Headphone Amplification

I've recently taken delivery of an MPX3 SE, which is to say that the voltage has been raised to take advantage of the more powerful output tubes, namely the 6BL7GT/As, 6BX7GTs, the 5687sw and the like. If you've got a low impedence and/or low sensitivity can (K701, Grado, etc..) then you definitely need to take this into consideration if you're getting a Singlepower. And given that this is Headcase, I'd also like to mention that this is the second/third trnasformation my amp has taken on For me the SE deals with the increased voltage and current bias. I have 2 voltage settings on my amp, one which is 300V and one which is 375. For me it allows me to take full adva…

I missed this. Appears to be on sale at Audio Advisor now for $1295. 3-pin and 4-pin balanced out seems cool. Haven't read the specs yet. I assume it has that Canadian sound. BHA1_BROCHURE.pdf

Hi, I recently bought a used SRM-006T to power my SR-404 headphones. The amplifier seems to be working fine and it has the stock 6CF7 tubes. Sometimes I notice slight distortion when listening to fast paced electro music and Souvenir by OMD. I'm not particularly attracted to the idea of tube rolling but I think I should get the SRM-006T serviced soon and I've been offered the Kimik upgrade for £200. This is a lot of money and I'm starting to consider getting a newer SRM-323S or 323II to replace the 006T. I'm not sure whether to service/upgrade the 006T or get a new and cheaper to run solid state 323. I did try SR-407s with a 323S and noticed that the mid range was…

AFAIR, there is a diode after each 9v battery, and two sets of caps between V+ and ground and V- and ground each. There is a series resistor inside each 9V rechargeable lithium battery, as I recall, but I can't figure out why they won't work with the SR-71. Any ideas why?

This is a long time coming, but with the corona virus, I've finally got time to do this. This is my review of the KGSSHV Carbon I had commissioned from @joehpj (thanks!). I've purchased a pair of Stax L300 Limited to replace the Stax Lambda Pros I had been using for some 25 years before Hurricane Harvey flooded my house and destroyed my old headphones. I've upgraded the pads on the L300 with L700 pads--these make a noticeable difference for me, as the thicker pads allow me to get a decent seal even when I wear headphones. I've been driving them with a Stax SRM-252s, and it has become apparent to me that the amp was the weak link in the chain. After seeing photos …

Well, for whatever reason, I had gotten sick of the Par-Metals case I had housing my PPA v2 + STEPS. I had wanted to do something with wood, but could decide what. I had picked up some Zebrawood for another pair of woodied Grados, but was unhappy with working with it in round shapes. So I decided it had come time to use the wood for the PPA's new enclosure. Before: After: I'd have to say it came out better than I could have expected. Needless to say, it hasn't changed the amp's performance... it drives my HD650/Zu just as well as before. But it is a hell of a lot more fun to look at!

Are there any tube socket adapters worth getting for a PPX3 Slam with native 6sn7? I've got the itch to roll.

Was meandering over at H-F and noticed another new little amp that grabbed my interest, the Schiit Asgard FET amp. Looks like it might be a fun little amp to play with. I'm contemplating getting it as it's pretty cheap and has a decent amount of power to use as a small SS living room amp. We're still waiting on internal pics but was wondering what the gurus here think of their design philosophy.

I just received the TTVJ FET-A from Todd for a loaner session. It looks and sounds great so far, and he has resolved the minor issues with the prototype faceplate. I will try to post pics tonight or tomorrow, but I am already listening to it as a preamp and the initial impression is very favorable. The sound is detailed, rich and full in my desktop setup, and the background / idle state is completely quiet. I am taking the output from my HeadRoom Desktop Amp into the TTVJ FET-A, and then into my HeadRoom Desktop Power Amps, out the Harbeths and into my ears. Because the amp has about 1 hour of burn-in, this will be a good way to log some hours while I am at work. I …

I misplaced my charger, and I don't remember what I can change and what I can't. The DAC/Amp says 12V DC and shows the polarity. That means 12V, right? I can't use a 15V charger on it? I can use higher amperage, but the voltage has to be correct, right? 'cause the charger I thought I had for it says 15V, but the connector is correct and the polarity is correct. But it could well be for something else, like an external hard drive.

My M22 will not power up. I worked fine earlier in the day yesterday. I shut it down for an hour and it would not power up again. I took off the bottom and the fuse seems to be intact. Did not see any issue with the power cord connection inside. Any suggestions on where to send for repair? Thanks.

No bugger excepting that vile, evil, murderous Belgian bastard wanted it when I tried to sell it last year but that worked out fine because a K1000 came into my life and the two of them got on just lovely. With my passion reinvigorated for the AMT though, it can't cut the mustard both ways. Theres the most irritating hum on the right channel. Only with the AMT and I'm buggered if I know why. It's also being pre-amped by the NAD which leads to one sort of complication or another for muting the speakers. The NAD doesn't hum but is too powerful, if I'm not careful with the volume dial I blow my ears off, thus it is that I don't really have an amp that is fit for the purpo…

Folks, anyone know where I can audience some headphone amplifier on these cities (in order of priority). If there are headphones, it would be even better. Also what kind of brand ?? Thank you all....... I know I've ordered my headamp+DAC from Justin so I may not buy anything at all but I wanted to expose myself to as much as possible thus have more experience. OTOH, God know I might ended up with something too :palm:

Took my Cary 300sei out of the garage not heated where it has been unused for over a year, amp was pretty cold temps in the high 40s. I should have let it get to room tempature but I didn't Amp turned on got a hum from the transformers I really never noticed before,Input tubes light up but My WE300bs never light up. Ideas? I have another set of we300bs ,but I don't want to take a chance installing them. I don't have any cheaper tubes to try.

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums and was hoping that you guys could help me out. About four years ago, I went out and bought a pair of Sony MDR-V600 'phones for $100. Although far from audiophile quality, they gave me a taste of what I'd been missing out on. Well, I'm now 18 and have a steady flow of pure spending money coming from work, and I'd like to step it up a notch (or several notches at that) and get the 'phones of my dreams. I've got my sights set on the Sennheiser 600's (possibly 650's if I can find 'em cheap enough), but now I am at a loss of what sort of amplifier I should purchase along with the 'phones. I will be using a CD player a lot with them, so…

Finally I was able to acquire an SRA-14S and it has arrived now! No phono equalizer modules however. A previous owner had been cutting copper tracks on the input/switching pcb and added a lot of wires (in different places than the cut traces). Neatly done, but still.... Maybe he had some problem with the switches? So restauration will be a major undertaking without documentation. Can anyone help me with the service manual and/or schematic diagrams? That would be highly appreciated. Paper copy or electronic, everything is welcome. The headphone amp looks at first glance like the circuitry of the SRM-1 (of which I also have no service manual), but the power…

Copying KG and Birgir's posts from the Stax Huddler thread

After talking with somebody fairly extensively about the topology and circuitry of the amp, seems it's like a PPAv2 (or any other PPL amp), but slightly tweaked. What's the consensus around here for one? Is it worth the asking price over a PPAv2? What are the sonic differences between the two? I've heard a Lisa, but not the PPAv2...just wondering if it's worth supporting the DIY community or supporting somebody who doesn't really hold back his designs to the DIY community. http://www.esnips.com/doc/837045c1-25a0-4004-b933-7b9f9c842bc0/LISA-III-New-Front-Panel-019 I like how slender the new Lisa is, as it's not TOO bothersome to carry around. Carrying around that …

Hi, I am presently looking at an amp to run my HD600's. I am also looking if possible to consolidate and use a good portable to cover those and my IEM's. Looking closely at the pico as it "might" fit both bills, but i know the lean is toward a decent home rig...in which case i am looking at DV336SE or one of the LD units as they are available here locally pretty easily. Anyone have feedback on using pico to drive 600's? Or else talk me away from it and into a dedicated home amp! Thanks!

I met Donald North over at an audio dealer's house a few months ago. Nice guy. That's the extent of my involvement with DNA. I guess this is his first headphone amp. I'll copy what he wrote me: When we met I talked about developing my own tube headphone amp. The design is now done and operational. I'm calling it the DNA Sonett. It uses the 6H30 dual triode with transformer loading for the audio amplification. Power supply is tube rectified using the 5AR4 and choke filtered. I played the prototype for Elliot and thought it sounded very good. I have also played it for some friends who liked it and placed orders. The audio circuitry uses no coupling capacitors or …

Greetings I was wondering if I am missing out big time using my 007 mk2 with srm 007TII I never will be able to audition the Carbon or any of the electrostatic amps mentioned here, so kindly please can you put in perspective what will I gain in terms of sound by buying for example a Carbon, and what bout using the the ifi iesl with my ifi ican pro as Ifi claim in that combo it can swing out 730 vrms which is more than what other amps output. That is ifi claim not mine Also besides the Carbon just in case the budget will not allow for buying it, are there other options that really offer a big upgrade in sound compared to my 007TII

I was looking around and stumbled across this page, and read this: Which lead me here, and I eventually found the datasheet. Any idea about how it would compare to a 5687 etc?

I've read some rather interesting comments over the past year or so regarding the DarkVoice. Is it something like the Ming Da and Bada offerings (relatively not so good in my opinion but some are quite vocal about it), or is it actually pretty good? Would anyone take it over a PPX3 SLAM? What about the Dodge amp some other people (you know who) are pushing?

I've posted my complaints in the other head-forum but no adequate responses or even any guidelines have been written. For the last month I hear a conciderable increase of the highs of my O2mk2. Somehow the highs "opened" and become more shrill and noticeable, some squeaky and ticking sounds protrude above the whole sound "picture". I mean sounds like the sound of a harpsichord or the movement of the fingers over the quitar's neck, or some "parasite" sounds which are found in all acoustic records. It sounds to me like sharp peaks in the upper frequencies range. Before this transformation the sound of the O2mk2 was smooth and laid back without anytning annoying and distrac…

Found this lurking around the other place. I know nothing, just thought I'd share. Lost link to a Dynalo amp? - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio Acoustic-Fun Kevin Gilmore backed it up in the Head-Fi thread.