This is the tube pairing I keep returning to as well! The 7316 long plate foil-d getter opens up the soundstage and gives an extra sense of depth and dimensionality compared to any other 12au7 tubes I’ve tried. Paired with the graphite 6080WB the timbre is perfect and natural to my ears. Amazing pairing with the Aeolus! The only power tube that comes close for me is the WE421a which has a much airier presentation and sounds amazing vocals and acoustic instruments. Different flavors for different days of the week for sure. The Brimar 13d5 is my 2nd favorite input tube and sounds best with the WE421a or 5998 tubes, but that 7316 has that extra magic that keeps me coming back.
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This is my new favorite combo without a doubt. The 6SN7GT is a big step up for me, from the 12AU7. The depth, layering and clarity all went up a notch, and is perfection for my taste. The impact and extension down low is deeper and tighter, as well. The tube combo I am using also has a that classic holographic tube sound, that I love too. Overall, an extremely fun listen with my ZMF Atticus.
Tung Sol 6SN7GT Black Glass Round Plate & Bendix 6080 WB Slotted Plate.
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How would you describe the sound of the Bottle Head Crack in general?
On a side note, suede Ori pads are something real special if you’ve never tried them. Congrats on the new tubes. 
Seriously considering building a crack.
I’m sorted on the timber work.
I have never soldered, but want to learn to. Hence if i buy the kit, it’ll force me to learn.
Just need to put together a list of tools and materials I’ll need. The iron itself and the consumables probably greyest areas. Strippers and snips etc. easy enough.
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Get some cheap resistors and caps off of ebay etc…get a roll of solder and some flux paste…get a few el cheopo terminal strips…u can mount (simple screw down to a piece of wood) and practice soldering to the strip with these el cheopo throw away parts…
Poor solder joints is the most prevalent issue with first time crack builders…cold joints, joints that fracture over time with mechanical movement from tube insertions and removals…especially those tine red bias leds in the base of the smaller 12 au7a socket.
Get an iron that gets hot enough to do the job, a smaller wattage iron may not heat the entire mechanical assembly enough…while a good 50 watt iron will, its learning how long to apply heat on a joint with some flux to get a nice shiney joint…
The other thing is too much heat for too long can damage a component…or change a value of a compoment.
Its a learned skill, thats not hard to learn and a dozen You Tube videos out there on how to solder…
But nothing beats practice and you dont want to butcher your first kit!!
So a good hot iron, some 60/40 Kester solder, some solder flux, nice wire cutters, needle nose pliers, a set of nice wire strippers, a few small tools to install and tighten up stuff in the build…
Also there are a ton of folks at bottlehead.com and the Crack forum that will help if needed along the way…including Paul and Doc! Great guys!
Alex
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I think that’s great advice.
One thing i would suggest: Don’t get fancy right off the bat.
Normal 60/40 solder is fine. No need for special audiophile silver solder. It doesn’t melt at the same temp, and it flows different.
Don’t replace stock parts with special capacitors, hookup wire, and cree diodes on your build, as is advised on a site that rhymes with pleb-sky.
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A great way to learn how to solder and practice is to build a couple of inexpensive Velleman kits.
https://www.vellemanstore.com/en/educational-kits-projects
I built a signal generator and an oscilloscope a long time ago. You won’t have to deal with PCBs when building the Crack, but if you can solder components on a board you can solder anything you’ll encounter with a Bottlehead kit.
Oh, and the solder you want is the ubiquitous Kester 60/40 .031 rosin core solder. No flux needed.
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Absolutely stay away from silver solder!!
Build it bone stock!!
Flux is not needed with 60/40, but comes in handy when and if you need to unsolder something…
also a roll of the copper braided “solder wick” is nice to have around.
Alex
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The wick is a good idea. So is a solder sucker.
Besides, it’s just fun to say. Solder sucker. Solder sucker.
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I always knew there wasnt something right with YOU!!!
LOL!!
Alex
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I’m touched. What can I say. Hehe
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Agreed with what everyone here has said the Crack isn’t really a great “my first soldering” kit, but it’s fine for “my second soldering” kit.
Soldering is all about knowing what good looks like. You really don’t need a ton of practice to be good enough.
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Tis true, but I have seen several first timers that really have botched this kit !!!
OMG…
Still think this is a good first time kit, if you know how to solder…
Alex
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Once you have kids you get introduced to a “Snot Sucker”. Snot Sucker. Snot Sucker.
Thanks for info guys.
I watched Tyll’s video on it. Solder Wick looks cool!
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Agree , I just wouldn’t use it as a place to learn to Solder.
I personally prefer to solder on PCB’s, point to point can be a bit of a pain.
I suspect most people who screw it up don’t follow the instructions carefully, and play close attention to the difference between connect and attach. I missed one solder joint when I built mine, but I caught it when I checked it before I powered it on.
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Yeah for sure…all those early DIY kits and projects with tubes and the point to point wiring…still lots of that around even in a lot of the high end tube amps of today…
The Crack is laid out in a nice fairly simple arrangment the BH Mainline is a lot more point to point…but still fairly neat.
The ECP Audio T4 and the Hagermans Tuba are build on a SOLID pcb that eliminates most if not all of this point to point wiring…and making removal of a tube less problematic …ie fracturing joints and even components…like those small red bias leds in the crack…I replaced several with “strain” relief when I realized what was happening to mine…been solid for years now.
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Got a snap showing what you mean? Obviously have a better idea once I get into it.
Imagine I could then reterminate cables, make own headphone cables etc? Obviously won’t have the technical background, but can follow instructions. Only did one subject of electrical engineering at Uni, and it was all theory (boring).
Old school point to point…still around in some amps even today:
BH Mainline. a lot less point to point with circuit boards:
Hagermans Tuba with no point to point a great tube amp where all the wiring even the tube sockets are on a nice think printed multi layer circuit board PCB:
Yea ole Crack…
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Should I be using Lead Free solder? Lead solder seems so 70s.
If so, and happy to given lead bad mmk, what’s the best/easiest to work with in the lead-free ones?
no…just use standard 60/40 kester…lead is not evil…
:>)
Alex
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