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cheap POWERFULL amp?

post #1 of 16
3/24/10 at 11:05pm
Thread Starter 
i would like to make something along the lines of a warm sounding cmoy that can put 500mw into EACH CHANNEL. and i would also like it to put out a lot of current as well. a real hog of an amp. but simple and cheap too.



is there anything like this out there?
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post #2 of 16
3/24/10 at 11:11pm
You have any headphone that won't have burned drivers after dumping 500mW into it? Most headphones will literally burn at 200mW.
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post #3 of 16
3/24/10 at 11:20pm
Thread Starter 
are you sure? it always seemed to me that my dt770 sounded better with an xcans v2 (which i think puts out about a watt of power) than my pa2v2.


and yes, i know a modified xcans is going to sound better, but the way the sound quality improved was more along the lines of the drums sounding less tinky. they had authority. and the bass had more authority as well.


you know that sound that comes when speakers or phones are driven with authority? that full strong sound?


that's what i'm looking for in a cheap DIY amp. so, i figured 500mw per channel and plenty of current should do the trick.


i wonder if it's amps or watts that i'm really looking for. but i'd like to increase both. the pa2v2 puts out 200mw.
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post #4 of 16
3/25/10 at 12:52am
Balanced - therein lies the power you seek. Just about any design can be built balanced / differential.

Now, you need to decide budget, tube/ss/Hybrid, and if you are up to such a build.

ps: 'search' is your friend.
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post #5 of 16
3/25/10 at 12:59am
get a cheap T-amp for $40, add a 4-pin XLR jack($10) and re-terminate your phones to 4-pin XLR ($10).
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post #6 of 16
3/25/10 at 1:09am
Thread Starter 
is there anyway to modify a pa2v2 to put out more current and mw?
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post #7 of 16
3/25/10 at 1:20am
Sure - build it balanced.
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post #8 of 16
3/25/10 at 1:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by metreonfuture View Post
are you sure? it always seemed to me that my dt770 sounded better with an xcans v2 (which i think puts out about a watt of power) than my pa2v2.
A watt into what? Have you ever used the whole watt? Have you ever used 200mW of it?
Quote:
you know that sound that comes when speakers or phones are driven with authority? that full strong sound?
euphonic distortion? Generally good tone?
^^ those 2 things are what you are looking for. Dont fret, many people share this common goal.
Quote:
i wonder if it's amps or watts that i'm really looking for. but i'd like to increase both. the pa2v2 puts out 200mw.
Have you ever run it at 200mW output power? Did you measure?

You dont need more power if you have never used even 1/10 of what you have now. You need an amp with a sound signature that suits your tastes.

Edited:
you may get some of the results you seek by simply adding the low-pass filter from the front-end of the xcan-V2 to the pa2v2
link to schematic
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post #9 of 16
3/25/10 at 1:50am
I don't think its unreasonable to want 120 dB peak spl capability from your amp & headphone combination for infrequent "rock out" live event sound level listening to high dynamic range music - the 120 dB may only be reached for seconds or less for cymbal crashes, tympani or snare hits for the entire listening session

but the basic question is into which headphone; what Ohms, sensitivity

for instance iPods can drive sensitive iems to >130 dB SPL

on the other hand a glite or m3 capable of 100s of mA fail to get loud enough for dynamic peaks with 600 Ohm Beyers or AKG K240 due to limited voltage drive capability
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post #10 of 16
3/25/10 at 2:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pabbi1 View Post
Sure - build it balanced.
You mean bridged.

se
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post #11 of 16
3/25/10 at 12:11pm
Thread Starter 
it may just be the scooped out mids on the dt770's 80ohm i have. maybe the xcans v2 filled them in more than i thought. drums just sounded a lot fuller with it.

but i don't really turn my phones up loud. so it's not about volume. maybe i just need more current.
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post #12 of 16
3/25/10 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by metreonfuture View Post
but i don't really turn my phones up loud. so it's not about volume. maybe i just need more current.
You cant use more current without having more power thrown in there somewhere....

The words you need to remember are "tone and color". You want an amp that has it.
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post #13 of 16
3/25/10 at 12:25pm
Thread Starter 
well then, how does one make a punchy sounding cmoy that has strong mids and bass and good sparkly highs (that are heard! not felt like the dentists drill!!!!) with phones from (i think it's 16ohm for the atrios) to the dt770 80 ohm to the dt150 250ohm?
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post #14 of 16
3/25/10 at 12:34pm
Have you looked at your source? It could be the culprit. (formerly) my creative nomad sounded like that if the volume was set too high into an amp. icky.

If the source is nice I would look at other things to do. I would probably start by adding a low pass filter to knock out some of the realllly high treble and work from there.
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post #15 of 16
3/25/10 at 1:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by metreonfuture View Post
well then, how does one make a punchy sounding cmoy that has strong mids and bass and good sparkly highs (that are heard! not felt like the dentists drill!!!!) with phones from (i think it's 16ohm for the atrios) to the dt770 80 ohm to the dt150 250ohm?
That's almost a Mini3, just not the sparkly highs.
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