Senn HD600 amp suggestions
Sep 18, 2016 at 11:01 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 21

Blooze

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I'm getting back into the headphone arena after a long absence, mainly due to the downsizing of my living space. I currently have only the original ptp Soha I built years ago (before there were pcbs of them) and my AKG k240s and K240 cans. I will soon be taking possession of some HD600 senns in a speaker trade so I'll have something at both ends of the spectrum and thus my search for a new amp begins.

I have one of the original Millett Max green boards I can build to start, but have read that the senns work well with the 6sl7/6sn7 amps (Darkvoice 336 se, Mapletree OD300, Crack w 12au7, etc..). I have a nice collection of all these tubes and mainly more, though mainly for flea power speaker amps like 6EM7, 12b4, 6197, etc...

I'm looking for diy suggestions to build an amp that could potentially pair well with the senns. PTP is not an issue and actually preferred.
 
Sep 19, 2016 at 5:05 AM Post #2 of 21
Take a look at the Head Watt.  http://diyaudioprojects.com/Tubes/6DJ8-Tube-Headphone-Amp/
I built one a few years ago and like it a lot.  Fairly simple.  Also, look at AMB's amps. http://www.amb.org/forum/.  I have built them all and they all sound great. 
Self Plug:  I have a fully populated CKIII board from AMB that I built for a balanced system but didn't go through with.
 
Me
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 7:55 PM Post #3 of 21
The original SOHA was a very fun project before it went sour. I liked it with the HD600 at the time and still hold fond memories of it. The Millett MAX is an overall pretty great amp that drives everything but doesn't shine in any particular area.
 
My experience has shown me that I like the HD600 the most when they're driven by over the top power kind of amps and OTLs. I really loved them with a Dynahi and Beta22 and I have never heard them sound as good as through a Bijou (shameless plug, I'm selling mine to raise funds for another project). That's just my view on the HD600, when in doubt, go with a nice tube amp.
 
Oct 26, 2016 at 11:13 PM Post #4 of 21
Musky and I have PM'ed about the Headwatt and it does interest me quite a lot. The prescribed transformers would work well with the HD600. I am looking at the possibility of custom wound transformers since I have 25 ohm headphones.
 
If you are looking for OTL the Crack or Bijou are good choices. I've built 3 Cracks and have liked them, but think I prefer transformer coupled amps. If you have lots of 6SN7 you would like to use the Crack can be built with it in place of the 12AU7. Lots of well documented mods if you like to tinker, but it is a bit of a one trick pony, only really working well with Senns or Beyers.
 
If you want a complete desktop headphone/speaker setup there are a few single ended designs that are interesting. I'm currently using an Elekit TU-8200 and it is a killer amp with tons of power (too much power?). Bottlehead is developing a new S.E.X. amp. Millet has his Jonokuchi. If you want a challenge a Tubelab SE can be turned into a headphone amp. I built a Decware Zkit1 and put a headphone jack on it. But my layout is cramped and I get a lot of hum in that.
 
If you are just dipping a toe in the water and don't plan on anything more than the 600's your best bet would probably be a Crack or Bijou (or even the Headwatt). Either would be a pretty good value with not too large of a cash outlay.
 
Oct 27, 2016 at 8:39 PM Post #5 of 21
I've looked at the Headwatt amp before. Bruce and I met some years ago and he's always been helpful (heck, I named his phono preamp for him, lol, The Groovewatt). It's definitely a consideration.

OTL is alright, but I'd rather do a transformer coupled amp for a little more ability. Something akin to an Ear Purist or OD300.

I had an AbraxasAudio 12B4 amp with a headphone out that I wish I'd kept, but alas when I built my Darling I sold it. I've even thought maybe another Darling specifically for headphones. Got lots of 1626's.

Decisions, decisions.
 
Nov 3, 2016 at 9:41 PM Post #7 of 21
That's funny. I just bought transformers to build the Headwatt. I have lots of spare parts so the build should be pretty cheap for me. But I was seriously considering plotting some boards and having them made by a prototype house. Point to point wiring the solid state components plus the PCB mounted power transformer seems fiddly. I've never done boards so it was a chance to experiment.

All that to say I don't know a source for boards and have considered trying to make my own since it seems like it would be much tidier. I may resort to using perfboard for the power supply and point to point on the tube circuits.
 
Nov 4, 2016 at 5:00 AM Post #9 of 21
That's funny. I just bought transformers to build the Headwatt. I have lots of spare parts so the build should be pretty cheap for me. But I was seriously considering plotting some boards and having them made by a prototype house. Point to point wiring the solid state components plus the PCB mounted power transformer seems fiddly. I've never done boards so it was a chance to experiment.

All that to say I don't know a source for boards and have considered trying to make my own since it seems like it would be much tidier. I may resort to using perfboard for the power supply and point to point on the tube circuits.

 
Printing a couple of boards just for yourself professionally is generally very expensive (relatively speaking). If you made a single side layout, you can have the etching done yourself from a flat copper board. I laughed a little at "PCB mounted power transformer" because a $1 perf board works perfectly well to mount those.
 
Anyways, if you want to experiment with designing boards, that's a cool thing and should be fun!
 
There are a few prototype houses that allow small runs for a reasonable price but I will let our friends with more experience provide recommendations please.
 
Nov 4, 2016 at 5:38 AM Post #10 of 21
Muskyhuntr, I've been looking at the Headwatt and was wondering where I could get the eagle files to have boards made? I've never had boards made, just have always bought from group buys, so any recommendations would be great.


The boards were done in and by PCB Express.  Unfortunately, a computer crash cost me those files some time ago.  VIXR may still have his though.
 
Me
 
Nov 4, 2016 at 8:50 AM Post #11 of 21
I laughed a little at "PCB mounted power transformer" because a $1 perf board works perfectly well to mount those.


This is probably exactly what is going to happen. It just looks so unfinished to me. I did find perfboard with two holes connected by a trace so I won't have to run a bunch of solder bridges as least. I even thought of trying solderable breadboard, but I think the distance between pins on the power transformer is just a bit too wide to fit the board. Perfboard it is.
 
Nov 4, 2016 at 9:04 AM Post #12 of 21
This is probably exactly what is going to happen. It just looks so unfinished to me. I did find perfboard with two holes connected by a trace so I won't have to run a bunch of solder bridges as least. I even thought of trying solderable breadboard, but I think the distance between pins on the power transformer is just a bit too wide to fit the board. Perfboard it is.


That comment makes me think it's your first time. If you need to run a trace/connection, just use the cut off ends, leads(wire) off resistors or caps. That's what people usually use.
 
Nov 4, 2016 at 9:50 AM Post #14 of 21
That comment makes me think it's your first time. If you need to run a trace/connection, just use the cut off ends, leads(wire) off resistors or caps. That's what people usually use.


I understand, it still looks unprofessional to me. The boards also tend to be thin and have mediocre pad quality. It's just one of my least favorite ways to build.

My big problem is the low quality of the boards. If you know a source for really nice ones I'd love a link!
 

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