M^3 from YBM Audio?

you could make one yourself without too much trouble, provided you have access to a decent soldering iron and some ESD protection.  YBM is a pro builder for a DIY audio site AMB.  You could make your own enclosure, choose your own knobs (the blue velvet is awesome) and customize the gain based on your headphone specs.

Sennheiser cans have a high nominal impedence so you would need decent gain (20 dB or so) to get better response.  If you build your own, you also have the choice of upgrading certain components to improve the sound.  Also, check out the B22 DIY version at the AMB site.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skinner4251 

you could make one yourself without too much trouble, provided you have access to a decent soldering iron and some ESD protection.  YBM is a pro builder for a DIY audio site AMB.  You could make your own enclosure, choose your own knobs (the blue velvet is awesome) and customize the gain based on your headphone specs.

 

<snip>

Careful - everything about DIY is glossed over in that paragraph ... and the Blue Velvet is the volume potentiometer (Alps RK27), not just the "knob."  As for "You could make your own enclosure," it's true - I've seen some people use a cardboard box with some holes poked through, but realize that the enclosure - done right - is as much or more as the entire amp construction itself.

This doesn't even count the fact that the M3 doesn't come with a power supply, per se.  You'd have to build an S11 or something similar just to power the amp properly.

Finally, ESD protection is over-rated, but a good soldering iron and experience is not.  Anyone who's done DIY would recommend a CMoy as a first project - at a minimum.

Just an FYI, but if you are considering electrostatics, realize that the same issue is in play - serious audiophiles build a custom amp, regardless of Stax or Koss.
 

I have one made by Rockhopper Audio, if you are interested..