DIY Amp Kit for DT 990/600 <= $400

Skill level with the soldering iron?

PPAv2 is a great amp, not the easiest to build.

LD Mk III/IV being OTL design amps are more than sufficient to drive the DT-990 600s.

My set up combo is DT-990 600 with LD Mk IV se. Gain setting at high (10). Normal listening level at 3 out of 10.

There are reviews of LD mk III and mk IV on this forum. you can read them out.

enjoy you hunt!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoth17 

I am looking for an amp kit for my DT 990 600 ohms. I realize this probably should go in the DIY section, but my priority is to find a nice amp vs. a fun build.

 

My budget is $400, and I would really like it to be a tube amp, but that is not a necessity.

 

I was thinking a little dot III/IV, but from what I have read, it may not be powerful enough. So, I am up for any suggestions, I just really want to build it myself, and I am having trouble finding the right amp.

 

Thanks for you help!

 

*I am a Computer Engineering student, so I'm not worried killing myself in the process of the build.

 

^ not a diy amp.

Those are quite different amps.  If building the Millett MAX, build the MAX, MiniMax is "almost as good" with higher cost.  I really like the PPAv2, one of my absolute favorite amps.

I'd recommend the Bottlehead Crack: it's OTL for high impedance headphones, it is a kit, it has no difficulty driving my Beyer DT 770/600, and it looks very nice. It also sounds quite good and, to my ears, easily beats the MiniMax. If it's your first build, the manual is nothing less than fantastic: every steps is well explained and it comes with detailed pictures. It's not as easy as a PCB, but I didn't have any problem building it.

If you are going that way, the Speedball upgrade is, again to my ears, well worth the money. It helps with the quantity and quality of the bass.

I also have the MiniMax in the price range. It is small and the case can be bought, but it doesn't sound as good as the Crack. The MOSFET-Max is supposedly better and comes with a place for a DIY DAC, but you'll need to make your own enclosure. The Starving Student was very popular, but the PCB is out of production. You can still build it point-to-point, but it is harder to do without a detailed manual.

There are also Aikido amps, but I have absolutely no experience with these.

The Bottlehead Crack looks a lot easier to build than a Minimax. But maybe I'm just saying that because my Minimax took 4 months of troubleshooting . I can't comment on the sound of either.

Wow, that sucked. The only problem I had with the MiniMax was that I missed the instruction to jump the 4 resistor spots associated with MOSFETs.

The SOHA II (Hybrid) could also be a good option for you..  Glass Jar Audio has the boards for it. You could probably build one for $250..

Another vote for the Bottlehead Crack as an easy build.  And there is a very supportive builder's forum over on the Bottlehead site, a very good place for asking questions and getting help if you run into problems.