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Anyone try padding down a T Amp for headphone use?

post #1 of 7
2/4/10 at 9:49pm
Thread Starter 
I used a $100 tripath amp (digital switching amp) about 5 years ago for horn speakers and the results were uneblieveable for the price.

There wa salso a big Buzz about teh Sonic Impact T Amp ($30). Here is a link:

Amazon.com: Sonic Impact 5066 15-Watt Portable Class-T Digital Audio Amplifier: Electronics

There are many other digital switching amps out there.

How well do amps that are padded down work with headphones?

If they do work well, does anyone have a schematic and spreadsheet to do calculations and build the padding network? This could be an interesting project.
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post #2 of 7
2/4/10 at 10:10pm
Yes.

You need to make the headphones pseudo balanced as T-amps can not have their L+R outputs share a ground. T-amps also have a rising frequency response into higher impedance loads like headphones.

It works but less than optimum.
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post #3 of 7
2/4/10 at 11:10pm
Thread Starter 
Sounds like it is not worth it then. Transformers may take care of the impedence matching issue, but that would be expensive.

It was just a thought anyway.
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post #4 of 7
2/5/10 at 3:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JadeEast View Post
Yes.

You need to make the headphones pseudo balanced as T-amps can not have their L+R outputs share a ground. T-amps also have a rising frequency response into higher impedance loads like headphones.

It works but less than optimum.
Yeah, it's been done. Schematic on diyaudio if you search for it. But the results are less than stellar.
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post #5 of 7
2/5/10 at 3:51am
At one point i used a Charlize to power my K1000's - I must say that it was an amazing experience, and I encourage everyone to try it out!
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post #6 of 7
2/5/10 at 5:13am
I have a TrendsAudio TA-10 (Class-T Stereo Audio Amplifier) around.
It does a really nice job driving the AKG K1000 headphone, especially considering its price tag of ~$120. The RWA Signature 30.2 does a top notch job as well, Class-T it is, but then again the price tag is 25x higher.
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post #7 of 7
2/5/10 at 6:03am
The iQube portable amp/dac is using class-D technolgy, so it can be done, it would actually be nice to see a DIY project using this technology.
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