First DIY headphone amp - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocBlasto 

Is the Mini-Max really super amazingly awesome? I mean, it looks like a substantial amp, whereas the rest of these are extremely basic, small and often battery-powered devices. I only ask because it costs over $200 and requires far more labor. It seems like there might be more competition in that price range. I'd hope that for the money and time invested that it could comfortably power 250-ohm headphones. I at the moment have a pair of DT-770 Pro-80 and a pair of SR225.

 

Is this an amp that will not leave me with upgrade-itis within a week?

Its a pretty slick amp.

I dont know if it comes up as often as it deserves because most of these threads are "please tell me what to build" and recommending something with 100-someodd parts that need to go in the right way or else to someone who dosnt have much experience is awkward. After the builder is past the "tell me what to build" phase of DIYing people just go out and build it and are happy.

CKKiii is also really nice.

I'm surprised that there's been no mention of a Starving Sudent.

I've listened to Petes original amp (pictured on his website) and I can tell you, first hand, that the quality of sound is hard to believe for the modest parts list.

I haven't kept up with tube availability so sourcing the tubes may or may not be an issue.

In any case, it seems to me that the SS is an excellent candidate for a first build and is an amp you'll want to keep and enjoy listening to.  Grado, Sennheiser, AKG...it drives em all and well.

The Mini-Max is a good first build, and it has no problem driving any headphone (K1000 is a possible exception). However, its sound quality is not the best: of my 4 amps, it's the one I like the least. The reason why I would recommend it  (or the Bottlehead Crack if you have high impedance headphones) for beginners is that there is little to no casework, which one can easily screw up and which can be costly.

If you prefer to go solid state, the CK2III looks like an easy enough build

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocBlasto 

Quote:

Originally Posted by cswann1 

I'm surprised that there's been no mention of a Starving Sudent.

 

I've listened to Petes original amp (pictured on his website) and I can tell you, first hand, that the quality of sound is hard to believe for the modest parts list.

 

I haven't kept up with tube availability so sourcing the tubes may or may not be an issue.

 

In any case, it seems to me that the SS is an excellent candidate for a first build and is an amp you'll want to keep and enjoy listening to.  Grado, Sennheiser, AKG...it drives em all and well.

I dunno... The starving student sounded awesome. Then i found out that you can't buy a PCB anymore. Then I found out the $1.50 tubes went up to at least $20. A few other setbacks, and I started considering other $100+ amps. Am I making too much of this? I have very little patience for tracking down obscure parts at obscene markups in the hopes I'll get all the right components, then put them together in the right order.

TL;DR: I would order an SS tomorrow if it came in a kit, and cost roughly the $35 at which it was conceived.

The Starving Student PCB kit never cost $35 ... more like $110 and higher for the last couple of rounds (that included the case).

If you replace the (now) expensive suggested tubes by a pair of 12au7, it should be doable under 50$. The shipping costs do add up though if you're ordering from multiple sources.

Check this: http://www.diyforums.org/SSMH/SSMHvariants.php  You're losing some voltage swing but nothing serious for lowish impedance headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocBlasto 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomb 

The Starving Student PCB kit never cost $35 ... more like $110 and higher for the last couple of rounds (that included the case).

The original article on the designer's site said that he put a SS together for roughly $35. I assumed that the PCB would be around $10-15 purchased separately. The case would be made from a cigar box I have lying around.

I'd be happy to try it without the PCB if the parts could be had under $50. Has anyone done this recently? If so, what are the most affordable sources of worthwhile components?

Pete's original article was also written three years ago.  Prices have changed since then on almost all of the items the Starving Student used - because the demand was so high.  The tubes were never $1.50, even before people started building the Starving Student (and even Pete didn't pay that for them).  The power supplies are kind of scarce these days, too, and I doubt seriously you're going to find one with the AC cord at the $7 they were three years ago.  Look, I'm sorry for the bad attitude, but I get so many e-mails and PM's offline about this amp that are similar.  Yet, when someone builds one with this kind of strategy - they end up complaining about things like a couple of posts that's going on in the SSMH thread right now: a $3.50 volume pot that doesn't have perfect channel matching or leaks sound.

It's like anything else.  Build it cheaply: yes, most likely you will still end up with better results than just about any other tube amp anywhere near the cost.  However, it's not going to have the refinement of a commercial amp that some seem to expect.  Try 00940's advice - it's certainly well-documented in this thread and on the SSMH website (as he referenced above).  Don't expect to find 12AU7 tubes for $1.50, though.  You might try the 5963 - it's a functional substitute for the 12AU7, except that it was designed for a lower plate voltage (a good thing in this case) and it's usually among the cheapest 12AU7 types.