Nebby

That's what I also got out of the little bit that I read.

Audio Accessories That Bring Out Amazing Sound Quality - DAKIOM 203/253/263 and 103 Series Feedback Stabilizers. Basically you wire the thing to your speaker outputs, then it supposedly cleans the signal....I think?

In for a board set

Best Price Electronics / US1Camera.com - bestpriceelectronics.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings I'm not sure I would go with them...

Wasn't there a blind cable test where someone took radioshack rca cable and dressed it up/retermintated it to look like an audiophile job, then when tested some folks actually preferred it over the real audiophile cable? Don't remember the exact test done, but I remember something to that effect

We'll see if their work is good first, then if it is we can contemplate that option if people are interested. Shame they didn't have satin black, only semi-gloss black...close enough I suppose.

Then I've already covered the gamut of sensible upgrades with what I have now Just didn't know if there were any other worthwhile changes that could be done without going overboard, so I was wondering out loud as it were.

I called around and found a small powder coating shop with a reasonable price, should be interesting to see how it turns out. Powder coating it also works out well since I can get the transformer bell done at the same time. I was surprised to find that minimum order charges were about even for both powder coating and anodizing services, $75 and $100 being the most common.

Ironically enough there's a full machine shop and paint/plating shop at work that definitely do top notch work, but their hourly rates are likely well above my budget. Thanks for the info dsavitsk, I'll think about getting a custom panel done from FPE. Once I start that though, it'll be a good opportunity to look into mods/improvements for the Crack beyond the Speedball. Might as well since I'm getting a custom top panel, right? I did look into DIY powder coating and it actually doesn't seem too difficult aside from finding an oven large enough to contain your workpiece; given how much of electronics DIY involves metal panels I think in the long run it might make more sense to invest in such a system (assuming it really is as easy as the documentation I've read says).

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought that; I suspected as much but wasn't sure if anyone else saw it the same way. There were a few times where I read a post that was so salesmant-talk heavy that I looked at the screen name expecting to see a MoT tag.

In this case though, the DAC has a DC in and uses a "DC Power Supply" (their words) so no heavy transformers in the DAC itself. Hopefully it's not a switching power supply, but I'm going to guess it doesn't have a super nice chassis like the DAC does, otherwise it'd be in the photos as well. I did forget to consider consider the output stage power draw, good point.

DAC's by their nature normally don't require any heatsinking so they aren't heavy by themselves. Nice audiophile quality cases are generally heavy due to thick panels and such but that has little bearing on the quality of the components inside (aside from transformers...but even then the current draw of a DAC isn't that large). I totally agree, actually. I'm mostly just curious about this oven controlled clock feature, as what I'm picturing in my mind as a temperature controlled clock certainly wouldn't fit in the case that they have.

Since it's an "oven controlled clock", it stands to reason that it has no cooling unit....so what they really mean is that they're artificially keeping the clock at a higher temperature than ambient for stability's sake? Woah, it's $2,500? I guess they must be using an audiophile heating element.

Have you given thought to upgrading to the titanium version? If it works well for knobs, it must work well for shovels too!

Not quite a deal right now, but good to look out for when it comes out: Microsoft brings back Windows 7 'family pack' | Beyond Binary - CNET News Microsoft is bringing back the family three pack of Windows 7 for $150. They are upgrade licenses but you can do a clean install by following these instructions: http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Found where to get etching primer: amazingly enough (automotive) paint suppliers carry them.

From the product sheet, that'd be a no; only component/composite/s-video inputs/outputs on the receiver.

I'm going with a black top. I do think piano black is nice, but dust and fingerprints become very obvious with it but even so, now that you mention piano black it is tempting. I was personally thinking more along the lines of a satin finish for the top plate or brushed finish in the case of anodized black. Honestly, I was just hoping to do something different than a simple spray coat but was surprised by the quote for powder coating; I didn't expect it to cost nearly so much. If the anodizing quote is similar (which I'm going to guess it will) I'm going to spray the panel myself. Heck, if I had my own house I'd already have bought a DIY anodizing kit and went to town with the panel. Beefy: I'm trying to stay with the stock case setup because I know if start dipping my hands into FPE, I can't just let it go with only getting a color change. Too tempting! Any ideas on where can I get etching primer? Last time I painted a Hifi2000 panel I simply used an all-surfaces primer and didn't use an etcher.

The corner darkness is caused by an admittedly poor job of masking tape clamping, after I finished gluing I found that there was slight cracks at the corners and thats where a lot of stain ended up. After looking at the frame again, it seems like the first panel I did turned out best, on that panel I had let the wood conditioner driver sit for a longer period of time so I think the root cause of the splotching might be a combination of crossgraining sanding and uneven drying of the wood conditioner. Mister X: Thanks for the idea, I'll need to find a phone book first as I don't even have one

I was originally planning to get it powder coated locally, but the shop quoted me $125 to do a 6x10 panel. That's why I'm now looking to see if I can get in on a larger order with an anodizing company. Worst case I'll go with the rattle can (already bought some just in case) What do you use to find local services? I'm not getting very many hits via google.

I'm shooting for a dark color scheme with an anodized (or painted if the quote is too high) black top plate and dark-ish stain otherwise I would have gone with a simple light finish like teak oil or something similar. I'll give it a light sanding tomorrow and see if some careful application of the stain can even it out.

almost-triathalon! Catchphrase isn't quite bus-run-swim

First attempt at staining wood: spotty. I used the Minwax pre-stain treatment but I think I should have just gone for some thinned shellac. The question now is whether to try a second coat to even it out or give up and sand it back down for a fresh start?

Woot, another soon-to-be Crack owner