Crack or S.E.X

[Clover]

I have never had the chance to play with tubes and got interested in building my own simple tube amp as a way to learn and experiment.  I came across Bottlehead pretty quick and am interested in both the Crack and the S.E.X but am not sure which way to go. 

I have a set of HifiMan Sundara's that I was planning on using this for.  However, I also have a set of Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekend IIs which they list as 97db and I have been wanting to try tubes with them as well.  I have been running them off a Denon AV receiver, which has preouts, so I think I could give tubes a try there as well.  I have been getting more and more into headphones and have been more into plainer headphones and may have some higher power needs in the future.  I'm still getting into all this, so I am not sure where I will go but I do want to play around with some other gear to learn.

Originally I was just looking at the Crack and was thinking of going with the Speedball upgrade.  Then I saw the S.E.X could be used with high sensitivity speakers as well and I got tempted.  If I primarily use this for headphones, would you recommend I just go with the Crack or would the S.E.X just be an improvement on headphones as well? 

Of course I then got drawn to the Sereomour II but don't know that I could really use that with headphones.  Is that just overkill.  Maybe I should focus on headphones now and then build a speaker amp later.  Thanks for the advice.

[Doc B.]

The S.E.X. amp is perfectly suited to what you want to do.

[Clover]

I have ended up bouncing from one kit to another and can't seem to decide what to do.  Got the green light from the wife, however, she does not want another device in our living room where I have the Zu speakers.  We don't really have a spot for it and I guess she does not find them as cool looking as I do, so she does not just want it sitting on the floor.  I really want to play with tubes with the Zu's so I have been trying to come up with a very small stand or something I could put it on that would make it more like furniture.  I might be able to move some stuff out of our entertainment center and find it enough room, but it would be a closed cabinet and I don't know how good an idea that is with a tube amp with heat?

While trying to figure that out, I have been doing a lot of wondering if I should just go with a headphone amp.  Honestly, most of my music listening is on headphones and I mainly jam out while sim racing.  With headphones, I can crank my tunes while my wife sleeps and everyone is happy.  This is originally what had me thinking of the Crack with the Speedball upgrade.  Now I am really thinking about the Mainline but am not sure if that is just going too far to try out tubes.  I know there are plenty that have built it as their first kit.  I imagine I could figure it out, I am more unsure about spending that much to experiment.  I don't really know if tubes are my thing and while I know some people sale their kits, I don't imagine it is somewhat difficult to sell the DIY assemble kit when you have no background in it like me.  At the same time, I see myself buying the cheap option, (SEX this time), then wanting to upgrade and just ending up with the SEX sitting around.  I seem to do that a lot and am trying to make an effort not to buy as much cheap junk that I move on from and leave in a corner somewhere.

At some point here I will be headed back into the office and will want some AMP for there.  I have some Focal Elegia closed back headphones for office/discreate listening which I think are only around 35 ohms.  I will probably play around with some other headphones though and want to try some ZMF or LCD-XC or something else that is more difficult to drive.  I guess the S.E.X could probably handle the range.  Maybe I am just drawn to the high end.  I remember in a video you guys saying that people either seem to want the cheap end to try out or go all the way up to the high end.  I guess I am right there too wanting the best but am unsure if I should start of small even though I don't want extra gear that is not used later.

Some moments I think I should just get the S.E.X to start and other moments I feel like I should just go strait to the mainline.  Someone please shove me off the fence.

[oguinn]

I dunno, for a first amp I really like the SEX. It was my first Bottlehead amp and I eventually bought damn near the entire lineup. You can use it for speakers if you want, it has a great-sounding headphone option if you want, it doesn't take up as much space as the Mainline.

Really depends on how much you want to spend on dipping your toe in the tube waters.

[Paul Birkeland]

I would build a SEX amp and use it on your Zu speakers.

[Chris H]

Another for S.E.X. here.
I started with the Crack as I was similar to you, looking for a headphone amp and thought it would be a good opportunity to try out tubes.
However, if you like the sound I suspect you will want more of the same and end up buying one of the other amps anyway.

The S.E.X was my 3rd build (after a BH phono stage) and is being used in my office.
I tried it in my main system recently and it has set me off down the same path as oguinn with a plan to replace my entire main system line-up (4th kit is in transit as we speak).
If I had 97db sensitive speakers I would happily live with the S.E.X in my main system in replacement of my Naim gear and get another one for my office.
Don't be be put off by the relatively low price of the S.E.X. (in hifi terms).  There is nothing "cheap" about the sound.
This is a seriously good amp and I would bet on it being better than you expect, through speakers or cans.

[Karl5150]

As you know from doing your homework, there is precious little in the way of negative feedback on the Crack. But the SEX amp is the real deal when you consider the versatility. For relatively little more $ you can run a much wider variety of cans and your DWIIs. I've built, and regularly use, two SEX kits that I modded, not that they needed it sound-wise.
Worst case if after a while you decide the DWIIs deserve the Stereomour II, you end up with a killer desktop, near-field/headphone system.  My 0.02.
Karl

[Karl5150]

Oh...and if you have the DC upgrade on the Stereomour II you can build the headphone adapter and enjoy!

[Clover]

Alright, you have all convinced me I think.  I am going to order the S.E.X kit with the C4S upgrade.  Do most people go with the upgraded power cord?  I don't want to hamstring myself or anything so I am thinking of ordering it even though I have no idea really.  I know I keep hearing people talk about improving somethings power supply or that being one of the limiting factors on cheaper gear sometimes.  I have a few powerful electric motors in the room I was thinking of placing this, so if EMI is an issue, I may be a bit screwed.

[oguinn]

You can always order the power cord later.