What is your total intended budget? It’s usually best to have an entire system in mind.
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I can vouch for the Quicksilver Tube Headphone amp - I love mine, and it’s worth way more than it costs…
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Cables are the most hotly debated topic in audio. Some swear by cables, others find no value. Before going there, consider your budget, priorities and whether you are itching to try other gear. In my experience cables have less impact than the headphones, amp, DAC, and source. Also see @Torq’s detailed prior posts on cables – he has a lot of experience.
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I wasn’t planning to spend much here. I’m thinking maybe around $40.
I’m trying to stay under about $1,000. This is for the future tough. I’m just wanting to do a lot of research.
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@Mick Blue Jeans make very good cables, and because they sell directly, you don’t pay the huge markup that a lot of cable manufacturers charge you.
The Schiit Pyst cables are also good value for money.
I’ve never used Worlds Best, but a lot of forum members swear by that brand too. You can buy them on Amazon.
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Thanks. I was going to buy the audioquest evergreen cables but I don’t want to pay for a popular cable.
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I use a variety of RCA interconnects; WBC Mogami Amphenol, Seismic Audio, Audioquest Sidewinder. The Seismic Audio (red with gold connectors) that were recommended by Zeos were only $10 a pair, and they work great. I don’t hear an audible difference in sound on short runs on any copper cables. I DO hear a difference on coaxial cables, and I stay far away from them for serious listening.
Top cable: Cheap generic / Left cables: homemade /
Right cables: PYST, Seismic Audio, WBC Mogami Amphenol, Audioquest Sidewinder (coaxial)
If one were to spend some serious money on silver wire (not silver plated) interconnects, their signal would meet less resistance and one would hear a difference. But would that difference be a positive one or worth it? Especially with the high price of silver. I am happy with the sound from my copper and it’s low priced. So, pretty much any copper RCA interconnects work for me that are short, like 1.5 feet and under. Even the cheap $3 ones will get the job done when under one foot.
For my serious listening rigs, the majority of my RCA interconnects are homemade (red and blue cables). My recipe is a pair of one foot Canare Star Quad microphone cable, soldered with WBT silver solder in a bidirectional configuration. Some of you might find it enjoyable to make your own cables and the money you save is icing on the cake.
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I 100% agree with this.
But my own philosophy is one step removed from that because I’m too lazy to learn to solder. I pick out the components and then let someone else build the cable for me. If I want Belden wire, I use Blue Jeans, and if I wanted Canare or Mogami, I’d use World’s Best. When I wanted something super fancy like Furutech OCC wire with Furutech connectors, I used Douglas Connection, who sell all the wire and connectors separately, but will also put them together for a cost, for lazy people like me.
In all cases, I knew exactly what wire and connectors I was buying, how much the individual components cost, and how much I was paying to put them together. No different to paying a handyman to fix some things in my house, which I was fully capable of doing myself, but was quite happy to pay him.
Having said all that, various forum members have been nudging me towards doing things myself. I just put together an Intel NUC and PI2AES, and it was fun, so I can see that soldering station on the horizon.
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I do have one sent of pure silver cables (not insanely expensive ones), I think I can hear the placebo effect. Others have said, and I think I agree that the silver creates a slightly better high end - which depending on attitude might be called harshness or more air.
As a person with a self-imposed budget, ears of (Sn)2 (AKA two tin ears) and other stuff to do with my money, I honestly don’t find the difference or cost worth it.
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@Mick If your journey is anything like mine, you’ll start collecting amps, or at least cycle through various amps, either out of curiosity (e.g. tubes, class A solid state), or in search of the “perfect” sound. Or maybe you’ll buy some headphones that have a particular amplification requirement. Please don’t be like me and buy 5 amps in 12 months. I’ve enjoyed every single thing I’ve bought, and learned a lot, but in hindsight I wish it had been a leisurely stroll and not a sprint.
Anyway, what worked for me was using a very good DAC as my foundation, so that the only variable was whatever new amp I was trying. If you’re changing both DACs and amps on a regular basis, you could go insane second-guessing which particular component is giving you (or not giving you) the sound that you want.
I used a Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC that others have recommended above. It’s amazing value for money and will keep up with any amp you buy. And if you use USB as your input, the BF2 is the cheapest Schiit DAC that uses galvanic isolation to lower USB-related noise. I ended up replacing the BF2 with an Yggy a couple of weeks ago, but only after I’d finished buying amps.
I’m just mentioning this because if you’re replacing your DAC anyway, it might be worth taking the “one and done” approach with your replacement DAC, and get a BF2 or something at the same level. This is over your budget, and would put off your Crack purchase, but in the long run, it might be a better foundation for your future system.
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I went ahead and ordered the bottlehead crack amp. I know I can upgrade a lot of parts on it, and I would enjoy the assembly process. So now I have a good amp to pair with the 6xx from what I’ve read. As far as cables go I’m probably going to get some cheap ones and try my hand at putting some together too. Thanks, and all you guys are so great with your advice. It’s much appreciated!!!
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There is a good bottlehead crack thread here, and also at the Bottlehead forums.
I think I enjoyed putting it together at least as much as I do listening to it.
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Does it sound really good, like above it’s price point? Also what headphones do you use with it?
Thanks. I’ll probably get that later. I can use it with a home stereo also, correct?
I’ll plus one them for rca interconnects. Surprised that they actually made a difference and I was/am a bit of a cable skeptic.
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Aren’t they pretty much mogami cables but a little cheaper?
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TBH I don’t think they’re mogami. However, I am profoundly ignorant regarding cable components. Best I can find is they’re some proprietary Swiss manufacture, I think. I do know that they sound better than Amazon basics cables.
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Above the price point of 349? Yeah, probably. Above the price point of $349 for the kit, a soldering station, misc. tools, and what ever else you might need to assemble it? I don’t know. There are some really good $500 solid state amps. One even comes in green. I’m the wrong guy to talk to about tubes though, I think it is a fundamental failing on my part to appreciate what makes them special.
I’d certainly recommend the amp as a fun project that sounds pretty darn good when done. I just am not sure about how it ranks vs a Lyr, or a Vali, or a Valhalla. @ProfFalkin is certainly better qualified to comment on it.
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The emotional connection one develops to something you diy is real. It will manifest itself in all sorts of ways. In your feeling about the $ and personal value of the amp. In the sound. Building it will make it sound better because you built it.
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