uk crack

[tweedgv]

Hi

I'm a complete newbie, only soldering the odd guitar lead and a few xlrs in the past.  i got a pair of HD650's last year for xmas off the wife, but have been unable to power them with an amp as yet due to low funds…… I've done some research and i can't bring myself to buy anything other than the crack, despite having major concerns about my ability to assemble it.

so firstly, am i right in thinking i need the 240 vac to use this in the UK??

any help with what tools i will need to purchase will be a big help for me…… i have a soldering iron, but think i might invest in a station to have more control over temperature……. i don't want to spend a fortune, so any advice with this, as well as other tools i will need will be gratefully received.

i guess i'm looking for any help at all, and some reinsurance that i'm able to pull this thing off haha.

thanks in advance

gav

[Doc B.]

If you have the forethought to consider your skill level, it is most likely that you are a perfect candidate to build a kit. It means you will be thoughtful during the construction and that, in a nutshell, is the key to success.

You do want a 240V version for the UK.

Check out the Tech Tools forum for tool ideas, lot of info there.

[tweedgv]

ok, thanks for the reassurance Doc (not reinsurance)

I'll be sure to order the 240 vac.

I'm currently using the mbox 2 for recording purposes (of which I have tried to attach an image). 

could I use this as a dac alongside the crack?  would I need a dac at all? 

I'm using my MacBook pro as the source, and i'm a little unsure on the routing needed to get the best out of my situation.

thanks again.

gav

[Paul Birkeland]

You should get good performance out of the computer/sound card into the Crack.  Sometimes, USB power can add some noise into the equation, so you may end up looking around for a different sound car with a wall wart power supply if you end up with this issue.  Often times, this can also be solved by using the laptop without the AC adapter. 

-PB

[Horatio]

Hi Gav, UK Crack owner here and I can confirm the 240v Crack works a treat. In terms of audio source most modern Macbook Pro's should be good sources even over an analogue 3.5mm to RCA analogue cable. If you plump for a DAC (I went with the Schiit Bifrost) its worth remembering that your Macbook Pro 3.5mm socket also doubles as a toslink optical out so you would have the option to use toslink or USB to drive the DAC.

As a Mac user it is also worth considering the Airport Express. Historically a controversial choice, particularly for analogue, but the latest model apparently lets you send it lossless audio that it can output as a pure optical signal to a DAC (same 3.5mm connection as your Macbook Pro that does analogue and toslink) however the latest model has had some decent reviews for the quality of its analogue out and you can pick them up on ebay for around £50 used and simply send the music to it wirelessly using Airplay. I am considering it as an option to add an easy to use Airplay source to my setup. Take a look at Ken Rockwell's review here:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/airport-express-audio-quality-2014.htm

In terms of tools to do the Crack build... Over and above standard screwdrivers here are the bits I purchased...

1) Soldering station - I heartily recommend going with a soldering station with variable temperature setting. As a long term soldering iron user I splashed out on one for the Crack build as a bit of a treat and I do not regret it one bit. Here is the one I went for from Maplin for £50:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/48w-professional-2-line-lcd-display-solder-station-n34fb

2) Helping Hands with Magnifier - particularly handy for the speedball! Again from Maplin:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/helping-hands-with-magnifier-n30ch

3) De-Solder Pump - for the inevitable mistake(s). Again from Maplin:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/de-solder-pump-n40ch

3) De-Solder Braid - for yet more mistakes. Again from Maplin:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/de-soldering-braid-2mm-width-n49fx

4) Soldering tip cleaner. Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cleaning-Nozzle-Sponge-Soldering-Cleaner/dp/B00977HPMI

5) Draper Mini Plier Set. Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-12544-Soft-Plier-Pieces/dp/B003BVEWFE/

6) Steel Ruler. Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000LFVRK6/

7) Digital Multimeter. Pretty sure this is the one I have. Maplin:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/digital-multimeter-with-temperature-test-n73cg

63/37 Solder Lead Rosin Core Ebay 0.8mm

9) Wire Stripper / Cutter. It did the job but I am tempted to replace. Again from Maplin:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/wire-cutterstripper-tool-ft44x

10) Tube. Tung Sol 5998 - Ebay...

Hope this helps...

Bill

[tweedgv]

my word Bill, thats a huge help.

i have been reading the tools section a lot, but the favoured tools used by our American friends are very expensive to order for us.  so this is exactly what i needed….. amazing, thanks.

so as a first port of call, apart from a shed load of tools, i would need a 3.5mm TRS to the RCAs, and take the signal straight out of the headphone jack.  There are plenty of cheap ones online, but is it important to get a good quality set? any suggestions? 

The toslink thing is news to me, so i will have a little research into that.  i have had a little gander at dac, and the biifrost has been a point of interest (as well as the odac), but i'm really happy that i'll be able to get a result out of the crack on its own, at least for the time being…….. santa may not stretch far past the crack….. i've got an eye on the speedball too, although i do want to break the crack in first.  then i can really appreciate the upgrade.

what is the tung sol 5998 for?  does the kit not come with all the tubes necessary?

again, thank you all for your help.  i'm know i'm probably asking some really stupid questions.

gav

[Horatio]

Happy to help! The Tung Sol 5998 is an alternative / upgrade tube to the one that you get in the kit - there is no need to buy it but you may decide you want to push you Crack a little bit further and people often upgrade the Tube (Tube Rolling), add a speedball upgrade kit or swap out things like capacitors all to chase improved performance. For what its worth I did the tube upgrade and the speedball upgrade.

In terms of DAC, I have heard good things about the ODAC and I am not convinced I would hear a massive difference if I swapped out my Schiit Bifrost and simply took a line level output from my iMac, however I had ordered the Bifrost but if I was on a budget I think I could have skipped the external DAC and went with a direct line out from my iMac / Macbook Pro and saved some cash in the short term - I probably would still have ended up getting a DAC at some point though.

When it comes to cable my personal opinion is simply to buy a "decent" set of cables that are "good enough" while trying to avoid buying into the snake oil of high performance cables without trying them first. For my initial setup that saw me purchasing the Atlas Element Integra RCA to RCA interconnects from Amazon for a 'mere £37' to connect my DAC to my Crack. These won the what hi-fi interconnect award 2013:

http://www.whathifi.com/atlas/element-integra/review

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Element-Integra-Interconnect-RCA-RCA/dp/B00AN5AV0G/

I subsequently purchased a number of other interconnects from Amazon under the brand name 'Fisual Rio' (a mere £16) and I am not convinced I can hear any difference at half the price of the Atlas Element Integra (although they are prettier to look at and nicer to route around the kit):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisual-Rio-Stereo-Phono-Cable/dp/B004YARQHC

My gut feeling is that the Fisual Rio is a 'good enough' cable and it is likely the cable is not the weakest link in resolving fine audio detail in my setup. With my recent purchase of a Paramount & BeePre I am upgrading my cables, however I have bought quality cable and connectors and am rolling my own. Perhaps consider one of the QED cables if you want to spend £30 or more. Alternatively, if budget is tighter, then I would certainly be tempted to give the Fisual install 3.5mm to RCA cable a go at £8 for 5M given my positive experience of their Rio range...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisual-Install-Series-3-5mm-Phono/dp/B00856NVB6/

Bill

[JamieMcC]

my word Bill, thats a huge help.

i have been reading the tools section a lot, but the favoured tools used by our American friends are very expensive to order for us.  so this is exactly what i needed….. amazing, thanks.

so as a first port of call, apart from a shed load of tools, i would need a 3.5mm TRS to the RCAs, and take the signal straight out of the headphone jack.  There are plenty of cheap ones online, but is it important to get a good quality set? any suggestions? 

The toslink thing is news to me, so i will have a little research into that.  i have had a little gander at dac, and the biifrost has been a point of interest (as well as the odac), but i'm really happy that i'll be able to get a result out of the crack on its own, at least for the time being…….. santa may not stretch far past the crack….. i've got an eye on the speedball too, although i do want to break the crack in first.  then i can really appreciate the upgrade.

what is the tung sol 5998 for?  does the kit not come with all the tubes necessary?

again, thank you all for your help.  i'm know i'm probably asking some really stupid questions.

gav

Hi Gav another UK Crack builder here never soldered or used a multi-meter before prior to build my Crack the instruction manual is a joy to follow.

Just to add to Bills superb list

I brought one of these solder stations on ebay £39.99 to build my Crack kit, Maplin sells the same model for £59.99 it worked a treat.

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60W-Professional-LCD-Digital-Soldering-Station-Iron-Kit-ESD-Anti-Static-Safe-/121090033388?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item1c318746ec

I would also recommend a pair or two of locking medical forceps handy for positioning wiring in place at times and leaving two hands free for solder and iron. They also can be used as heat sinks on parts you don't want to get to hot whilst soldering.

I would also recommend using a high quality solder like Cardas Quad Eutectic solder it is user friendly a full roll is quiet expensive but can be found on ebay in shorter lengths, 3 meters is more than enough to build a Crack and Speedball around £4.

The kit comes with some standard 6080 tubes what actual make you receive is a bit of a lucky dip. There are dozens of different tube combinations that can be used with the Crack and its possible to tailor or tweak the music presentation somewhat to suit personal taste and headphones used by using different combinations of input and output tubes. Prices for new tubes can range from £5-£150! and there is always a chance of finding a great sounding vintage British made Mullard or GEC tube from the 1950-60's on ebay for a few pounds.

[tweedgv]

this is all a great help, thanks guys.

I really can't wait to get stuck into this.  I'm wondering if anyone, particularly you JamieMcC, practiced soldering before letting yourselves loose on the crack?   I'm thinking of getting that soldering station you suggested, and feel like I should do some practice beforehand.  fix that box of XLRs, or maybe someone knows of some practicing techniques??  what's the best temperature to typically solder the joints at?  my soldering iron at the moment has no temp control.

I'm going to have to look into tube rolling too, it seems.  i have some golden dragon, ECC81s i think, which were taken out of an orange rockerverb 50 I bought second hand.  the tubes were terrible for the guitar amp, getting completely lost when i stood next to my drummer and bass player,  which was why i replaced them with stock orange tubes, but i still have those dragons somewhere.  would these be ok to tube 'roll'??  (woohoo.....i think i just used my first tech talk)

gav

[grausch]

Hi gav,

My first solder joint was on the Crack. I believe it was the safety ground. Halfway through the build, I could notice a distinct improvement in my joints. Find somewhere to place your hands, wrists or elbows whilst soldering and it will make your life easier. Less shaking and much easier to get solder on the joint.

If you wish to practice, you can practice soldering wires together. With regards to temperature, I used solder at 450C. It worked well, but you can melt the insulation on some wires. I now used ~375C and find it works better for me. Joints take longer to heat, but that is no real downside for me.

[JamieMcC]

this is all a great help, thanks guys.

I really can't wait to get stuck into this.  I'm wondering if anyone, particularly you JamieMcC, practiced soldering before letting yourselves loose on the crack?   I'm thinking of getting that soldering station you suggested, and feel like I should do some practice beforehand.  fix that box of XLRs, or maybe someone knows of some practicing techniques??  what's the best temperature to typically solder the joints at?  my soldering iron at the moment has no temp control.

I'm going to have to look into tube rolling too, it seems.  i have some golden dragon, ECC81s i think, which were taken out of an orange rockerverb 50 I bought second hand.  the tubes were terrible for the guitar amp, getting completely lost when i stood next to my drummer and bass player,  which was why i replaced them with stock orange tubes, but i still have those dragons somewhere.  would these be ok to tube 'roll'??  (woohoo.....i think i just used my first tech talk)

gav

Hi Gav, yes I did have a little bit of practice by soldering some wires and tinning a few scrap bits of wire together first. In fact I originally brought some standard 60/40 solder to practice with and a couple of metres of the Cardas Quad Eutectic solder for the build as most of the DIYers I spoke to recommended it. As a newbie I found the Cardas was easier to work with and that I could consistently achieve better results with it than the 60/40. I wouldn't use anything else now by choice. I find a setting my irons temperature at 750F to be sufficient for most soldering and basically just copied what Tyll Hertsens was doing his Innerfidelity Crack build video. I stopped more than a few times and replayed it during the build for reference.

 

 

[Strikkflypilot]

As You see, You have come to the right place for lots of friendly and technical advice.

From my own experience it can sometimes be hard to do, but try not to rush the build.
You don't want to end up with blackish solder joints and scorched cables/ components.
Use patience and plan all steps ahead and Youll be fine:)

Myself, I have, with all the help Ive gotten here, built and rebuilt and seriously modded mine.
It is completely recabled now and it has been great fun!

I had some soldering practice 20 years ago and can commend Tyll Hertstens from Innerfidelity and his review of the Crack which contains a small soldering video at the end

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/marvelously-addictive-bottlehead-crack

Ed: Sorry Jamie, didn't see You already mentioned the video

[tweedgv]

I can't believe the response I've had to be honest.  I feel I've just moved to a very friendly neighbourhood..................where all the residents have crack addictions.  I'm already pricing up my next project and I haven't started on the crack yet.

I've watched Tyll Hertsens' video more than a few times, and I dare say i'm going to watch it a few more times too.

My first solder joint was on the Crack. I believe it was the safety ground. Halfway through the build, I could notice a distinct improvement in my joints.

this is exactly what I want to try to avoid Grausch.  I know i'd have to re-solder the initial solder joints, even if they work fine.

I'm going to start stocking up on the tools this week, and order the crack in time to get it back for xmas.  i'm still a child at heart and love having an xmas gift I actually want, not need (sock & pants)


thanks everyone

as an after thought, are there any other videos bandying about that would be of interest to amp builders (however inexperienced they might be).

[grausch]

hi gav,

I touched up all the joints once I noticed the improvement. It was a non-event at the time, although I probably would have been better off practising a little first. My biggest problem was not planning how to get the iron to the joints initially. That leads to contact with other parts and luckily I only caused slight cosmetic damage. Except for one wire everything has been cleaned up now. Again, once you get used to soldering it becomes a non-event to touch up most joints (except those hidden under other parts).

Just make sure you watch the video in its entirety. I burnt my fingers at my first attempt at desoldering. You will also see how to solder the RCA joints properly. Mine worked first time, but I always felt I could have done better. I have since redone the wiring on the braiding to satisfy my OCD.

A tool that has not been mentioned yet, is a flush-cut side-cutter. Mine cost about 12€ in a hardware store, but it is definitely worth it. Standard side-cutters just cannot cut the leads flush. Still need to fix that on my Crack, but the Stereomour I am building looks much better with the flush-cuts. However, unless you have a short due to those leads, this is mostly cosmetic.

[Grainger49]

Pictures of tools:

http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=3145.msg26803#msg26803

The device called "nippers" in this post is what Gunter is talking about.