[WWHorizon]

Looking for some help here, I came across this headphone amp in a pile of parts and want to try and put it back together. I compared pictures and believe it’s an older Bravo Audio V2. The pictures online show a input jack where this one seems to have wires soldered to it.

Two questions:

What “24v input jack?” do I need to replace what’s missing? I checked Mouser and they literally have thousands of them. I’m not familiar enough with these components to be able to look at a picture and say “oh that’s a triple z MKII input” replace it with this....

Would it be better to just hard wire a 24v 1.5a power supply to this amp? Similar to what someone apparently did before. Perhaps this results in a cleaner power input by bypassing the connector?

First post obviously, I’ve always just listened to my Wraith II’s connected directly to my IPhone. I wanted to try a dedicated headphone amp and this was a basically free way to do it.

 

[Monsterzero]

Sorry to report i have no clue as to how to fix your amp,but....The guys over in the DiY section might.You might need to be a member for a while and have a minimum amount of posts before you post there though.

Good luck.

 

[WWHorizon]

Hey thanks MonsterZ, yeah I figured that would be where to go but as a FNG I can’t post there. Oh well, hopefully someone who does the diy stuff catches wind of my thread. These amps are pretty cheap [$60-$80) so I could just buy a new one. But why do that if I can fix this one. Plus these amps are apparently pretty decent if modded. But I need to fix it first.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Check out the website Rockgrotto.
http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/board/8/headphone-amplifier-forum

 

[WWHorizon]

Thanks PurpleA, lots of info over there on a site I would have never found on my own. Hopefully I get some ideas from there as well.

 

[WWHorizon]

Just wanted to touch back and thank you guys for the info and leads to the other forum. I got the information that I needed, which was enough for Mouser to find what I needed. Incredible help from Mouser as well, the part wasn’t listed in the USA under the part numbers I had. Apparently it’s from the UK. Regardless, success. After finding some parts on EBay to complete the top and cosmetics, I have a functioning amp for about $15.

So, if anyone comes across this thread needing the correct Power Jack for a Bravo Audio V2 amp, here it is:

Mouser Electronics part number:

992-CON-SOCJ-2155

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[buke9]

Well you got it working how does it sound?

 

[WWHorizon]

Well you got it working how does it sound?

Well I have nothing to compare it to as it’s my first foray into headphone hi-Fi, though I am a budget “audiophile” with multiple full size systems stocked with NAD, Marantz and Polk so I know what it’s supposed to sound like. Having said that it’s night and day compared to the sound straight out of the phone.

For my “digital” music, I use a spare HTC 10 and another spare HTC Harmon Kardon M8, both considered pretty good when fed proper 24/192 FLAC files. My headphones are either the wooden original Wraiths and a set of Harmon Kardon AE-S earbuds. Music ranges from string quartets to EDM.

Straight from either phone, it was sound. Not really engaging. My first thought once I sat down to listen was that the highs were rolled off way to soon. While midrange was acceptable, it wasn’t what I was expecting. This is my first tube style amp so I was expecting a rich and warm sound. Wasn’t there though it was much better than phone to phones direct. This was using a tube that supposedly came with the amp when new. It’s just a regular 12AU7 with a big red CHINA written on it.

Based on the advice of others though, I picked up some old tubes on EBay for a couple bucks. They are International 12AU7A ECC82’s. To compare them I listened to a very familiar track, Brandenburg Concerto No 1 in F Major, half way through the track I quickly shut everything down and swapped from the China tube to the International and powered it up, restarting the track. That’s when it was night and day. Warm yet crisp and the highs sounded like they should. It’s literally the best I’ve ever heard from headphones. Honestly, and no offense intended, I always kind of considered headphones to be used as something to block out noise while waiting in a waiting room or traveling. But this tiny little cool looking amp has changed that for sure. I tried listening to a remake of the “Everybody loves somebody sometimes”, not sure who the artist is but it’s a very bluesey rendition. I was able to here her breathing as if she was standing next to me. Little flubs of a slightly mispronounced word, things like that. I’m impressed for sure.

With the original tube I likely wouldn’t be revisiting this, but just changing the tube woke it right up. Apparently this amp is highly upgradable and those that do it can’t say enough about it. So that’s what I’m going to do. If it gets even better than what I just heard, consider me a new headphone hi-Fi fan.

 

[buke9]

Lots of 12au7’s out there to try. The same tube as the input for a Bottlehead Crack and got a Baldwin piano and organ tube with the Crack that is pretty good but think the Telefunken is my favorite. Most dedicated amps are going to sound better than a phone so glad you’re liking it as I’m a tube guy myself.

 

[buke9]

With you on Nad and Polk have a Nad 7125 that I got back in the early 80’s and Polk LSi15’s are my mains on my HT and my 2 channel setup is a work in progress as I have a Schiit Freya preamp but my Adcom GFA 555 just died so need a new power amp but that will have to wait as it’s my 25th wedding anniversary coming up next month so all expenditures are on hold.

 

[WWHorizon]

Lots of 12au7’s out there to try. The same tube as the input for a Bottlehead Crack and got a Baldwin piano and organ tube with the Crack that is pretty good but think the Telefunken is my favorite. Most dedicated amps are going to sound better than a phone so glad you’re liking it as I’m a tube guy myself.

Ironically, what led me to this amp and tubes in general is a weird story.

Way back in the day I used to run with the EDM crowd in Florida. Accessories included. Through that I had a lot of exposure to the way things used to be done I.E, a couple Technics 1200’s. Well fast forward fifteen years and I felt like messing with them again in the garage. This led to a newfound interest in turntables and “analog” sound and amplification. Full size tube amps aren’t cheap, so to experiment and see if tubes are anything I want to play with, I figured a smaller headphone amp might be a cheap way to do it. Just so happened that I came across a box of junk in a friends garage, containing among other things, that Bravo amp. I didn’t know what it was at the time and had to google pictures to ID it, then figure out how to fix it. So now I’m messing with turntables, tube headphone amps and who knows where it’ll take me. Crazy the paths we take sometimes. Whole new aspect of audio and loving it.

 

[WWHorizon]

With you on Nad and Polk have a Nad 7125 that I got back in the early 80’s and Polk LSi15’s are my mains on my HT and my 2 channel setup is a work in progress as I have a Schiit Freya preamp but my Adcom GFA 555 just died so need a new power amp but that will have to wait as it’s my 25th wedding anniversary coming up next month so all expenditures are on hold.

With ya man. I love the sound from Polk speakers. It became my “normal” so now I compare everything to them. Same with NAD amplification and Marantz transports.

 

[buke9]

Awesome. Got one of those full tube headphone amps Amps and Sound Kenzie (not cheap) and a couple of Bottlehead Cracks and Lotsa headphones. I’m in deep ; ).