Crack around the world !

[Paul Birkeland]

It tends to be that the metal case of the cap itself will conduct to whatever it touches.

In this case, you can press one (or both) of those metal bodied caps onto the rear 5-lug terminal strip, which will short the 6080 cathode(s) to ground.

These things are also pretty heavy, and generally ship pretty poorly unless they are lashed down to something pretty secure. (I had a Seduction come in that had a few rattling around)

I don't mean to come across harshly, you did such an excellent job on the rest of the build that it would be truly devastating for something like that to go wrong in transit. 

-PB

[galyons]

Thanks Paul . I was going to replace the current 'lytics for more capacitance anyway. So I will do fly leads on the Russky caps and mount to the side areas of the terminal strips.

Better safe than sorry, especially when the issues, if any, will occur half the planet away!!

Cheers,
Geary

[Paul Birkeland]

There is a pretty slick way to do this that will give you the space you need and good security for travel.

Grab an extra 3-lug terminal strip (Mouser has them), then mount it up by the 5-lug strip on the octal socket, off to the left side of that strip with the chassis flipped over.  Feed the 6080 cathode wires that go to 7/9 to the outer lugs of this t-strip, then put axial electrolytic capacitors between this terminal strip and the headphone jack.

Since you have axial caps that are stretched out, you can glue them to the chassis plate.  Additionally, you can bypass these caps easily with other axial film caps, and these can be glued down pretty easily too. 

[Grainger49]

Geary,

I bought a 4' tube of heat shrink for insulating KKs.  I finally found some that will go around the largest caps I have. 

It had made me queasy.  The 0.1uF@200V were not a challenge.  The 0.22uF@600V were the largest I have insulated.

[mcandmar]

Thats what i did with my FT3's, clear heat shrink around the outside and shrink on the lead wire connections just in case.

[Guy 13]

Hi all.
I just hope my Crack will reach it's destination safely.
I've seen so many times how over here they handle the baggage and boxes,
that you have to consider yourself lucky when it arrive in one piece.

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

Hi all.
Two questions for the price of one.
First question:
Soon, I will be the proud owner of a Crack headphone amplifier
and it will be mated with my Sennheiser HD-650.
I was wondering if anyone had made the comparison between
the HD-650 and the HD-800?
Is the sound stage that much wider as many owner claims?
Second and last question:
Can my Crack headphone amplifier drive adequately a pair of
Audeze LCD3

[Paul Birkeland]

I was wondering if anyone had made the comparison between
the HD-650 and the HD-800?
Can my Crack headphone amplifier drive adequately a pair of
Audeze LCD3

The HD-800 is in another league, but they are damn expensive!  There are lots of comparisons online between the HD-650/600 and HD-800. 

The LCD3 is a much better match for the SEX and Mainline amplifiers.  The Crack will not do well driving these.

[Guy 13]

I was wondering if anyone had made the comparison between
the HD-650 and the HD-800?
Can my Crack headphone amplifier drive adequately a pair of
Audeze LCD3

The HD-800 is in another league, but they are damn expensive!  There are lots of comparisons online between the HD-650/600 and HD-800. 

The LCD3 is a much better match for the SEX and Mainline amplifiers.  The Crack will not do well driving these.

Hi CB.
I know that the HD-800 are in another league sound quality wise and price wise.
When I will have my Crack, I will go to the store wher I bought my HD-650 and ask the salesman if I can try the HD-880 with my Crack, just to see or should I say: To hear the difference.
I will not even be tempted to buy the HD-800, because my headphones budget is blown.
The same goes for the Audeze LCD3 and the appropriate amplifier, I was just curious, in case I win the jack pot at the lottery.
Who knows what can happen tomorrow.

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

Hi all.
I have been informed of the arrival date of my Crack in Vietnam.
It will be on April 11th.
I still have one month or 4 weeks or 30 days or 720 hours
or 43,200 minutes to wait.
That's a long wait.
What should I do in the mean time ? ? ?

Guy 13

[Grainger49]

Practice soldering?

And from some other posts buy a good meter. 

I know your Crack is assembled.  But with the distance it has traveled something might have broken loose.

[Guy 13]

Practice soldering?

And from some other posts buy a good meter. 

I know your Crack is assembled.  But with the distance it has traveled something might have broken loose.

Hi Grainer49
May I ask if the 49 in your name stand for the year you were born?
Because if that's so, you are one year younger than me.
If that's no it, well if you fell like it, tell me.
I practice soldering all the time,
so many electric and electronic items that need to be repaired and fixed
in my house, that I did not loose my soldering touch.
If it's only for a few welds, no problem, but putting together a Crack,
that another story.
Meters, I think I have three. One good digital one and two analog ones.
Well, let's hope that the Crack will arrived Crackless...
One last thing.
With my Crack I will also get at the same time, 
one RCA 6AS7G  and one 12AU7 RCA clear top.
I bought them from TC Tubes, that's a good place to get good (After sales) service.

Guy 13

that plus the stock tubes should guive me a little taste of tube rolling.

[Grainger49]

Yes, I start on Medicare this year.  Any advice?

[Kris]

That's a long wait.
What should I do in the mean time ? ? ?

Guy 13

Not sure if you should do this in mean time, but you may consider upgrading your stock cable that goes with HD650. I built my own for my 650s and I'm really happy with the results.

[Guy 13]

Yes, I start on Medicare this year.  Any advice?

Hi Grainer49.
I was born in 1948, therefore I am older than you by one year: Big deal !
I can't help you with any advice(s).
I am from Montreal, Quebec, Canada where we have one of the best health system in the world.
It cost very little compared to Obamacare and it covers 99,999% of the cost.
Now, I've been living in Vietnam where there's no government health care system, however, there are several private plan that you can buy, but I find them too expensive for my more or less retired status.
So, every times I go to the doctor it cost me 50 USD and one blood test it's also 50 USD.
Hopefully I will be back soon in my home country Canada and under our super good health care plan and it won't cost me a penny, since I've paid all my working life.
Now, no advice other than: You should have some kind of coverage.
My wife's uncle that lives ib Chicago had two surgeries and even if he has coverage, each time it cost him 20,000 USD and the insurer paid 80,000 USD, with that in mind, you Americans need some kind of coverage otherwise you will go bankrupt.
That's not much, but that only what I can say.
I wish you an healthy retirement.

Guy 13