First, I’d like to thank Paul Birkeland and all the BH members who helped me troubleshoot my Crack over the past few months. No way could I have made it this far without the help and the wealth of knowledge on this forum.
Pics of my current build are attached!
Short impressions of the sound from my various builds. Hopefully, this will help others on the forum if they are looking to mod their Crack.
Tubes used in builds #1 & #2 = Thomson 6080WA & Muller CV4003
Tubes used in builds #3, #4, and #5 = Thomson 6080WA & Raytheon VT-231 6SN7GT (Garage1217 adapter)
1. Stock Crack - The stock Crack sounds amazing, and I experienced many ‘wow’ moments during my time with it. The “tube sound†is definitely present which is a plus. Only reason I started modding was due to me breaking my volume pot.
2. Crack w/ Speedball + PEC potentiometer – Upgrading (only time I’ll use this word) the volume potentiometer is game-changing. Previously, I was barely able to move the knob before the volume was too loud. Upgrading the pot allowed for better volume control. Speedball mod was also great. It took me a couple of hours to get used to the new sound. It really cleaned up the tube distortion, added a little bit of gain, and seemed to really open the soundstage. I had more ‘wow’ moments after the Speedball. I did find the Speedball to add overwhelming bass which fatigued my ears, but this is the only ‘complaint’ that I can point to.
3. Replaced output caps w/ Dayton Audio 100uf/200v film caps + bypassed last PSU cap w/ a WIMA 2.2uf/250v + Cree diode rectifier added - This is currently tied with my current build as my favorite in terms of sound. First, the bass was tamed, and I no longer found it fatiguing. The amount of detail, soundstage, and overall depth to the music I experienced was impressive. For the first time, I was able to listen to Panopticon’s “Roads to the North†where it did not sound like a jumbled mess, and I could actually hear the vocalist.
4. Choke + Dayton Audio 100uf/200v replacing last PSU cap + Dayton Audio 1.0uf/250 bypass caps on all large film caps + bypassed 2nd PSU cap with WIMA 2.2uf/250v – This created a very interesting effect, but it made music sound awful. Songs, in general, sounded recessed into the background with only very specific sounds being ‘projected’ towards me. I assumed it was the bypass capacitors on the film caps, and I was correct. I clipped them off, and that led to my current build.
5. Current Build – Clipping the bypass caps off the large film caps created a massive change in sound. The sound is more relaxed which I really like. I also feel as if the soundstage has been opened.
Currently thinking about experimenting with film cap rolling specifically in the last PSU spot, and rolling bypass caps on the large film caps. Any suggestions, feel free to post them!
