Augustica Technologies Headphone Amplifiers

[L0rdGwyn]

Hey Head-Fiers - I've been interested in getting a 6922 based OTL head-amp (not the WA-3), and during my internet research, I came across an intriguing company that has not been discussed in a single thread across Head-Fi from what I can find.

They are called Augustica Technologies and appear to be a small telecommunications company based in Barrie, ON Canada. They have three different DIY headphone amplifier kits available for purchase. Here is a link to the product page:

http://www.augustica.com/headphone-amplifier-kits-c-9/

They also have a number of videos on YouTube discussing the components and design of each kit. I am most interested in the OTL design below that is "fully assembled", excluding a suitable chassis (although I am told a chassis could be purchased from Hammond Technologies):



The cost for the OTL class A 6922 kit in the video $300 CAD and assembly is an extra $200 CAD, so $500 CAD total (~$400 USD), unless you are up to the assembly. It boasts some good specs:

Total Harmonic Distortion: < 0.001%@1KHz
Signal to noise ratio: 105 dBa
Crosstalk between left and right channels:- 92 dB

Now, I may just be throwing money away, but I am considering buying one of these for...research purposes. Pretty obscure company, but still can't believe they haven't been mentioned one time on HF, figured I'd make a thread. If I'm mistaken and somehow missed a thread, please let me know.

IF I decide to grab their Corvette model, I will certainly post a review here.

Cheers!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Here is the video discussing the original amp design before they expanded the PCB:

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

I've heard of the company. Someone handling the marketing was s̶p̶a̶m̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ raising awareness of their products in my blog's comments section years ago. If I recall correctly the seller was offering the headphone amps directly via Radiocraft, then moved over to a distributor (Augustica). The amps look very soundly designed and well laid out. I'd prefer more room for the coupling capacitors for swapping ability, but otherwise looks very good. I'd imagine building one of these is a much lower risk than spinning the roulette and buying something from overseas on eBay.

I sent Augustica an email a while back about one of the amps as I was considering getting one, however they weren't able to answer technical questions. If you decide to buy, you'll want to make sure there is a contact that can assist you with technical questions should the assembly documentation be inadequate.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Hey there! Yes, I too came across some comment spammi-erhm...I mean, self promotion while looking for info on the web lol. Do what you must I s'pose. I agree, the amps look well-designed. I'm not hopeful that technical questions would be answered and would likely consider purchasing one fully assembled to save myself some headaches later. Interesting they moved to a distributor, curious as to who the actual circuit designer is. If I dig up any more info I will post it.