Resources bottlehead web site and crack product page. You basically receive a bunch of parts and wires, along with four pieces of wood, a aluminium chassis and a couple of tubes. Doc and queen have been in the business of selling tubebased kits for quite some time and have earned an excellent reputation for providing easily accessible and excellent sounding kits. Bottlehead crack otl vacuum tube headphone amplifier frame. The start with this little amplifier was the christmas weekends and all spare time i got together with the lack of parts to my power amplifier. So be careful about what you ask for when looking for a headphone amp that is lusher. Apr 03, 2019 originally announced in 2010, the crack is an affordable tubebased headphone amplifier kit offered by the bottlehead corporation located in poulsbo, washington state, usa. The marvelously addictive bottlehead crack page 2 innerfidelity. Lab12 hpa otl headphone amplifier usb dac an audio revolution with high fidelity otl headphone amplifier and basic usb dac. The crack amp was designed with higher impedance cans in mind and the ats are 300 ohm so im in good shape. Soldered throughout with cardas quad eutectic making a nice, virtually spatterfree job. Bottlehead chassis, wood bases and speaker cabinets, transformers, pc boards and even that nifty little bottlehead badge are all made to order in the usa. Im going though phases of getting different types of tube amp pp, set, hybrid, otl and comparing them to one anoher.
Ill do the basic build first, then the speedball upgrade. New bottlehead crack otl headphone amp wspeedball upgrade. Bottlehead crack otl amp kitdiy the headphone community. Customized bottlehead crack otl headphone amp for sale. It showed us why the otl headphone amps from a few years back were so highly praised. These amps took the world by storm as the premier tube amplifier of its time and gave tenor chief engineer, michel vanden broeck, a well served place in audio history. Upgrading the bottlehead crack headphone amplifier. Ive discovered that its possible that i have too many headphone amps. Apr 25, 2012 i had my eyes on crack for quite some time. Two amps that will have more of a tube sound than the valhalla would be the bottlehead crack or woo wa3. The crack, with speedball, is an excellent sounding headphone amp for high impedance headphones think 300 ohm like sennheisers higher end cans and a great value for the price. Bottlehead and enjoy the are giving away their easytobuild crack 1. Dec 11, 2014 the preamp output lets you use the headphone amp as a preamp in addition to just being a headphone amp. Overall the 339 is smoother, warmer and laid back with an even bigger sound stage.
We are proud to introduce the newly updated crack 1. Sep 18, 2012 the bottlehead crack is an outstanding first project for the novice audio diyer. Btw, theres a bottlehead forum where other guys and gals whove built this amp can help you along if you get stuck or better yet, let you know how to do further mods on this kit. Compared to the bottlehead crack, the otl crack is the faster amp of the two, it it clearer sounding and focuses more on the treble. I previously owned a similar otl darkvoice 336se amplifier which uses 6080 and 6sn7 tubes, so i have many of these types of tubes on hand. The bottlehead crack is a tube amplifier in kit form. Originally announced in 2010, the crack is an affordable tubebased headphone amplifier kit offered by the bottlehead corporation located in poulsbo, washington state, usa. For decades, bottlehead has been providing wonderful diy. No output transformer, okay they are designed for 120 ohms and higher impedance headphones but still quite a nice idea. The marvelously addictive bottlehead crack innerfidelity. Diy audio projects forum another completed otl headphone amp. I also own the bh crack atwoa a fancier version of the crack, the s.
One can engineer an otl tube amp with excellent performance. This will work with high impedance 200 ohms or higher cans only. Crack is our version of classic otl headphone amp designs of several years ago that were hailed as some of the best sounding of their day. I stumbled onto a build log of an bottlehead otl crack headphone amplifier. My goal for this build was a focus on quality of finish and neatness of wiring and component layout. Otl output transformer less amplifiers are simply a type of amplifier that does not use a transformer to couple to the loudspeaker. First, i skipped on 4050 years of solidstate technology.
I have a few diffence tubes but i liked the look of this one. Almost by surprise to some and it is now marching to an outstanding pace in audio society. I didnt want to deal with the wood frame of my bottlehead crack vacuum tube headphone amplifier so i decided to print one instead. Bottlehead crack headphone amplifier tube mazetube maze. Aug 06, 2010 hi guys, got a crack coming in as my first diy build to write an article on. Lab12 hpa otl headphone amplifier usb dac an audio.
Second, i went with a diy kit, the crack otl headphone amplifier kit these guys arent with any less humor than shiit, their larger kit is called s. May 10, 2019 the original crack headphone amp is a high output z, cathode follower, otl topology that has garnered much praise in the headphone community for its sound quality and reasonable price, particularly when paired with sennheisers 300 ohm hd6xx headphone lineup. Bottlehead crack otl vacuum tube headphone amplifier frame by. Hi guys, got a crack coming in as my first diy build to write an article on. The big win, however, is that once youve finished your build, youll have a fantastic sounding amp for your high impedance headphones. Darkvoice 336se otl headphone amp steve hoffman music. The original crack headphone amp is a high output z, cathode follower, otl topology that has garnered much praise in the headphone community for its sound quality and reasonable price, particularly when paired with sennheisers 300 ohm hd6xx headphone lineup. Aug 06, 2010 btw, theres a bottlehead forum where other guys and gals whove built this amp can help you along if you get stuck or better yet, let you know how to do further mods on this kit. Darkvoice 336se otl headphone amp steve hoffman music forums. The music through these things is very lifelike, the sound stage is wide and dynamic. For sale is a bottlehead crack otl headphone amp with speedball upgrade professionally assembled. The company was created by the president for life dan doc b schmalle in the mid1990s, and primarily offers diy tube audio kits for both headphones and home stereos. You have to combine the parts and solder them to get a working amplifier made and you also have to sand and paintapply varnish to the. The music really shines with live or acoustic music.
Tubes are the 12au7 and 6080 or derivatives thereof. The bottlehead crack otl headphone amplifier bottlehead has been known to me many years before i purchased my first kit from them. It is an alltube outputtransformerless otl design, intended to pair with highimpedance headphones, such as the sennheiser hd6xx line. A forum for discussion of the crack otl headphone amp kit. Bottlehead states that the improvement is easily heard and makes the crack quicker, more quiet, with better mids, better bass, better resolution. May 10, 2019 one can engineer an otl tube amp with excellent performance. Otl amplifier celebrating twenty years of michel vanden. Tubes for crack otl headphone amplifier portable audio.
In a desktop setup you could use the preamp outputs to control small desktop powered speakers, or a small speaker amp and small passive speakers. Ok so i have crack and new headphones and an obvious addiction but the only cure is probably to listen to more music. Hifi collective otl headphone amplifier what is a otl amplifier. By joshcarlos, november 4, 2019 in classifieds audio. Diy audio projects forum otl headphone tube amplifier. Bottlehead crack otl headphone amp tubes babytubes all212 posts. If youve ever been interested in developing some soldering skills and learn about whats going on inside of a tube amp, bottlehead kits are a great place to start. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Its an excellent sounding little unit, with good potential for. It sounds incredible with a pair of sennheiser hd650s.
Review by matej isak t he now enormous headphone revolution began intensifying within the highend audio world a few years back. Bottlehead crack otl tube headphone amp with speedball responding to classifieds listings. A bottlehead forum threads on suitable tubes for rolling and output cap upgrades. Bottlehead crack otl headphone amp tubes babytubes.
A forum for discussing crackatwoa, our premium otl headphone amp kit. Customized bottlehead crack otl headphone amp for sale us. Aesthetics aside, the critical thing to understand about the crack before purchasing, is that it is an otl outputtransformerless amp lifier. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit. It typically takes four weeks to get the parts made for your kit. Bottlehead official thread headphonedacdapamp brands. The tenor audio journey began in early 2000 with the innovative output transformerless amplifier known as simply the tenor otl. Christmas eve the ups guy shows up with my crack kit from bottlehead. I am offering for sale a newly completed bottlehead crack 1. In general terms, an otl amplifier refers to a valve amplifier, but to be precise just about all solid state amplifiers could be regarded as otls. In more technical terms, the constant current improves isolation of the power supply by about 60db and keeps the tube in a more linear operating state as it approaches clipping. This is especially true if you ask the question on the headfi forums. The crack is an output transformerless tube headphone amplifier designed for us. We have updated the power transformer to a 110120220240vac universal version, so you can use your crack 1.
I simply cant recommend the bottlehead crack highly enough, if youve got a yen to try a little soldering, this is the way to go. We have designed a new chassis panel to accommodate the new power transformer. After a great deal of work and learning i gave birth to a beautiful baby amp below is the schematic and parts list, and a bunch of photos. Docs just announced a new otl headphone kit called crack. An output transformerless otl amplifier for use with high impedance headphones that comes as a diy kit.
Its an excellent sounding little unit, with good potential for modifications indeed bottlehead. Jan 05, 2017 which can lead to comfortable but booooring sound. The otl design seriously limits the variety of headphones it is compatible with. Bottlehead forums are a spectacular resource, go to the crack subforum for questions and assistance building this amp. Diy audio projects forum another completed otl headphone. So for christmas i got another kit that id been wanting. The original design was found at the headwize homepage and it was taken almost straight off with almost no changes to the amplifier design. Really there are only a few that will work and sound proper powered by a crack. For decades, bottlehead has been providing wonderful diy kits, usually based around vacuum. Bottleheads basic headphone amplifier kit, the crack, is probably the most well known, and best regarded, kitbaseddiy headphone amplifier there is. I could hardly believe it showed up before christmas.
Be sure you put some little rubber feet on the bottom to allow your bottlehead crack to vent heat. Bass with the crack is punchier but not as deep and it doesnt quite have the same rumble. It can be a little bright with certain tube compliments in my humble opinion, so be sure to get a few to roll. But here i present a little desktop system that i put together to check out a neighbors bottlehead crack headphone amp and he. Second, i went with a diy kit, the crack otl headphone amp lifier kit these guys arent with any less humor than shiit, their larger kit is called s. If you own a pair of sennheiser hd600, hd650 or even the hd800 flagship model, this is what many will recommend you to buy.
Aug 21, 2018 bottleheads basic headphone amplifier kit, the crack, is probably the most well known, and best regarded, kitbaseddiy headphone amplifier there is. Apr 06, 2019 bottlehead states that the improvement is easily heard and makes the crack quicker, more quiet, with better mids, better bass, better resolution. The 6as7 which comes with the kit is the one i used in sanguine. Bottlehead crack headphone amp desktop setup youtube. The garage 1217 adapter was the perfect solution for me and i tend to use a tall tung sol 6sn7 tube as the input tube in my crack. The crack and crack atwoa sound similar but even with the upgrades the crack imho is beaten by both the other dedicated headphone amps.
The bottlehead crack is an exceptional headphone amp that pairs well with high impedance headphones such as the sennheiser hd 650s and the hd 800s. Bottlehead crackatwoa otl tube headphone amplifier build. It can be a little bright with certain tube compliments in. Discussion in audio hardware started by veech, dec 11, 2014.