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DIY Headphone Amp Kit Recommendation

post #1 of 5
4/12/11 at 11:16am
Thread Starter 
Hi All!

After painfully admitting i'm not affording a Little Dot setup any time soon ... i'm thinking about going DIY.

The Millett page here got my juices going ... http://www.diyforums.org/millett.html and I like the idea of crafting a custom enclosure for it.

I have no idea of prices, and ideally would like to acquire a component kit for a Millett or any other low voltage amp. They look so pretty! Was looking at the cmoys but they don't look sexy enough.

Any suggestions for kit (PCB and quality comps) sources in the UK or International for a first-timer with moderate electronics experience

Info / found so far, not sure how relevant:

http://beezar.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=125

Starving student stuff, if larger kits are too pricey or hard to source
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/accessories/diy-headphone-amplifier-~-starving-student-millett-hybrid & http://www.pmillett.com/starving.htm & http://beezar.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=38 & http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/319231/millett-starving-student-hybrid-amp

Also thinking about a USB DAC kit to pop in the box too.

Me
Edited by volted - 4/12/11 at 11:34am
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post #2 of 5
4/12/11 at 1:27pm

I know that the starving student kits are no longer available but it is pretty easy to build it yourself point to point.  It has been changed to now use 17ew8 or 12xx7 tubes.  If you search that thread you will find a lot of information about these builds.  The Beezar kit that you refer to is a good deal although I have not put one together.

 

There are a lot of other options around right now and I know there is a thread with a list of most of the diy amps out there.  It's several pages into the diy section.

 

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post #3 of 5
4/12/11 at 2:34pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks c12mech

I was also looking at the Bottlehead kits and the AMB beta-22, all varying levels of complexity and cost. Quite daunting, but looking like great challenges. Really though, looking for DAC and AMP combo for my HD650s ... The Little Dot Q looked good, shame about the DAC complaints!

Not really sure how these DIY systems stack up with things like the LD MKxx stuff though, or if I should just stick to E7+E9 type equipment as the return on the build isn't big enough?
Edited by volted - 4/12/11 at 2:35pm
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post #4 of 5
4/17/11 at 1:19am

The Bottlehead Crack is a great amp that pairs incredibly well with Sennheisers. I compared it directly against a LD mk3 and easily preferred the Crack.

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post #5 of 5
4/17/11 at 6:02am

I can also highly recommend the Crack with Sennheisers. I own the hd600 but I imagine it would work similarly well with the hd650. I also built amb's gamma2 to use as my DAC and it sounds really nice. For less money you could build the gamma1 or grubdac. I have compared the gamma1 to gamma2 (you basically build two DACs with the gamma2) and there is not a huge difference between them. If you are concerned about cost I would recommend staying away from the beta22 for now, as even a no frills 2 channel build will probably cost minimum 500 dollars. A couple less expensive SS amp options, also available from amb, would be the CKKIII or the M3.

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