Quote: They are UL rated for a certain amperage because any more current and they can heat up and melt   No audio gear (except maybe old record players) use the mains frequency for timing... and if that were the case, you would want a 'bad' power cord that filters out as much outside...

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=AA2065&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=1015#4   Same as the FA-003     I have both these and the AD700's.. and i think most people would go for the FA-003 because of its much superior bass response   edit: the AD700's can be equalised to sound really...

Looks like the same headphone output stage as the STX (JRC 2114 -> TPA6120) but with a slightly downgraded DAC (PCM1796 vs PCM1792)   I would stick with the STX for headphones, at least you can swap the I/V opamps    ...

  Just some small diameter speaker cable which i braided, for an upcoming ortho project

Quote: Opamps change the sound quite a lot. Compare LM324 to something like OPA627, and then compare your favourite hookup wire with the nastiest chinese one (or even coathanger wire).

Quote: The VT1616 is pretty terrible, so if you are using it for more than stereo, i would stick with onboard. AFAIK you cannot use surround sound analogue out with the front output coming from the 7/8 port :(   But you can use more than one sound card, and switch between them in...

Oh wow another meet! I'll check if i'm able to come and email   I haven't got any new headphones since last time, but i have a couple of new amps and a good sound card

For 2 channel audio, the AV-710 is easily better than the ALC888, if you set it up right and use the 7/8 output   But that output is straight from the dac, so not intented to be connected straight to headphones   Digital output should be identical for both cards

Drivers won't and shouldn't give any change in sound..   If it's not running bit perfect, you really should change it so it does

Its because of the spark at the switch contacts. Move the light further away, and the noise should be a bit less.   Some people fit capacitors across switches to stop this, but only recommended if you have worked on mains power appliances before

Quote: It would be worth replacing the 2 input caps with non polarised MKT ones (should be able to find 1uF that are small enough to fit) - as there is not a large voltage difference for electrolytic caps to function as well as they can   Also try doing the crosstalk mod, and play...

I don't think a power supply is going to do much beyond reducing noise at the analogue outputs (which he is going to stop using when he gets a DAC)   You would be much better off spending money elsewhere - buying an external DAC with a good headphone amp, for example, especially since you...

Silicon chip headphone amp (SCHA) in a 3.5" external hard drive enclosure   Minimal mods, gain to 4.7, larger low ESR caps, changed values on HF filtering caps The black box attached to the PCB is a switchmode PSU, 12 to +/-15v - makes less audible noise than any linear PSU i have had  ...

Try a  szekeres VE with lm317 CCS, but also substitute the IRF510 with lm317 

If you want to get rid of global feedback, have a look at the szekeres VE   I have made a couple of amps similar to this, and so far the best sounding one was where i got rid of the opamp and used a very simple 2 transistor gain stage, and used caps to DC couple the final output.