Some of them are. They do tons of stuff. Amphenol/Neutrik connectors are also their forte.
A lesson learned from the guitar hobby, a shitty cable typically rolls of the highs. In the same hobby, I have a Fuzz pedal (typical Nirvana crunched guitar sound from 90s) that is literally a AM antenna. And there is always someone preaching whenever I engage that pedal.
In the audiophile hobby though, the worst I have ever experieced was Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). Here is a simple test for the folks using single ended connections:
Other than that, I haven’t heard any other issues myself. I assume that is a good thing right?
While not directed at me I’ve had my BHCrack for 7 years and to me its a great amp for the money but it can/will get up there in price once you add in better tubes and over time it made the cost of the amp the cheapest part since the tubes that I like are getting a bit pricy these days.
Headphones that I use with my BHCrack are HD800, T1gen1, DT990 250ohm, HD700, HD650, HD6XX and in the pass HD600, T1gen2, DT880 250ohm and HD800S.
One thing to consider is that the output impedance of the BH Crack is affect by the power tube so the impedance can be as low as 60ohms to as high as 140ohms IIRC, its been a really long time (5+ yrs)since I’ve researched this.
I think the Crack the best OTL amp in the price category, not including the $ of any items needed to assemble or extra tubes to roll. If you’re buying a full soldering station, multimeter, helping hands, and all the other supplies, value does go down a bit. (However, at least you’ll have all the tools you’ll need to build custom headphone cables from that point on, for dirt cheap too.) Either way, I’ve said before that the Crack is criminally underrated, and I believe that.
If you are sinking serious money into solder accessories and tools, some might say it would be better to spend the Crack + SB / tools money on a Quicksilver or Tuba, or something like that. That’s valid advice if your headphone inventory includes planar magnetic headphones. Food for thought.
Personally, I’d still build a Crack + SB. The $800 - $1700-ish OTL tube amplifier category is a No Man’s Land of mediocrity and gross disappointments where the amp truly sounds no better than a Crack + SB, and/or it’s clear you’re just spending more on a pretty but overpriced chassis or “features”. (Looking at you, Woo…)
Valhalla is a leaner, drier sound. Most say it pairs best with the HD650. Eh, I don’t know. It’s a good starting point, but I don’t care for the tube rolling options, and it’s easy to grow out of quickly.
Darkvoice is meh. Actually it sucks, but I’m trying to be kind. I would give it to someone I hated. Actually, no I wouldn’t. The jerk would probably put $800 worth of Glass on it and call it the best thing since sliced bread. DON’T DO THAT! Ffs.
SW51+ is amazeballs… If you can find one, or get in on the next round of orders. It will hold it’s own against MUCH more expensive amps.
Lyr 3 is a hybrid, and while it might be one of their better sounding tube amplifiers, it does not give you the true OTL experience. Some NOS tubes sound great in the Lyr (Westinghouse Reliatron D Getter) while others sound horribly bright or bloated (Kenrad black glass/RCA grey glass, respectively). There also seems to be a very limited NOS tube selection on the market right now. I wouldn’t advise anyone buy 6SN7s from anywhere unless you absolutely knew they were legit (like Brent Jesse). If you buy a Sylvania “Bad Boy” from eBay, lube up first, 'cause your gonna get screwed. Period. So you’re either going to blow a ton of money on a single tube, or roll the dice on a bunch of cheapies, or skip antique glass altogether and go new production 6SN7 - and all of the affordable ones have their own sonic issues. (The JJ 6SN7 will murder you, don’t buy those. )
Vali was one of the first tube amps I ever bought. It really isn’t bad for the money. It also was NOT an eye-opening sonic experience of “oh, that’s what tubes sound like”… Again, it’s something that I think people will easily grow out of. The latest revision I haven’t heard, so no comment on sound.
Eddie Current ZDT JR. No. Just no. Maybe it’s just bad luck, but the four or five that I’ve heard have all been bad. Really wonky mid frequency stuff going on. Buzzing / humming due to insufficient shielding on the transformers. All kinds of issues. Ymmv.
I’d say it’s among the best sub $1000 tube amps I’ve tried.
The closest comparison sound wise is probably the Haggerman tuba.
I bought from the second batch, out of vague interest and to support someone on the forum, I ended up using it in my secondary system until yesterday, when I moved the DNA Stratus over.
Sigh. The 6SN7 vintage tube situation is weird. My used Lyr 3 came with a bundle of tubes, including a Westinghouse, KenRad black glass, Sylvania Bad Boy, etc. The tubes were in Brent Jesse boxes, and I have no reason to doubt their authenticity.
It seems that there are few true “NEW Old Stock” tubes around – and many vintage tubes have been passed around for years. Some are on death’s door and deliver no detail or energy. Wear might transform the ‘NOS’ character description into something else entirely, but how can one compare without any/many true NOS items out there?
Notes:
I rather like my KenRad black glass with a brighter DAC, as mine rolls off the treble and emphasizes mid harmonics. I’d not call it bright under any conditions.
My Bad Boy is really bright and whistles like a banshee on an AKM 4490 DAC. The glass and base look very aged but authentic.
Some of my other tubes image poorly or distort in very odd ways. Again, unknown use history and unit-to-unit variation. It’s what we have to work with today.
@Mick: Be aware that people post old $20 to $30 tubes for $100+ on auction sites. One could spend a lot of $$$ for disappointment in the 6SN7 world. I’d try new production 6SN7s if starting from scratch.
Yes, going that way is fine. I do it all the time. Going the opposite way from a single-ended headphone cable into a balanced amp (1/4" TRS into an XLR jack) will damage/short the amp.
This seems to get asked a lot. I’m bored so let’s explore it a bit.
A VISUAL EXPLANATION ON HEADPHONE CABLE ADAPTORS
HEADPHONES:
A transducer needs two things to work and make a complete circuit, right? Connection to a source and ground. Or a positive and negative ( + / - ). You need this for each transducer, so, you need 4 wires per headphone.
The negative ( - ) connection can be shared between the transducers with a common ground. That’s how a TRS (tip ring sleeve) 1/4" connector functions. Tip = L+, Ring = R+, Sleeve = shared ground ( - ).
This works fine. Connected to a single ended amplifier, the electricity flows through both transducers to ground, no problems.
AMPLIFIERS
There are many ways to build an amplifier for headphones, but we’ll keep it simple and talk about balanced dive and single ended types.
Balanced: Each connection is actively driven. For each transducer, one connection pushes while the other pulls.
Single ended: Only the + connection is driven.
CONNECTOR TYPES
4 pin XLR connections:
Using a 4 pin XLR connection provides a dedicated wire for each connection on a balanced amp. Great!
Single ended amps can also use a 4 pin XLR connection, mostly for convenience.
Either way, having 4 dedicated pins/wires is nice to have.
3 contact TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) 1/4", 3.5mm, etc, connections:
Balanced amps can also offer TRS jacks for convenience, although half the amplification is unused.
Single ended amp driving a 3 connection TRS cable and headphones:
PROBLEMS
Where we run into issues is when we short active amplification to each other. If we convert a 4 connection XLR to a 3 connection TRS plug, we are REDUCING the number of pathways. By doing so, it then creates a short circuit across ALL of the active amplification sections. (You can draw a path from any single amplification section to any of the other amplification sections in the example below.)
Poof. Bad. Flames and smoke.
As you can see, all active amplification sections may now interact with each other via a single short circuit.
CONCLUSION
All of the above is just a really long winded way of saying: Going from the amp to the headphone, do not REDUCE the number of contacts / wires / pins.
Do not covert a 4 pin connector on the amp into a 3 pin connection for the headphone cable.
Great explanation, thanks for taking the time. The last graphic was especially useful in understanding how there would be a short if going the opposite direction.
Omg I’m just kidding! My friend. How long did that take you? That was fantastic. It was like an engineer was taking me through it. Even though I knew all this already, it was still awesome!
Many thanks for such a comprehension and clear explanation.
One question, though: does this apply to ANY point in the chain - for example, if I had a 4-pin XLR out from my amp connecting via a 3.5mm TRS to an A/B switchbox (this would be a custom-built interconnect - 4-pin XLR one end, 3.5mm TRS the other), then a 3.5mm TRS out from the switchbox to my headphones?
