[Xymordos]

Hey guys,
I found a DIY amp maker in a shop nearby my place, and he claimed to be making high performance:ratio amps.
So heres a solid state im interested in, which he said is neutral, transparent and fast.
 
From the picture below, can people tell if the components are good or not?
 

 
He said he used: BB OPA2132, and ON Semiconductor NJE 340 350

 

[IPodPJ]

I guess it all depends on the price you are paying.  It would be nice to see the back end of the amp too where the trafo is.

 

[Xymordos]

Heres the back, but the roll of wire (dunno whats it called...) don't have a picture...He says he makes that himself.

 

[9pintube]

I say without seeing this "Roll Of Wire" that it's a Toroidal Transformer??? 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Any way you can get the schematic from him?

It is possible to use high-grade components in a lousy or mediocre circuit. Putting the finest components into a bad circuit results in bad sound.

I'm not saying that's the case here, but the circuit itself is more important than the parts in it. You're better off with cheap parts in a great circuit than great parts in a bad circuit. I'm hoping you've found a great amp at a good price.

 

[Xymordos]

Right guys, I just requested those information from the maker, he should be replying in a day or two. Oh, he said this was based on the Lehmann black cube linear.

 

[Xymordos]

I hope so too):
I'm dirt poor at the moment...only a student.
Wait...so the components the guy used is quite good?
 
Quote:

Any way you can get the schematic from him?

It is possible to use high-grade components in a lousy or mediocre circuit. Putting the finest components into a bad circuit results in bad sound.

I'm not saying that's the case here, but the circuit itself is more important than the parts in it. You're better off with cheap parts in a great circuit than great parts in a bad circuit. I'm hoping you've found a great amp at a good price.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Heres the back, but the roll of wire (dunno whats it called...) don't have a picture...He says he makes that himself.

 
No no, I meant the inside back, so we can see the trafo.

 

[Xymordos]

^Yeah...contacted him to send me pics. Hasn't replied yet though.

 

[IPodPJ]

 
If it's based on the Black Cube Linear (what does based-on mean?  copied/stolen?) then it could sound pretty good since the BCL has gotten good reviews.  But "based-on" could mean a lot of things.  "Stolen" could mean yet another.  Hopefully it's neither a cheap version of the former and no form at all of the latter, as that's unethical.

 

[Xymordos]

Nah, he said he looked at the BCL's circuits and used it as a guide. So I don't think its stolen, probably changed a few things.

 

[SP Wild]

Yeah, its a scaled down baby Lehmann circuit.  That circuit board comes as a kit for about 50 bucks on ebay.  You shouldn't be paying a dollar over 200 bucks for this thing because 260 bucks gets you the full sized Lehman circuit in a case and all.  Sold as the Matrix M-stage.  I'm not of the opinion that Lehmann clones perform at the same level of the genuine unit either, which retails for about 1K.  All these Lehmann circuits floating on ebay are stolen designs.

 

[Xymordos]

This one is sold at $100
I think I'm going to test this one and the E9 and some cables for my ER4p tomorrow. Not sure yet.
But I think at $100 it is reasonable for its price.
 
And this guy makes everything himself, his site is selling A LOT of other amps, I doubt he got it off ebay. He only studied the amp as he said on his site.
http://www.impulse-audio.net/

 

[kiwiluke]

Looks like it came from ebay:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/LOVELY-CUBE-Headphone-Amplifier-KIT-Economy-Edition-/190488758142?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a03c77e#ht_4526wt_1002
 
But still looks like pretty good value as the case and transformer are a substantial part of the cost.

 

[Xymordos]

wow...they look... the same.
Anyone tried that before?