Yah. I suspect (but we need more samples) that there are actually 2 or more revisions in the wild. One where they're designed to be open, and one where they're not. Just go with what sounds good.

Ahh. So it's not just me. I don't like to say this, but you may like to consider returning it for a working set. It can be a roll of the dice however. I find mine to have prominent bass, but not "too" bassy. (They're also still burning in, I suspect... assuming I didn't get a refurbished set!)

Adding my feedback on the Brainwavz M5. It may shed some light on the issues in this thread. Or confuse them more!   I bought it from MP4 Nation a month ago. The Brainwavz M5 earbuds have a front port, a back-facing pinhole port (with the "Brainwavz" logo), and a front-facing pinhole port...

There's some info at Palm Multi-Connector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I was referring to the SPKR_L and SPKR_R pins, you probably use these with AGND.

Ahh. The answer to this is a solid "maybe". The Palm Multi-Connector does have pins for line-out, as I understand it. But I've never seen a cable that uses it, and a cursory web search turns up nothing. Probably best to just use the headphone-out port.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jambo Calroth - You could extract balanced output perhaps from some vias on the PCB but it was not designed with this in mind. I don't have any balanced equipment and I originally designed this for myself, so that is why! There also is no room on the PCB for...

I can't exactly see how your output circuit goes, but since it's a WM8740, I presume it can be tweaked (for a given level of "tweak") for balanced output?

To check if it's a power-supply issue, just grab some batteries... three fresh alkaline AA batteries should get you somewhere between 4.5 and 4.8V, enough for testing your unregulated config. Tape them together and go. (Make sure it's not above about 5.5V or you'll start frying something... Also...

If you buy the Alien DAC kit from Glass Jar Audio, be sure to ask them to pre-solder the tiny PCM2702 chip for you. I'm not sure if you have to pay extra, but if you need to, then pay it. Don't argue

Quote: Originally Posted by gamer539 Common mark-up for DIY amps built for sale is 100%? say for a M^3 I build it for $200, it would sell for $400 (for example from professional builders)? I'd have pegged it at closer to $100 in parts for a $200 sale price, but yeah. Some guys...

I have the utmost faith that you will recover your files. So, this post is for after you recover them! iTunes has a backup feature. It's in the "File" menu, called "Back Up to Disc". You keep feeding it blank DVDs until everything is recorded. I know it takes time and is a hassle, but...

Quote: Originally Posted by gamer539 A Beta22 sounds like a very good choice. What is the price range of this beast of an amp? For parts alone, a three-channel β22 with power supply is about US$330 from Glass Jar Audio. That doesn't include enclosure. If I was building one for...

Quote: Originally Posted by gamer539 5)What would be the price for the M^3 of a basic barebone minimum to a average deluxe top-of-the-line parts M^3? Have you tried browsing the For Sale forums? You might be able to find something second-hand for sale there. What would be the...

First of all, visit the M³ web site and the PPAv2 web site. Even though you're not building, they list everything you can customise about your amp. Some things you should decide before asking for an amp: How much do you want to pay? (Very important question.) You can pay more and get a...

I'm guessing that you're shorting the left or right channels, or using the right channel as a ground for the left, or something such. You'd probably get the "karaoke effect" that way. It's interesting, and does give hints as to how MP3 does its magic. But of course you don't listen to MP3s...

Quote: Originally Posted by Febs Note that the Wikipedia article that you quote talks about efficiency and error resiliency, while Calroth said that it "sounds better." While these things may be correlated, they are not the same thing. Once a codec reaches the point that it is...

Quote: Originally Posted by Jigglybootch I'm not a big fan of AAC. At low bit rates I think AAC sounds a little better, but once you start getting up past 160 kbps, I find mp3 far more pleasing. If I recall, for high bitrates (like 192kbit and up), MPEG layer 2 (MP2) sounds...

Quote: Originally Posted by kuohsing Dark Shadow, These pins #11, #12, and #13 are dangling outputs. So your PCB is till useable. Hm. The PCB does look usable, nothing that can't be cleaned up. Lots of flux and lots of desoldering braid and it should come out looking OK...

Go even lower-tech. Assuming you don't care about sound quality for this particular application, hook up your vinyl to an FM transmitter. Then walk around with a pocket radio.

Have you seen http://tangentsoft.net/audio/pimeta/plists.html? That's pretty much all you'll need, just plug in those codes into the online shop of your choice, and you'll have 90% of what you need for a decent build.

Quote: Originally Posted by Soymilk you can use a wall wart w/o a tread? i thought there needed to be a tread in between there! Certainly you can - as long as it's a DC wall wart. One of the main things that the TREAD does is clean up the wall wart's output and reduce any noise...

From easiest to hardest: Use non-rechargeable batteries and replace them every so often Use a non-regulated wall wart Use a regulated wall wart Use a wall wart with a TREAD Build a STEPS Use rechargeable batteries and construct a charger in conjunction with 2, 3, 4 or 5

You can lower the gain further. See this post. But first I'd question whether you need the amp at all. Do you hear a clear improvement in sound?

Quote: Originally Posted by pkshiu Virtual Ground / IC4 I too am confused as to how to use IC4 to power the Alien DAC using the virtual ground from another module. OG to IG? Or ?? Cannot figure it out from the schematic. OK, here's what I connected. If someone with more...

Possibly a quicker way of checking the op-amps is swapping the left and right ones, and seeing if the problem moves to the right.