Hairball Audio 1176 or Diy-Racked enclosure?

Hello there!

I'm just about to build my first 1176 - an mnats Rev A blue stripe. I'll be buying the parts from Hairball, i've already ordered the PCB, and buying the BOM from mouser in the UK - standard stuff. I just have a question about the enclosures: is the Hairball 'better' than the DIY-Racked (Tat Purusha) enclosure?

I'm inclined to simplify and go with the Hairball as the mnats guide is specifically for the Hairball, and the majority of folk i see online have the Hairball. However the vain side of me likes the '1176 Limiting Amplifier' written on the front (is this just a vinyl sticker?), and i've seen a couple posted online sung that case, and they seemed happy enough.

I've read a little bit on a slightly different method of attaching the buttons on both, but i don't think this seemed to be a big deal, just a 'difference'. Are there any real differences in quality/layout or problems, and has anyone compared them side by side?

If the DIY-Racked one is drastically different from the Hairball so that one wouldn't be able to follow the mnats guide, for example - well then i'd give it a miss. Or if it's of worse quality. It seems that people are a little down on the DIY-Racked cases on here and i understand why, but they seem to be the 'go to' for LA2A's? Or perhaps the Collective Cases are, i can't tell the difference between the two.

I hope i don't infuriate people too much with my first question! Any feedback on this is welcome

Thank you, and thanks to this forum in general - a great resource!

Eddie

Edit: I just did the math and actually in total, after postage etc they both work out nearly exactly the same price - just probably a few ££ more for the Hairball as i'll be charged customs and tax. So i guess it depends on quality/differences.

the diy-racked cases are a huge pita to work with. plus the quality is poor. Go with hairball!

ChrioN said:

the diy-racked cases are a huge pita to work with. plus the quality is poor. Go with hairball!

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+1

I built two 1176 with the diy-racked enclosures, back when hairball sold only knobs and switches. A lot of improvisation was needed to mount the switchbanks, where as the hairball cases look really well engineered and I would certainly use them for future builds.

The hairball case is great to work with.  Really well built!

The two are not comparable...get the hairball.

From my previous observation of customer service from both suppliers with other buyers including myself, I would have to recommend Hairball. P has a tendency to have a low tollerance for having to do that bit extra for a customer or to provide the best of customer satisfaction, this may be due to not wanting to have unwanted stock. Things may have changed but with the amount of new enclosure suppliers out there, a buyer has a little more option than perviously.

Hairball has tailored his case for a specific build and from my observation, it was well executed! It really gives you're finished build that non "DIY" but professional production model look.

I do not mind P's case, but all this mods I had to do to get it fitting the build made me feel like my final build was more of a work in progress than a snuggly fit all in one full kit.

Thank you guys, that's that settled!

I've build 4 1176's with DIY-racked cases and never had any problems with them. I really like the look.
Plus shipping these heavy cases from the US won't be cheap.

I'd go with a hairball case. My understanding is that with the internal rails you can take the bottom off the box to get to the underside of the PCB without disconnecting anything. Nice!

Cheers,
jb

Hank Dussen said:

I've build 4 1176's with DIY-racked cases and never had any problems with them. I really like the look.
Plus shipping these heavy cases from the US won't be cheap.

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Hi Hank,

After doing the sums, i discovered that both cases, after shipping would cost about £110.

The only extra cost is the fact that i will be charged customs and VAT tax (probably about 22% unless i am very lucky through customs) on top of the $420 (for the hairball kit + shipping). If anybody needs me to break the costs down further, just let me know!

Thanks!

0dbfs said:

I'd go with a hairball case. My understanding is that with the internal rails you can take the bottom off the box to get to the underside of the PCB without disconnecting anything. Nice!

Cheers,
jb

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This is worth the price alone IMO!  I built two Hairball pushbutton Rev A's last year, and love them.  I actually bought a DIY-Racked 2-1176 to try and squeeze both channels into one chassis - I decided to keep them in the Hairball chassis instead (too clean and they just look killer!).  Hairball's pushbutton mounting scheme is pretty slick, too.

If you are doing a 2-1176, Dan (dandeurloo) sells those here too! (no bottom rails though).  I have a 2-1176 Rev D in one of his chassis...

I wish all chassis were as nice and "project specific" as the Hairballs  ;D

Hairball Case. Every time.

(I am admittedly biased though!)