Bottlehead Forum

Bottlehead Kits => Crack => Topic started by: tvr2500m on February 27, 2025, 08:57:50 AM

Title: Noval Socket Center Pin
Post by: tvr2500m on February 27, 2025, 08:57:50 AM

This is mostly insignificant... I have a stock Crack+Speedball; love it. I'm now building a lightly tweaked Crack. I was considering using "upgraded" tube sockets. Nothing super blingy, like milled Teflon and contacts/pins, no gold plating. Belton VTB9-ST-2. The black ones. No gold plating. "Excellent clip contact for high-end audio" says the spec sheet. I'm not expecting any sonic improvement, nor even mechanical improvement. The stock ceramic ones seem to be nicely enough made and work well enough. But, there's some minor pedigree with Beltons; at least a manufacturer name attached to the product.

I realized, though, that these have no center pin for connecting the ground and LEDs. That pin serves as that point of connection. Any work around for this? Insert sleeve in the hole in the middle of the Belton socket? I see the sockets that are fitted with center posts, the posts are secured in the socket body hole.

If no super easy solution, I'll just stick with stock. No big deal.

Thanks.

Title: Re: Noval Socket Center Pin
Post by: Paul Birkeland on February 27, 2025, 02:53:44 PM

I'd stick with at least using a socket that has the center post.  I think there are Cinch branded ones that have the center post, though I'm not certain if they fit the hole properly.

Title: Re: Noval Socket Center Pin
Post by: tvr2500m on February 28, 2025, 08:24:25 PM

Thanks, Paul. I've seen many of the vintage sockets with the center posts. I'm not certain of their dimensions, either. I'll likely just go with the sockets that it came with.