Hello Everyone,
Thanks to a lot of help from all the good folks here (especially PB), my noobness was offset and I have with me a finished Crack. This was my first time soldering/woodworking and I have to admit, it was pretty frustrating at times. But overall, it's been extremely rewarding. I look at the amp with a sense of pride and a lot of surprise,
I actually made that!Brief thoughts on the sound. My rig is Fiio X3ii LO/DAC -> Crack -> HD700.
The sound is amazingly good, especially the soundstage and bass. Love it! To be honest, I can't really quantify different aspects of the sound. Music as a whole is glorious and a complete pleasure.
Tubes:
Driver: Russian 6H13C, nice and tight. Can't really fault the sound. Kind of intimate soundstage.
Mullard 6080, Huge soundstage, lush mids but pretty laid back. Almost too tame though.
Input: BEL 12AU7, Made in India! Tech from Philips. Sounds very nice!
I leave you with some (again noob) pics. I went with a cabernet stain from Rustoleum and then varnish for the wood. Left the chassis as is. Yet to paint the transformer top bell, would love some suggestions.
Listening to Kind of Blue right now and I'm sitting here with this goofy grin on my face.
Cheers.
