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WTB: Balanced DAC and headphone amp

post #1 of 9
8/14/10 at 1:23pm
Thread Starter 

Looking to buy a balanced DAC and headphone amp. Would like to spend under 200, but could go a little more for something special.

Thanks for looking, pm me.

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post #2 of 9
8/14/10 at 4:30pm
I'm not sure you can find something under $200. You might want to consider DIY. There are some inexpensive portable designs you could build for under $200. But if you add labor and overhead, they'd cost a bit more.
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post #3 of 9
8/14/10 at 6:09pm

PM sent

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post #4 of 9
8/15/10 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 

DIY sounds interesting, do you have a suggestion? Nowadays there are too many choices. I am an EE and soldered more in the Navy, (a long time ago) but still solder now when needed.  Currently soldering some solar cells together & those are super delicate.

 

If you could point me in the right direction, I would be thankful.

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post #5 of 9
8/15/10 at 1:12pm
There are plenty of options depending on your budget. The Alien DAC is pretty affordable and you should be able to balance them. You might also want to look at the projects at Headwize. Though it wouldn't be purely balanced, you could share an upgraded power supply and build a VanWaarde or Kurt Strain OTL cheaply with two separate amp sections. The CK2III is pretty inexpensive, so you could probably put two of them into a case. Same with the SOHA. Take a look around - there are quite a few. If you have any electronics surplus stores or Hamfests nearby, you can often pick up cheap transformers and cases to save a lot of money.
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post #6 of 9
8/15/10 at 1:48pm
Thread Starter 

I would really like to build a solid state headphone amp first.   I actually worked on receivers with tubes in the Navy & was awed when solid state came out. lol.  I know I am in the wrong section, but it sounds like you have built a lot of audio equipment and could give a few pointers. What would you recommend? I have Grado's & Dennon for headphones.

Thanks,

Teresa

 

p.s. I build computers, networking systems, program software.

Wondering if programming dsp has been explored for diy? I do a mean fft

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post #7 of 9
8/15/10 at 2:36pm

And beachgeek, I sent you a PM about a DAC that you could pair a DIY amp with, whether the amp has balanced or single-ended inputs.

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post #8 of 9
8/15/10 at 2:39pm

Well, I'm not terribly up on solid state.  I can stuff boards and get them to work, but I've spent most of my time reading up on tube gear.  Have you looked around Glass Jar Audio yet?  They sell a lot of boards and kits for solid state projects.

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post #9 of 9
8/15/10 at 2:48pm
Thread Starter 

Roscoeiii ,

 

Thanks for waking me up, Sorry, I read about your DAC & then started looking into an Amp.  I would like to get your DAC, and then build the amp.  Send me a PM for how to pay & we are good. Thank you very much for your patience

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