Best (diy) tube/tube-hybrid amp for K701s...for a first time amp-builder?

Haven't heard the bottlehead SEX..but among that list of amps, the EHHA is the amp to build for your K701.

All of these should be good for low impedance headphones like the k 701.

A big question is the casing/enclosure. It can represent a lot of work, especially if the instructions doesn't include a standard case or at least recomendations. Are you comfortable choosing and piercing your enclosure?

From your list, the Bottlehead is the simplest enclosure to build, you just glue together four pieces of wood. Their instruction manuals are amazing: every step is well detailed and includes pictures. It is, however, point-to-point, which is slightly more difficult than PCB, and takes longer. I've only built their Crack, so I can't comment on the sound quality of the S.E.X.

For the hybrids, from what I read, the EHHA is supposed to be very good. I have built the Millett MiniMax, and it is not my favorite (though it is very small and the casing looks cool). The Starving Student could also be a good first build, but the PCB is not available right now.

Do not know how adept you are with electronics but I thought that I knew quite abit when I got parts for my Morgan Jones and yet i discovered that its a great idea to build a Cmoy first for practise.

Not even for listening or real use just so that you get your juices flowing and get some hands on practice with amps. If you are very adept then I did not mean to insult your skills its just that I found the Cmoy to be a very useful stepping stone before tackling valves and more advanced projects - oh and the good thing about Cmoy is that you will probably finish it in a day. I myself want to try a B300 and some full solid state for my "HD650's which should arrive in the next week or so.

IMO the "Starving Student" Millet  Hybrid (SSMH) is the best begginer amp for the K701, for various reasons:

1) Low parts count.- even without a printed circuit board, doing a point-to-point build is not complex; this is important for a first time amp-builder. This also means that purchasing the parts is cheaper than for other amps.

2) High output current - There's a lot of debate around how much juice the K701s need to shine. The SSMH uses a fully class A MOSFET stage running at 150 mA. Enough to power almost any set of headphones with authority.

3) Inexpensive, easy to get power supply.

4) You can currently choose from various tubes to use in your build, from inexpensive to boutique ones.

Please take into account that I have not listened to neither built the EHHA; but I do use my K701, SR-225 and HD600 with my "Starving Student" Hybrid regularly.   I particularly like the SSMH+K701 combo for orchestral music.

cheers!

^^ i agree, for a  beginner amp, the SSMH is the best choice for the AKG K701. I enjoyed it when i had mine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by camms 

Great guys, thanks for the recommendations.  From the sounds of it I'm just gonna decide between the EHHA and the SSMH.  In regards to the SSMH - the board is unavailable right now - so are you saying it can/should be built point-to-point in lieu?  Or are there ways I might be able to get my hands on a board still (buying used, etc.).

 

Thanks,

Cam

Point to point is the most likely way to build it. Sounds intimidating but the amp's parts count is low and doing a P2P build is not difficult if you follow a tried layout (like Pete Millett's original build photo).

There might be a chance of you buying a used PCB, but the tubes it uses (19J6) are hard to find and expensive. A couple guys in the SSMH thread have done their own PCBs for 12AU7 tubes, you might be able to get them to do one for you.

Jdjake has a point about case work, with the SSMH you must be prepared to do your own casework.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdkJake 

Not sure I would recommend a EHHA as a first build. There is a fair amount of case work and wiring that needs to be done in addition to the actual amp and power supplies. The rev A board will reduce that complexity, but still requires the casework investment.

Might want to consider a MOSFET-MAX as well. The board is available, the build is straight forward and the casing is pretty easy. Supposed to be a good match for the K701, but, I have not heard that combo directly.

I agree with you in that the case work for the MOSFET-MAX is already done for you, but considering the parts count and setup process, I wouldn't recommend it as a first build.

cheers!

I think that a P2P SSMH build is perfect for a beginner.

Not difficult, but does require you to get your feet pretty wet.

The circuit isn't overly complex, and so you might actually learn something.

Gives you valuable experience on sourcing parts, etc.

Low startup cost.

Good Luck.