The Starving Student was the first tube amp I ever wired point to point. Unfortunately those 19J6s are getting hard to find. Here's another spin on the same 48V tube+MOSFET buffer theme using a 7370 tube (5687 with 40V heaters). As tribute to Pete Millett, I'm calling it El Estudiante...

    First off, I should disclose that I have these headphones on loan from my job.  These are a demo pair, but it’s really not a product category that my company focuses on (we are not in the consumer electronics or hi-fi markets).  I just happen to be an audio enthusiast and occasionally get...

Here's the schematic for a low parts count parafeed amp I built recently:     Hammond 119DA would also be suitable for output transformer duty.  The 6C45pi (6S45pe) is in current production but there's probably a good amount of NOS out there in the market too.   You can find a more...

Well hello, Head-Fi! It has been a while since my last post, but I've been lurking. The hiatus has been cut short by a new job with a fatter wallet to burn (and in the music industry to boot). But I digress. So I guess this isn't all that original of a question, what with everybody's system...

BAM: Aluminum w/ walnut sides Just arrived today: gorgeous case! As you can see by the ending price on the auction, it was a steal. Now what do I do with this? I could use a stereo preamp and/or a new DAC. I'm thinking this bad boy needs some tubes and iron sticking out of the top...

Here's a question that (at least to me) is very interesting: When you really don't feel like spending the time or money to order your enclosure, where do you turn? I don't mean CMOY though; I'm talking larger enclosures. I, for one, have used junction boxes commonly available in hardware...

Just got a SR325i for $200 after a thread I'd posted about matches for the Starving Student reminded me how much I miss my SR80's. They are enroute currently. So what am I going to notice coming from my current workhorses HD555 and super.fi 5 pro? Is it going to make the zipper on my jeans...

As a reward for having the patience to build a SS, I'm going to buy myself a new pair of headphones. I'm looking for something that will play nice with the new amp, of course; a budget around $300 max; excitement preferred over neutrality; and music preferences leaning towards acoustic but with...

Sorry if this is a repost, but I just saw it for the first time today: MAKE: Blog: Make your own vacuum tubes? The homemade tools and jigs and whatnot just kill me. The world needs more apprenticeships.

I understand that a transformer based passive-pre would be ideal, but is there any reason the TCJ A3 kit at GlassWare and the Select-2 switch wouldn't make a pretty good passive preamp for a seriously small amount of money? NEW! The New-Old TCJ Stepped Attenuator For $50 it seems like a...

Okay, I didn't want to clutter up the Aikido thread with all my questions, and I need a quick link for all my trouble-shooting. So quick back-story: I used to read and post on head-fi a while ago but got side-tracked by electric guitar (another wallet sucker). I graduated from school and now...

Hey all, been a while since I've posted. Busy with graduation, traveling, etc. Good news is I'm done with school and about to have much more money to blow on stuff I don't need. But I digress. So in school I worked in a music shop. One of the great things about jobs like that is employee...

I have recently started working at a shop that sells both AKG and Audio Technica. Because I get a fairly hefty discount, I think this is the opportune time for me to delve into some real 'high-end' headphones. I've owned Grado's (sr80, sr125) and Sennheisers (hd497, hd555) before, and I...

Well, I'm looking into replacing my receiver with either an integrated amp or seperates. Right now I'm leaning towards seperates because they seem to be more flexible with upgrading (i.e. you can upgrade one at a time). My question is will the preamp or the power amp affect the overall sound...

If this or this is anywhere near as good a value as their headphones, I may pick one up. Despite being from Milwaukee (and actually going to school with one of the Koss kids) I don't know that I've ever used any Koss products aside from their headphones. Thanks!

I searched the music forum and I haven't found them mentioned here, so I think it's my duty to let everyone know about Silvertide. If you like The Black Crowes, you'll probably like these guys (but you'll hear so many more classic rock influences, BC is just the first I think of when listening...

Well I just bought a new Infinity PS-8 subwoofer to help out the bass on my new MB Quart QL 204 C Bookshelves. Unfortunately, I have just noticed that when I turn up the volume to about half of max on my Sony STR-D611 receiver, the subwoofer starts to hum. The hum kind of reminds me of the kind...

Well, the knob on my Pioneer receiver recently bit the bullet after struggling for quite a long time. I've decided to replace it, just for the fun of it. The problem is that I can't find the specific rotary encoder for my model on the pioneer parts sites. The part is cmki-p3x I believe. So...

My local audio shop has a set of MB Quart bookshelves which are simply the most amazing bookshelves I have ever heard. They have a modified crossover which gives them such a crazy soundstage and they are small and such a gorgeous wood and they play jazz, not reproduce it: play it...ok...

Yes, I know how to use google, but I figure someone might be able to give me a little tried and true advice. So who can give me a little direction here? My equipment is getting tired of the few pedals I currently own. More importantly though, I'd like to learn how the effects work and...

Hey all- Quick question: will I get better sound quality through the headphone jack on my Logitech z-5300e's or should I run it directly through my Audigy 2 Platinum? The reason I ask is because I don't currently have the 5.25" drive box installed for the Audigy (hence no headphone jack on the...