Headphone Amplification

Recently I sent an e-mail to David Berning asking whether he has any intention to build a headphone amp and he offered to build me a 6V6-based amp for around $2K based on one of his low power (7 watts per channel) stereo amps. He would customize the amp to add a volume control, RCA ins, and a headphone jack. He says the final amp would sound better with low impedance headphones than high impedance headphones because it was originally designed to drive speakers. I know Berning is highly regarded for his power amps but don't know if that reputation extends to headphone amps. I know he used to make the his "micro ZOTL" headphone amp but it was discontinued a few yea…

Does anyone have a schematic for the SRM323? I can't seem to find one through Google. @Spritzer: I assume it's possible to do a balanced input on it? At least that's what I inferred and seen from other designs - the STAX amps are inherently balanced.

Hi. I'm looking for a good value amp in the under 800$ price range. I have been adviced to get an HR-2, a Gillmore Lite and M^3. While I am not sure I want to spend 850$ for the HR-2 (plus I've read some constrasting opinions about it), I'm seriously considering the Lite with DPS and M^3. I like the fact that the former is only transistor based, but it has been described as hyperdetailed and somewhat piercing in the highs by more than a few people on Headfi. Considering that I can't stand sibilance/harshness, I am not sure if I should go on with it. I read here that the M^3 is on the "warm" side. I am not sure if I am going to use Sennheiser HDxx or Denon D5000 with it. …

House Fire Where? Who? When? and we know the supposed why.

Is it still possible to get a Dynahi built and if so how much would it cost? Or would it be wiser to just get a headroom desktop with max modules?

I'm new here. Just bought a Shure SE530 this week on impulse. Actually I was a little tired of the Etys during my last business trip. They are just a tad too bright and lean for my taste. Anyways, I was trying to plug the SE530 to my various amps at home last night and got a really loud buzz coming out of both sides when the volume was set at 0. Today, I tried it with my portable Headroom Airhead and samething happened again. I plugged the SE530 directly into my iAudio X5 and they sounded great. I checked Shure's website and in the FAQ section it says that it is not necessary, but OK to, plug these into a headphone amp. I did some search here, and others have use headp…

Thoughts on Eddie Current Black Widow?

AudiogoN ForSale: Doshi Audio Alaap Anyone?

seriously, somebody gotta take a look at this $3.5k amp, grab some pictures from the net, that dac board shouldn't be there, we can not see the whole main board now.

OK I swore that I would I would not buy any more equipment, especially amps in 2008, pretty much settled on the stuff in my signature. But this new balanced Chinese tube amp has caught my eye. I doubt there's any of these in the wild, and certainly no one in the western world would have one. The question is, would it even be possible to manufacture a credible balanced, all-tube amplifier at the supposed price point of ~US$800. Let's leave out labor cost, obviously cheap in China. Just on parts/component, is it even feasible? Because all my core phones are terminated in 4-pin XLR (K1000, HD650, DT880-600ohm), I am very tempted to take a punt on this.

Hiw good an amp was the original Millet Max that used the BUF634?

Anyone heard this thing? "For electrostatic + magnetostatic + dynamic headphones." Just showed up on a Todd email.

hi. Okay, here is the low-down, I'm borrowing the F1 from Humanflyz. I connect the F1 to my ZD as a pre and then the K1000. However, I get a hum. where is it coming from? Well, i switch sources... that's not it. I turn the volume all the way up on the ZD and it's still the same (meaning it doesn't originate with the ZD). The only other option is that the F1 is the cause. Since i didn't hear it at Mike's, i'm sure I must have caused it. the issue here is whether the problem is caused at the "power" source (since i'm connecting it to a general 5 outlet power strip) or the PC (since it's just a standard computer Power cord). The other option is that i may be gett…

Ok, so we all know about the various issue SP has delivering product on time. Several long standing members here have had rather large issues but everything always seemed to get sorted out, with the exception of Elephas. And, quite frankly, because I've always found Mikhail to be a nice guy when I've seen him at meets I've treated this all pretty lightly and figured that he'd just gotten behind again or underestimated the amount of time that it was going to take for a custom build. That was until today when I read some of the more recent posts in the SP thread on Head-Fi (thread starts here). What I find most troubling are the posts by Elephas, tom hankins and Kan…

Can someone explain to me what constitutes a discrete op amp? Secondly, does this discrete op amp actually offer better performance than a typical op amp? KG, Nate .... anyone?

In our ongoing quest to buy random shit to try out, Kevin bought a Jotunheim as he was interested in the circuitry. He thought they might have done something novel... but it is utterly mediocre as one has come to expect these days. One interesting bit is the horrible assembly quality (hello hand soldering at minimum wage) and dubious parts such as no name switches... which arrived broken. Now this is a budget piece so corners have to be cut but not cleaning off the flux is just sloppy. sj.pdf For me the biggest letdown with all of this is the major disservice Schiit and others are doing to the community. They are toting these frankly "shit" amps…

At the multi thousand dollars price bracket, there is no bad amplifiers. - Mike Famous last words. Should pose an entertaining read. http://www.headfonia.com/true-beauty-wooaudio-wa5-headphone-amplifier/

Sorry for the quality of the pictures... I really need to get a tripod. A few points: - Yes, the 1/4" jacks are different. Yes, it will be fixed. - The Power keystart switch failed and Peter had to bypass it... I'm glad this happened before he handed the amp over. - The faceplate didnt really turn out as Peter and I wanted it. Neither of us payed anything for it though so no harm. Steve [swt61] should be able to remedy this for us in any case. - The XLR jacks are way too close to the volume knobs... this is one of the things that we will try to remedy with the new faceplate. - I believe Peter mentioned that there is some more exterior finishing th…

A week or two ago I snagged a used GS-1 from HF (from doobooloo). It arrived and I let it adjust to room temp before firing up, and all seemed well until the left channel cut out almost completely. Flipping the high/low gain switch seemed to almost fix it. I contacted doobooloo and he said that it was a common problem with some GS-1's with the DACT stepped attenuator, and that popping the lid and reseating the molex-like connector for the left channel at the DACT SA would fix it. It did... for about 10 days. I noticed it again today, and so I popped the lid and reseated again. The molex connector grips firmly and none of the pins seem to have any play. So... is the…

Hi, community! I'm pretty new to this scene, and an even newer member of this site. I've bought my Denon AHD2000 and I love it. But someone told me to get an amp/DAC, so that it would sound even more amazing. So I have a few questions: 1) Will it make a remarkable difference? Enough for a even newbie like me can recognize? AKA Is it worth it? 2) Is the Audinst MX1 a good amp/DAC for my headphones? 3) If not, what substitute is out there within that price range? Edit:: Seems like I came to the wrong place. I kinda feel like a freshman accidentally entering a senior class. I'll head over to that OTHER headphone site. Hopefully I can be as professional as you guys on…

Ha! ... gotta love the Gilmore Raptor

I just have some perfunctory questions before I plunge for this purchase. Did Craig make any official statements regarding the differences between the new '09 models and the earlier ones? (I'm getting the earlier model # 18.) Similarly are there any revisions between serial numbers? Secondly, is the ZD specially tailored for Senn HD6XX? It seems that most OTL amps are. It's a short list, but any tips right now would really help me submit my final decision. Thx.

I recently built this Bottlehead kit (actually, I had it at Chicago), and I have to admit, it's crossed my mind a few times to sell my beloved Zana Deux since I started listening to it. The kit is about as easy as they come (more cutting/stripping wires than anything else) and I did it in about 4 hours. Here's the killer part. The cost of the basic kit is just $220 and an upgrade kit with CCS boards for both the 12au7 and 6080 cathode follower is another $100. The stock Crack has a strong tubey character but with killer bass and liquid mids and highs. With the upgrade (called the Speedball), the sound becomes more transparent and fast. The frequency extension sounds …

I am thinking of selling the Stello stack in my office (HP100 and DA100) and just using the Pico Dac/amp there with the AD2000. The Stello stack is probably better but most of the time I am working (or at least pretending to work) so I don't think I will really notice much of a difference. The thing I don't want to deal with is plugging and unplugging the amp when it needs to be charged. I think the Pico stops charging the battery when it is full and runs off the PS so I don't think there will be a problem keeping it plugged in, right? The only thing I thought of is that a rechargeable battery seems to discharge over time so it may often be discharging a bit and then …

I was thinking of upgrading or supplementing my old Headsave Classic amp (3 x Burr-Brown OPA627, hooked up to an Arcam FMJ CD36 or Sony UHP-H1) with something new, not too expensive. I may still get a Chord Mojo 2, but this looks interesting at $219... just announced, with impressions coming out in a few days. The Schiit Midgard has a different discrete design, with a mixed-mode feedback and more power than the Magni+ I was looking at: