[se7enty7]

Alright, I cannot spend $200 on an amp, so I have decided to build one. I have build rheobus, lcd's, fan speed devices, and I have a fair amount of knowledge as far as soldering and ohms law, etc. etc. I am convinced that I can build a headphone amp.

However, I am 17. I am also emancipated (I live on my own... work 60 hrs a week and go to high school). Since I don't live with my parents I have no access to a credit card. I know that radio shack does not have the stuff I need. I am looking for a type of 'kit'. Something that I can purchase with like, a postal money order, where it comes with everything. I can get a pcb and case. (I am mounting it in a desktop-type enclosure to sit on my computer. ) I think the cmoy amp would be best.

Does anyone sell this type of thing? I mainly need the opamp and resistors.. (everything but pcb, knobs, ... case... and anything else I can get at radio shack). I have many computer parts, such as ddr memory, sound blaster sound cards, nics, just about anything I would trade. However, if need be I can send a money order.


I truly am desperate, I have senn hd-590's with a sb audigy as a source. Any suggestions on how to acquire the parts would be GREATLY appreciated. Feel free to email me if you like.

JMcCauley@automatedlogic.com

Thanks to all,
se7

 

[ai0tron]

Hey man.

If you PM JMT he can set you up with an amp for much less than $200. And, if anyone would know what parts to get it would be him. He probably has bunches lying around, he might even sell them to you. Good luck.

TRON

 

[JMT]

Send me a PM and we can discuss what exactly you want to build and what parts you will need, if I got em, they're yours. Also, I am going to move this to the DIY forum.

 

[se7enty7]

I private messaged and emailed you, I am not sure if you didn't get it :/


Thanks,
se7

 

[se7enty7]

Upon reading tangent's tutorial on cmoy amps he talk about a radio shack metal film resistors that come in 50pc. Are these sufficient?


Is it possible to get everything at radio shack except for the opamp?

 

[CaptBubba]

yes, you can get just about everything at RS.

 

[tangent]

Distilled to a pair of sentences, the deal with Radio Shack is this: Too much money for what you get. You can get the same stuff cheaper elsewhere, or you can spend the same money elsewhere and get better components.

Now, a few components are still okay to get at Radio Shack. The metal film resistor assortment is one, because at most mail order places you have a hard time ordering less than 5 or 10 of each resistor value. And, the RS resistors are generic -- commodity components. Getting generic resistors from a Digikey type house won't get you better quality. You'd have to step up to premium resistors to get a noticeable improvement.

The reason to avoid getting the opamp at Radio Shack is that they don't have anything "good". The best they carry is the TL082 which is good enough for testing with, but not good enough for listening to long term. And that's the whole point of building an amp, isn't it?

Knowing what I do know, I could probably build a fairly high-quality amp from all RS parts except for the opamp. But, my first DIY amp was all-RS, and it sucked. See the distinction?

 

[se7enty7]

Alright,

So, basically, I can get everything at radio shack that is at 'acceptable' quality except for the opamp?

(for a cmoy)

This information is a bit re-assuring. However, I think I feel that I would get much better parts by buying stuff from JMT.

Anywho, I will keep you all updated, thanks for your help!

Jacob

 

[tangent]

Yes, you'll get better parts from JMT because I'm sure he buys from Digikey, Newark and the like. But, you might not save money -- kitting parts is boring work, and unlike building amps, there's no payoff at the end. If I were him, I'd mark the parts up significantly -- no sense doing boring work and not getting paid for it.

What you're getting in this case is expert advice on picking parts. You don't have to go and buy a whole bunch of stuff and test it all to decide what you like. He'll send you a set of parts that he knows will work right together. That's worth spending the extra money. Take it from one who has spent a whole lot of money on stuff I know I'll never use again because I've since found better stuff.