Is the crackatwoa worth the upgrade if you are going to use HD650's

[johnsonad]

This thread is making me want to build a Mainline....

[Toobuzz]

I have both C2A and Mainline. I would make this decision based on 2 factors.

1. What headphones do you have now and plan to obtain in the near future.
2. Do you want neutral, accurate, and detail retrieval that rivals any SS amp? Or do you want that OTL tube experience that is 3 dimensional and makes the hair on your arms and neck stand up and gets your heart rate going without even thinking about the minutia of how your gear is performing?

If it’s in your budget, I can almost guarantee you’ll end up with both, so this is more of “what to buy first”.

I will say that my modded HD600/C2A combo and my HD800/Mainline combo are equal. Both of these combos are better than matching the HD800 with C2A or the HD600 with the Mainline.  This is of course based on my music preferences.  The 650 sounds amazing with the C2A also, I just really love this modded 600.

Since you already have a Crack I can see why this is a painful decision. If I had an upgraded Crack with film caps and WE 421A/6SN7 tubes (my good friend has this set up and I’ve heard it many times) then I’d skip the C2A and go for the Mainline.

[Thermioniclife]

I have built a Crack, C2A and the Mainline. The go to amp is the C2A. I only have the HD650's and I am quite satisfied with the C2A.
I haven't listened to my Crack in almost a year and the Mainline is not my cup of tea. Just my 2 cents, of course YMMV.
I feel that in audio the subject is Subjective and any amount of Objective study will not be fruitful. Thus empirical data is the best way to make decisions in many things including audio.
The downside to this approach is the cost of finding out what you like. I do not know where you live but you could reach out to other Bottleheaders and possibly audition the different amps.
Again t's just one man spitballing here.

[Markkr]

I have both C2A and Mainline. I would make this decision based on 2 factors.

1. What headphones do you have now and plan to obtain in the near future.
2. Do you want neutral, accurate, and detail retrieval that rivals any SS amp? Or do you want that OTL tube experience that is 3 dimensional and makes the hair on your arms and neck stand up and gets your heart rate going without even thinking about the minutia of how your gear is performing?

If it’s in your budget, I can almost guarantee you’ll end up with both, so this is more of “what to buy first”.

I will say that my modded HD600/C2A combo and my HD800/Mainline combo are equal. Both of these combos are better than matching the HD800 with C2A or the HD600 with the Mainline.  This is of course based on my music preferences.  The 650 sounds amazing with the C2A also, I just really love this modded 600.

Since you already have a Crack I can see why this is a painful decision. If I had an upgraded Crack with film caps and WE 421A/6SN7 tubes (my good friend has this set up and I’ve heard it many times) then I’d skip the C2A and go for the Mainline.

I have the exact same setups as yours, but I’m curious what mods you performed to the HD600’s?

[charnich]

1. What headphones do you have now and plan to obtain in the near future.
2. Do you want neutral, accurate, and detail retrieval that rivals any SS amp? Or do you want that OTL tube experience that is 3 dimensional and makes the hair on your arms and neck stand up and gets your heart rate going without even thinking about the minutia of how your gear is performing?

Thanks for that input!
1. HD 6xx, no plans to upgrade anytime soon.
2. Probably the latter. I'd prefer excitement over accuracy any day.

[johnsonad]

I don't own a crack but do have a C2A and love it.  Should have purchased one years ago....

[Sp33ls]

I will say that my modded HD600/C2A combo and my HD800/Mainline combo are equal. Both of these combos are better than matching the HD800 with C2A or the HD600 with the Mainline.  This is of course based on my music preferences.  The 650 sounds amazing with the C2A also, I just really love this modded 600.

Just recently obtained a pair of HD800S, and tried them with my C2A. Sounded great.

What did you notice the C2A was lacking when paired with the HD800? You have the non-S?

[smodtactical]

I’ve got two modified Cracks and a modified C2A.  All have approximately the same mods.  I have two pair of the Hd650, original and the HD6xx.

So I’ve got some listening experience with all of those.

The C2A is better.  Not by leaps and bounds but cleaner and maybe a bit clearer with just a bit of freq extension on both ends.

There are still days I like to throw the cans on a crack - there is magic there!

If you can swing it go C2A, you’ll enjoy the ride!

Does the C2A have that richness and full midrange that the basic Crack OTL without speedball has? (I have not heard speedball).