Douk U3 Mini headphone amp - Question on power supply voltage / amp rating
Jan 9, 2023 at 7:54 AM Post #16 of 35
Hi just found this thread. I'm thinking of getting this little amp . As want to keep my schiit magni 2 for main hifi when playing vinyl , cd, etc. But I'm after a small headphone amp with. Rca inputs. Would prefer if it also had high and low gain for when switching headphones. Max being hd600, hd580. But for around £33 this may be ok . ? Can anyone give some info on powering this up. Like can you jyst use a Samsung tablet power adapter. Output 5v. 2 amp. Or even just a decent power bank ? I won't be using a laptop usb. Hopefully plugged in to mains. As linking upto a turntable. Thanks in advance . Also would be using as standard , not changing anything internal.
 
Jan 9, 2023 at 1:49 PM Post #17 of 35
I'm stuck on this puppy - you can see me earlier comments on Page 1 of this little thread. You HAVE to supply plenty of juice (2-5 amp capability recommended, with good filtering) and it performs best with a high-juice 5-7V supply. I made a major sound upgrade with domestic 5532 chip, and I'm actually on my second U3, because the switches & jack aren't prepared for heavy use (I now use an intermediate switch in my supply cord). No tiered output levels - I suspect this amp would likely punish IEMs with a noise floor and erratic channel balance at extremely low settings you'd need (wouldn't recommend for IEMs). Don't know your Sammy adapter, but it's probably a good power source (voltage ?? - see my earlier comments, as I tried numerous higher-voltaged converters B4 settling on my 6V). If you've got some power hungry cans, you can't pass this one up. Extremely informative users' comments on Amazon.
 
Jan 11, 2023 at 5:14 PM Post #18 of 35
Well I got one for £30 , And yes very pleased. Like I said above post I'm only using this to play from my old project debut 2 deck . Which goes into a cambridge audio phono amp . Which then via the two rca cables goes into this douk amp. Then my new sennheiser hd600 and away you go. Very good. Leaving my schiit magni 2 to use on main hifi for vinyl, cd, tape , etc. And with grado headphones which are only 32 ohm. So far so good . Just what I needed.
 

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Jan 11, 2023 at 5:20 PM Post #19 of 35
Just like to add . I'm now using a Samsung tablet adapter which says output is 9v . So all ok
 
Jan 30, 2023 at 9:07 AM Post #20 of 35
That should be fine at 9v. As you would know, it's 5-20v with them saying 26v high power. Some notebook/laptop power packs run high voltage. I hope it's not a typo, as I intend to drive it portably on 24v battery.

Edit, Unit arrived. Hooked it up to a 5v, $20 Bluetooth receiver. Powered by a 24v notebook/laptop power supply. It works fine. No noise, frequency response is better than I thought it would be. More output than my old vsx-d901s amp and AP90 dongle. Running HE400SE. It may be true that they can put out 1300mw into 32 ohm. Quite happy for what it is, given a $60 total. For camping and such. I can't see any issues running on 24v battery, either. TBH I think a 12v battery would be more than enough. It seems you can adjust gain by the volts?

It's good enough. Depends how much the flaws annoy me after EQ. At this stage, I can't see me rolling IC or swapping a couple of capacitors to film
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001798743686.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.3.7be92dfcns47cN&algo_pvid=abecd52d-29a7-4500-b7fe-a5b3e3f79eed&algo_exp_id=abecd52d-29a7-4500-b7fe-a5b3e3f79eed-1&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"12000017626492931"}&pdp_npi=2@dis!AUD!62.61!43.82!!!!!@212243c016753169340324027d06bf!12000017626492931!sea&curPageLogUid=QX8sO4ggtlqH
in reviews
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Jul 2, 2023 at 3:35 PM Post #22 of 35
I'm planning on buy this amp but I'm tempted to buy U5 instead because of smaller body although I don't think I'll need balance jack and it looks troublesome to change 4 opamp just for rolling. Is there any significant difference or improvement between the 2?
 
Jul 2, 2023 at 4:40 PM Post #23 of 35
I'm planning on buy this amp but I'm tempted to buy U5 instead because of smaller body although I don't think I'll need balance jack and it looks troublesome to change 4 opamp just for rolling. Is there any significant difference or improvement between the 2?
You can see my latest post on this amp in above #17. I've not encountered the JRC4580, and - among many to which I've listened - I think the domestic 5532 chip is the most revealing in the right circuit. For the money, I'd certainly recommend you pop for the U3, if nothing more than to baseline future SQ - it's pocket change. The "must" is a power supply upgrade, or your resolving source & headphone won't be respected. In case you're still undecided about the U5, customer input here might be very useful (I'm pretty sure most of the comments over 15 words are legitimate).
 
Jul 2, 2023 at 6:26 PM Post #24 of 35
You can see my latest post on this amp in above #17. I've not encountered the JRC4580, and - among many to which I've listened - I think the domestic 5532 chip is the most revealing in the right circuit. For the money, I'd certainly recommend you pop for the U3, if nothing more than to baseline future SQ - it's pocket change. The "must" is a power supply upgrade, or your resolving source & headphone won't be respected. In case you're still undecided about the U5, customer input here might be very useful (I'm pretty sure most of the comments over 15 words are legitimate).
noted, thanks for the input. I've read a review somewhere in Amazon that says it's better to get the U3 if you don't use balance source, which I am. I think I've got a decent 12V power supply though I'll try to look for better one, and might try to run it with 9V rechargable battery or some fast-charging powerbank.
 
Aug 23, 2023 at 12:43 PM Post #26 of 35
Is this DC power adapter the right one for the amp?

And will it be a good combo with Sennheiser HD 598?
https://aliexpress.com/item/32961533195.html

and which rating of the cable should I take if it's good?
edit: forgot to add something
The URL in your message doesn't drive me to any particular item on aliexpress, so unable to comment. I've tried many power supplies, as have others, and the best sounding is a high amperage 5-6V supply. I've got a 2A wart, and the little amp really sings with any can I plug into it.
 
Aug 23, 2023 at 1:28 PM Post #27 of 35
Sep 21, 2023 at 4:08 PM Post #28 of 35
just swapped out a burson v5i D I was using on it with an extra sparkos ss3602-d opamp I had
tested my modhouse argons and a classic sony MD 5A walkman phones so far so good
nice little beast
most try upping the power supply next
This and the SMSL SU-1 could be a nice mini desktop setup
 
Jan 31, 2024 at 2:28 PM Post #29 of 35
just swapped out a burson v5i D I was using on it with an extra sparkos ss3602-d opamp I had
tested my modhouse argons and a classic sony MD 5A walkman phones so far so good
nice little beast
most try upping the power supply next
This and the SMSL SU-1 could be a nice mini desktop setup
Is there a big diffence in SQ by swapping beetween these op-amps?
 
Feb 1, 2024 at 4:38 AM Post #30 of 35
Is there a big diffence in SQ by swapping beetween these op-amp
It's like anything in audio some do and some don't. The original chip is already quite good but you can do better. I tried the BB op amp's and preferred the original but I came across the MUSES 8920 j fet and that is a noticeable improvement and didn't break the bank.
20210226_115303.jpg
 
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