Loaner: Bottlehead Crack + Speedball

Mr Tea is a hero. This is a great amp for people who haven't heard what a real tube amp can sound like. For people who have only heard solid state amps, or schiit tube amps, I would encourage giving this classic amp a try.

People who sign up for loaner should be advised that these sound best with a high Z can - match up perfectly with HD650, even work ok with HD800.

Dont be afraid - just do it

 

I've always loved this amp when I've heard it, but having all the cables coming out the top has been such a turn-off for me that I've avoided a possible purchase.

If you've yet to give it a shot, I'd echo the above comments. Well worth your time.

 

Interested. Bay Area

 

I heard this paired up with the ZMF Eikon and I thought it was great.

 

Very important to package this up properly. It can very easily get damaged in transit.

 

I love the combo.

Have any upgraded parts been added beyond the speedball? Caps, choke, etc? Any chance of a pic of the guts?

 

No upgrades other than the Speedball. It represents what someone would be able to order directly from Bottlehead. It's currently with another member, so I can't get any pics of the guts.

 

That's great! No worries about the pics then.

I'll put my name in for this loaner. I want to directly compare it to a stock crack side by side.

 

i have wanted to try one of these. Hartford Ct.

 

I've never heard one of these before, very interested.
Chicagoland area.

 

Also interested! Though I've signed up for the Elise loaner, so I'd love to be at the end of this one. I'll eat the pricey shipping costs, Finishing up a move so I've got a larger more spacious desk area now that will accommodate some larger amps

 

Please note, the Bottlehead Crack and Speedball need to be packed extremely carefully. Since there are no screws to hold down the amp to the enclosure, it is recommended to securly tighten the amp to the enclosure using tight Saran wrap. Included in the box I will ship out will be very nice foam protectors for the shipping box as well as thick bubble wrap. Please be very careful when packing.

On a side note, @MrTeaRex did not include a power cable. If you all have power cables you can use to power the Bottlehead Crack + Speedball that is great, if not I can probably include one of my power cords if needed.

Please respond to this post so I know if I should include a power cord or not.

Thanks!

 

To add on to the power cable note, it's a standard 3 prong used in computer power supplies and the like. Looks like this:

 

I bought a Bottlehead Crack on ebay a couple of years ago. The seller packed it without having the amp on the enclosure. He had the amp securely packed in foam on the bottom of the box and the enclosure securely packed in foam on the top of the box. I thought a packing job does not get better than this.

Just a thought.

 

Do we open the "power cable" can of worms? Maybe not, perhaps it would be good if you could include one of your own @The Alchemist that way we keep things consistent

also @Ryu that exact cable is a IEC 320 C13 to 5-15 I believe, I tried google what is was called for a hour or so, and that seems to be the most consistent term to identify it as

 

Have we got this bad boi in the mail yet?