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Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-23 11:13pm
by phongn
So, I got a nice little cmoy from eBay to power my hungry hungry headphones. Also, I have a new pen.

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Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-24 02:46pm
by Uraniun235
That's pretty cool. What kind of hungry hungry headphones do you use?

Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-24 04:16pm
by phongn
Uraniun235 wrote:That's pretty cool. What kind of hungry hungry headphones do you use?
Beyer DT-770 (80Ω), which while aren't incredibly hungry, still can use a bit of a current boost.

Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-24 05:53pm
by Braedley
I was looking at the documentation for the amp, and it seems rather, well, rudimentary. They say there are problems with the virtual ground, yet many of these problems can be solved with a second, high impedance stage. This also omits the fact that the input should either be matched impedance or high impedance, neither of which it is. I have no doubt that it works well for what it's designed to do, but the fact remains that it can work much better with some simple design alterations that shouldn't introduce much noise.

Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-24 06:47pm
by phongn
Braedley wrote:I was looking at the documentation for the amp, and it seems rather, well, rudimentary. They say there are problems with the virtual ground, yet many of these problems can be solved with a second, high impedance stage. This also omits the fact that the input should either be matched impedance or high impedance, neither of which it is. I have no doubt that it works well for what it's designed to do, but the fact remains that it can work much better with some simple design alterations that shouldn't introduce much noise.
Oh, it's a cheap and cheerful amplifier design, no doubt about it. I don't have the skills to build my own, however, nor did I want to spend more money on a more sophisticated design.

Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-31 11:36am
by aerius
phongn wrote:Beyer DT-770 (80Ω), which while aren't incredibly hungry, still can use a bit of a current boost.
Grados to Beyers, any particular reason for the change?
Braedley wrote:I was looking at the documentation for the amp, and it seems rather, well, rudimentary.
It's about the simplest amp one can build, afterall it's just an op-amp wired up to a couple batteries. It's small, simple, and doesn't use much power which is basically what you're looking for in a portable amp. You can't burn 50W with a portable like you can with something like this

Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-31 11:56am
by phongn
aerius wrote:
phongn wrote:Beyer DT-770 (80Ω), which while aren't incredibly hungry, still can use a bit of a current boost.
Grados to Beyers, any particular reason for the change?
I wanted sealed cans. I still have the Grados, which are fun, and sometimes I feel like overpowering bass. ;)
It's about the simplest amp one can build, afterall it's just an op-amp wired up to a couple batteries. It's small, simple, and doesn't use much power which is basically what you're looking for in a portable amp. You can't burn 50W with a portable like you can with something like this
Maybe I'll eventually get a Mini³ or one of the higher-end portable amplifiers, but for now I'm exceedingly happy with my cmoy. As for the β22, uh, that seems like rank overkill for a headphone amp. And I'm drooling over that β24.

Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-10-31 12:07pm
by Fingolfin_Noldor
This is a bit of a side question, but I wouldn't mind having some links to excellent sites that talk about good audio cans. Thanks.

Re: Yay headphone amp?

Posted: 2008-11-01 03:12am
by phongn
Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:This is a bit of a side question, but I wouldn't mind having some links to excellent sites that talk about good audio cans. Thanks.
Head-Case does.