactly the same no complete consensus on this. I also thought, based on reading about them on the bottlehead forum a little, that they sound the same.
The input is is upgraded as well with 3 inputs and an added balance control, something needed with potentiometers because of channel imbalance. Current tubes are a tung sol 5998 in place of the 6080 and an rca 5963 in place of the 12au7. It is an alltube outputtransformerless otl design, intended to. Crack radarsync pc updater 2011 silverado da82653655 all rights reserved. Bottlehead crack otl headphone amplifier wspeedball upgrade 1st speedball made assembled by designer tubes included price. Bottlehead crack tung sol 5998 12au7 about amplifier appreciation april audio black bookmark bottlehead bravo check converting crack ecc82 entry. Hello, i have a crack w speedball, currently use a tung sol 5998 and gold lion 12au7 i still own the stock crack tubes. Bottlehead actually offers a premium version of the crack called the crack atwo. Now find you a tung sol 5998 tube it opens it up just a bit more. Im quite happy with my rft ecc82 and svetlana winged c 6hc in my bottlehead crack.
Sold bottlehead crack w speedball and attenuator upgrade and. View entire discussion 59 comments more posts from the headphones community. Bottlehead s basic headphone amplifier kit, the crack, is probably the most well known, and best regarded, kitbaseddiy headphone amplifier there is. No other amp that ive tried for them in 14 years has made them sound as good. Im currently using a tung sol 7236 and a telefunken ecc82 12au7, and im not lacking for.
Currently running hd650atticus on bh crack otl w tung sol 5998 2 points 2 years ago edited 2 years ago. It really improved with a tung sol 5998 power tube, and you have many options for the 12au7 input tube. Its probably a long shot that anybody has used the 7236 but ive read that it sounds similar to the 5998. There are a few minor cosmetic marks, but nothing serious.
Amp assembled by tech who had completed several of the bottlehead crack. Amps cavalli audioliquid platinum bottlehead crack with speedball dac schiitgungnir multibit a1. The crackatwoa is an upgraded model of bottlehead s popular diy crack otl headphone amplifier with a larger power transformer, shuntregulated power supply, multiple inputs, and optional addition of a bottlehead s twoquiet stepped attenuator. The parts quality is very good, the documentation is truly excellent, the bottlehead forums provide fantastic peertopeer assistance, and construction is very easy. The 6080s i tried had less bass and just dont sound as good. Compared to the bottlehead crack, the otl crack is the faster amp of the two, it it clearer sounding and focuses more on the treble. It is closer to the hd650s bass as it is to the hd800s. I bought some 6hcs and they work great in my crack wsb. National geographic readers volcanoes download pdf. First offered in 1995, theyve built up a solid following and are wellknown both as an excellent introduction to diyaudio with the venerable crack headphone amplifier being perhaps the most common selfassembled tube amplifier ever and often recommenced as a perfect first kit. A tung sol 5998 output tube got a deal, they are expensive with bin on ebay and a 1952 6sn7gta chrome dome tube with a garage1217 adapter. The bottlehead crack is a superb introduction into the world of diy audio.
Tung sol nos vacuum tubes for sale tubes unlimited. The tung sol 7802 is a very interesting albeit quite rare tube. Bottlehead crack otl tube headphone amplifier with. Bass is never loose on the hd700 but the bass impact does depend on the amplifier used. The mid range of the hd700 was the most special to me. I had a rebranded tung sol 5998 waiting for it, which i got while the amp was being repaired. But it is also one of the brightest and most dynamic, i would say just bright of.
Bottlehead crack headphone amp with speedball upgrade tung. Shipping power cable stock 6080 tube stock input tube. The 5998 is really essential for a fully pleasing sound for my ears. The biggest improvement was exchanging the stock output tube for a tung sol 5998. Ill keep the stock tubes in or at least stick with.
Tung sol s were pretty disappointing, lacking technical prowess, but not so tubey like the siemens that they are memorable. Im a big fan of tube rolling, and i have several different varients with and without adapters. By contrast, my modified bottlehead crack requires. So please share with us, what tubes you have rolled and enjoyed. Emotiva stealth dc1 dac bottlehead crack amp with tung sol 5998 and raytheon 6sn7 tubes schiit modi multibit dac emotiva xsp1 bottlehead crack amp and the 650s sound vibrant and dynamic. I really cant find any consensus regarding the ultimate input tube.
I use a bottlehead crack speedball with my hd600s and couldnt be happier with the sound. Bottlehead are veteran makers of a wide variety of extremely well regarded tubebased audio kits. I would love to get a tung sol 5998 but they are so exprensive and rare here in germany. Hi all, as an avid tube roller and owner of a bottlehead crack speedball. I bought a tung sol 7236 on ebay after looking for a decent priced 5998. I heard 6h5c is the military version of 6hc, so they should have the same parameters except for some ruggedization, is that correct. A 12au7 input tube serving as a voltage amplifier, directly coupled to a 6080 power tube as a cathode follower output. Tube rolling with the bottlehead crack, any advice or suggestions. I had planned to send amir the stock tubes as well as a set of better tubes, including a tung sol 5998 since it is a more popular choice and will dramatically drop the distortion.
The basic circuit is the same but also includes ccs loads and high voltage shunt regulation of the power supply. The base crack was always been a bit too soft, polite, and sweet for me when ive auditioned in the past, while the darkvoice gave a more forward sound with much better impact, speed, and attack overall. It very well could have the largest soundstage and be the most detailed out of the bunch. Every crack owner should pick one up cheap on ebay just because.
Theres a good bit of info regarding all kinds of tube rollingmods etc on the bottlehead crack forum. Tungsol 5998 also grabbed voltage of oa and ob on low board, and. I certainly wouldnt use sludgely and congealed to describe the sound im hearing. Unsure if he will want to measure both, otherwise i will advise him to use the 5998. Im the first owner and purchased it fully assembled from someone who did a great job. In terms of the best output tubes in the crack, here is what i have at the top of my list. Bass with the crack is punchier but not as deep and it doesnt quite have the same rumble. I just sold my hd600dt990 for an hd700 but havent opened and used it yet im home for winter break. I have for sale a heavily modified and upgraded bottlehead crack. Tube rolling with the bottlehead crack general dacampdap. The tube appears brand new, came in original box has tung sol logo and date code on the base, but. So i want to try out some 6h5c, but not sure if they would work in my crack.
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