Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Discussions › DIY amp need assistance.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

DIY amp need assistance.

post #1 of 10
12/13/10 at 9:03am
Thread Starter 

I bought sennheiser 650s recently with an asus xonar d2x sound card. I'm currently amping my 650s with an old yamaha ax-500 speaker stereo amp which I use for my speakers. I fear it's just gotten to old and rusty to live up to the quality of the other components and even if it's still good as new I doubt it's any good really(although it still humiliates my ipod quite badly, but I suppose if it didn't do that they were ready for the scrapyard).

 

So in the intrest of personal growth and getting a more in depth knowledge of electronics, not to mention the satisfaction of succesfully building things I want to get a DIY. A kit preferable, because my knowledge is currently more than just limited.

 

I don't want to spend a lot(I'd like to keep it around 50euros for this run for just the essential components) though seeing as the chances of this being completely succesful from my first try is next to none. I'll also have lots of troubl actually finding a kit to buy since I live in Belgium(Europe) and electronics here are scarce at best(akthough it's still nohing compared to when I was in Africa lol).

 

I've been looking around and found things like this http://cgi.benl.ebay.be/DIY-Buffer-Pre-amplifier-Headphone-AMP-KIT-Tube-6N3-NEW-/230558209861?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35ae571745#ht_2940wt_905

 

What do you think? How would it stack up to my ax-500 or d2x amp or ... ipod?(roughly I realise you can't really know this ^^)

 

Also any other suggestions for my needs? Or just websites for audiophile components in Europe?

 

Any help is more than welcome thanks.

Reply
post #2 of 10
12/13/10 at 1:57pm

I really have no idea if this is appropriate or not but it is on topic at least:

 

"Thank you for your amplifier design. I built it and can't believe how wonderful it makes my AKG K340 headphones sound as well as my Sennheiser 600."
- A DIYer.

 

http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/projects/showfile.php?file=cmoy2_prj.htm

 

Also this:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMoy

Reply
post #3 of 10
12/13/10 at 10:04pm
Thread Starter 

I'm kind of confused lol. On wikipedia it says they can't drive hd600s and on headwise they say it can. Anyways I think a cmoy would probably be a good idea. The problem I first stumbled onto is where to get the parts. Any idea where I can order the essentials for europe?

Reply
post #4 of 10
12/14/10 at 12:10am

Well, a CMoy is pretty basic, and you can make one with all sorts of Opamps, so you con probably get the parts at a local electronics store. If you want to order online, you can probably go with a place like Farnell (http://www.farnell.com/) or RS components (http://www.rs-components.com/index.html)(I'm not a fan of Head-fi's new WYSIWYG, bytheway) to order. You should easily be able to keep it under $50, depending on options.

 

If you're trying to drive high-impedance headphones, like the HD600 it may be prudent to go with a gain of 11.

Reply
post #5 of 10
12/14/10 at 6:24am
Thread Starter 

great thanks those websites seem to have everything I could need. But eurm what now? How do I start? How do I find a schematic for the op-amp I want to use?

 

I seriously have no clue what to do from here. Are you capable of reccomending a setup of parts or should I look for existing schematics? Seems like most Cmoys are very budget constricted. I wouldn't mind spending like 60-70euros if that can give me a decent upgrade over the 20-30euro Cmoys you see on ebay. Would getting a better cmoy be a good idea?

Reply
post #6 of 10
12/14/10 at 6:25am
Thread Starter 

Btw for if you missed it I would like to pair it with my hd650s and my xonar d2x so I'd like it to be at least a little good to live op to the greatness of the other parts.

Reply
post #7 of 10
12/14/10 at 6:35am
Thread Starter 

ooh nevermind I the site kindly posted above on this thread has plenty of info. Seems like I'm bassically good to go. I appreciate all the help :D

Reply
post #8 of 10
12/14/10 at 7:16am

I hope it works. It sounds like a cool project to learn on.

Reply
post #9 of 10
12/14/10 at 9:11am

I didn't see it posted above, but Tangent has a great tutorial on building a CMoy. I'd recommend reading it as another source before getting started.

Link to tangent's article: http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/

 

Good luck!

Reply
post #10 of 10
12/14/10 at 10:00am
Thread Starter 

Oh yeah thats the website I meant must have imagined it was posted on this thread ^^.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Discussions › DIY amp need assistance.