DISCRETE PREAMPLIFIER Quality-conscious audio buffs still prefer discrete designs. And quite rightly so, because although there are very good operational amplifiers available, discrete designs offer just that little bit extra. The present preamplifier is a symmetrical Class A design...

Hello, Has any one joined the CAT-5 speaker cable craze out there. I was thinking that a CAT-5 cable with stranded wire would make and ideal diy headphone cable for single entry headphones. The down side may be the weight. One might use four wires for ground and two for signal. The...

Hello, I wish to express my opinion for those that won't mind. I have been reading alot of posts on headphones and I am unhappy with the fact the alot of people are confusing cost with perfomance. This bad cycle just makes that a product will sell for more that it should because it...

Hello, Have anyone seen and or tested this unit. It has a phono stage, line stage and headphone amplifier and is built around the AD797 and BUF634. It has a bandwith of DC-800 Khz (-3b) so it is bandwith limited, most like due the AD797. It is now out of production but will be...

Hello, I would appreciate some design ideas from the brave diyers out there. I was thinking of using the BB INA103 and or BB INA217 for this design. (may also throw in some OPA627 or OPA2132) I need the following 5 filters for the design here are the time constants for the filters ...

Hello, I know that many diyers out there are scratching thier heads for better volume control circuits that using a good volume pot. Some of there solutions are * dsp chips * DAC 's with volume control * digital pots : DS1802, CS3310, PGA2310 .... I was looking at using a VCA...

Hello, It there anyone that would agree that most op amp headamp combo's have the inability to achieve more that 30V p-p and thus do not have the voltage swing to drive >= 600 ohms ? Most op amps swing more that 2V from the supply and this limits the gain you can choose accordingly. I...

Hello, HD600 and other anti AKG users : If you agree that the AKG series of headphone K 401/ 501 and Studio Monitors are bass shy you should actually be very thankfull for this. If this is true this means that if a music CD is mastered on AKG's and the sound engineer is not happy with...

Hello, Does anyone deem it feasable to DIY a USB DAC. tangent : I recall from reading a past post that you have used the Stereolink USB DAC. I guess from the specs of that unit that it uses the Phillips UDA1321 chip. Stereolink did not want to confirm this. I have purchased a pair...

I come across a a circuit but need some help on what seems to be a TO-92 component. A transistor ? Most likely, but what value and what type and more importantly for what purpose. (what is its function ?) The component is connected to pins 1,4,5. Look at the following pictures and tell...

Hello, Since seeing both Tangent and Tophu great attempts I felt the need to share my first design / prototype and will only accept positive critizim. !!! Please note that this image is not actual size. !!! First glance may reveal that I like thick tracks and lots of ground. My...

Hello, I though that some of you Diyers might find this kit interesting and maybe pick up some ideas. Here are some things I found interesting : * the 3 way switch with charge standby - power through 47R for soft startup and full on - to get to this the switch must go trhough standby...

Hello, I have waited a total of 11 weeks from the day ordering them to the day they arived at the shop for my AKG K 501's. (BTW I am from South Africa : Durban) The box was a bit worse for wear and I still am not able to enjoy them since I do not have a suitable amp for them. I...

Hello, I would like to inform you all of what L C Audio says it a great opamp. Maybe some of you DIYers would want to try this opamp in a headphone amp design. The slew rate, bandwith and setting time are very respectable. It is the Analog Devies AD825 (only avail in SMT SOIC)...

My father, which is from the analog school climbed into the car with his audio file. I asked him whether that is what an "audiophile" is : ie a person who carries a file about audio. Here is what he said : ( His version of an audiophile) " It is a dirty old man that seduces young...

I have been looking at some datasheets of the recently introduced BB PGA2310 wich is pin and software compatible with the CS3310. The PGA2310 is a digital volume control inteded for professional and high-end consumer applications. It uses -+15V Analog and +5 V digital. Has anyone tried...

Has anyone tried Transparent Audio Compression ( TAC ) from K+K research. I have only tried the demo wich compressed your source to TAC and then uncompressed that to a WAV file so that you can evaluate the result. (Quality) It seems to do some filtering above 20 Khz (sharp roll-off) before...