Batman
HeadWizerJoined: May 12, 2003
Locale: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Total Posts: 289 |  posted 10-25-2005 07:19 AM CST (US)   |  | 
I've been fascinated with the YAHA thread and with Sijosae's work which I find just amazing. I wanted to build something that sounded good and also was a good companion for my Rio Carbon, figuring that others might like something similar as well. With high-bit rate MP3 or WMA files, the Carbon is an excellent player so a decent amp is required. It would also make a decent addition to ones cubicle at work, good sound without taking up too much space.We're still at the prototype stage and here is a pic of the first iteration of the amp on a perfboard.  The amp (like the YAHA) is stoopidly simple and has less than $50.00 worth of parts and no lethally high voltages. It would make an ideal tube headphone amp for those who'd like one but fear high voltage. OK, how does it sound, well, in a word, stoopidly good. When I first powered up the prototype, the plate voltage was only 17V and the amp sounded decidedly solid state, kinda "steely" and just tonally "off". As we raised the plate voltage the sound became more lush and tube-like and I began not to believe my ears. This thing easily rivals my Cavalli-Jones which cost over three times more to build! It's got decent amounts of nice bass,classic sweeet tube midrange and plenty of top end extension. Also,the soundstage is extremely wide and respectably deep. This thing is just plain stoopid fun to listen to! 
Another remakable thing is that this thing can drive cans of any impedance. It sounds really reamarkable with my Sennheiser HD600's but can also drive my Shure E3C (28 Ohms) and Sennnheiser HD280 Pro (64R).
I've cased up the prototype in a 4 X 5.5 inch can that I had lying around just to show how small the unit is. We're now concentrating on making it even smaller so it will be a fitting compliment for the Rio Carbon and other such players. While it will never fit a mint tin, we ought to be able to reduce its size considerably to, pehaps, 3 X 5 inches. If anybody's got good suggestions for enclosures (besides the Hammonds), I'd like to hear about them.  [Edited by Batman on 10-30-2005 at 05:12 AM.] |
