[AirForceTeacher]

My Ex figured out that I have a "process" - first I hear about a hobby and get interested, then I start buying magazines, then I go to stores, then I buy my first, cheap entry into the hobby, then I get the good stuff.  My fiancee has unfortunately been talkin' to her and now watches for it, including all the forums I belong to for my "rotating hobby syndrome."
 
Whatever - better than wasting my time on reality TV.
 
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Get used to the comments from the better-half... My Mrs. of 22 years calls them my "little projects," my "little headphones," my "little coins." etc. My latest hobby foray is an aquarium, so now I get to hear, "You paid what for those little fish (little plants, little lights)?"
 
My son is a Tech Sgt and a Raven. PM me your details.

 

[swbf2cheater]

Quote:

You actually need to measure the jacks. My V2 PS jack is just a smidge smaller than my G2 PS jack. You can't tell the difference by eyeballing them, either. It's like 1.8mm v.2.0mm... tiny.

I agree, but I have a crap load of different psu's and I had hoped one of them would fit
 

 

[SuperF]

LOL pretty much the exact procedure i use. The wife caught on long ago but she knows i have an itch to try everything once and learning the basics of new things is somewhat of a hobby.
 
I went ahead and grabbed the MUSE version of this amp - 50 bucks shipped cant go wrong. I'll probably tinker quite a bit with it so tube/cap/resistor upgrades are gonna be in the works. thetubestore.com is within driving distance (if they allow pickup) and Ive already started looking through ebay....my wallet...oh noz.
 
It will be nice to have the amp to drive my Sennheisers. My PC is lacking in the power department. 
 
I read a few people complain that the amp was too much for thier low ohms headphones and the suggestion was to use a higher resistance volume pot so the volume wasnt soft at 7 oclock and earsplitting at 8. Are these pots the same pin out. Would they fit the current board layout if I went with the same pot (alps)?
 
Quote:

My Ex figured out that I have a "process" - first I hear about a hobby and get interested, then I start buying magazines, then I go to stores, then I buy my first, cheap entry into the hobby, then I get the good stuff.  My fiancee has unfortunately been talkin' to her and now watches for it, including all the forums I belong to for my "rotating hobby syndrome."
 
Whatever - better than wasting my time on reality TV.
 

 

 

[justhandguns]

 
Quote:

..........................................  
I read a few people complain that the amp was too much for thier low ohms headphones and the suggestion was to use a higher resistance volume pot so the volume wasnt soft at 7 oclock and earsplitting at 8. Are these pots the same pin out. Would they fit the current board layout if I went with the same pot (alps)?
 

Well, I don't have problem with my IEMs with say, 16-32ohm. The gain is actually very high for the Bravo, probably less for the Indeed and MUSE, but I don't think it is that bad. If you are using the output from a PC, probably just lower the volumn from you windows instead.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

Ok - estimated delivery 22 Nov - 6 Dec - I hate waiting!!!

 

[lazybum]

After using my bravo for a bit more than a month, here are my impressions.
 
My Bravo V2 is currently un-modded. I will attempt to mod it after my exams

The headphones that i used were AD700, M50, dba-02
Yeah i know none of them needs amping 

But anyway...
 
Build quality seems acceptable enough. I expected it to be worse but it looks well made enough to last a quite while as long as I don't fiddle around with it too much. I don't like the power supply adapter (or the jack, wherever the fault lies) though. It doesn't connect well with the amp and loses connection easily if I attempt to shift the adapter. And sudden power cut offs are bad for headphones

 
With the stock tubes, the sound has some emphasis on the upper mids, making it slightly harsh sounding. There is also some roll off in the highs, but apparently it will go away when the stock mosfet is replaced. Will find out after my exams

. The stock tubes also seem to have a slightly grainy mids. On the plus side, soundstage is definitely wider and dynamics are better, especially at lower volumes. Without amping the sound from the ad700s feel like they are coming from the headphones, but when amped with the bravo the soundstage is more expansive you get the feeling that the sound is all around you instead of coming from the headphones.The slightly wooly bass on the ad700 and m50 (especially the ad700) also tightened up a bit and hits with harder impact with the bravo.
 
With an RCA grey plates that I got off ebay, the harshness in the upper mids is reduced and so is the grain in the mids. Not sure if the highs are less rolled off and can't really comment on how changing the tubes affected the soundstage and dynamics though. But the removal of the harshness and grain is good enough. Perhaps it can sound better with proper tube biasing, as its currently biased at 11v/10v. Again that will be something that I will find out after I had tried modding it.
 
Volume on these are more than sufficient. I can't go past 9 oclock with the headphones that I have without killing my ears, so i imagine it will be able to drive most headphones comfortably.
 
You can forget about using them with most IEMs though. There is noticeable hiss and the stock psu is pretty noisy.
 
These amps also pick up interference VERY easily. You can't put you handphones anywhere near them.
 
This is my first amp actually so I can't really do comparisons. But i like how my cans are benefiting from greater soundstage and dynamics, even though they supposedly don't need an amp.

 

[SuperF]

Nice writeup Lazy.
 
Thanks for the info justhandguns.
 
I just got the item shipped email with tracking. Cant wait.
 
Currently from PC to headphones will be PC sound card 3.5mm jacks > Logitech x540 speakers headphone out > Muse tube amp > Senn HD448's. Im just wondering if this is ideal. I kinda been toying with the idea of a optical to RCA DAC so it would go PC soundcard optical out > DAC RCA out > Muse tube amp > HD448.This would eliminate one volume control out of 3 in the chain, as well as move cabling behind my PC instead of across my desk (from the x540 volume module to the MUSE). What about sound quality though? Improved? I have no clue. Any thoughts?
 
EDIT: Seems after some digging win7 doesnt support SPDIF and analog out at the same time so the above doesnt matter I guess.
 
This was the DAC i was looking at...nothing special...im budget Fi. http://cgi.ebay.com/MINI-DAC-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-24BIT-192KHz-/280515999652?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41500e77a4#ht_6405wt_934

 

[swbf2cheater]

the seller said it requires a 24V 1A power supply
 

 

[Avro_Arrow]

I have that DAC. It doesn't sound too bad if you put a better op amp in it.
I built mine from a kit...
 
Quote:

Nice writeup Lazy.
 
Thanks for the info justhandguns.
 
I just got the item shipped email with tracking. Cant wait.
 
Currently from PC to headphones will be PC sound card 3.5mm jacks > Logitech x540 speakers headphone out > Muse tube amp > Senn HD448's. Im just wondering if this is ideal. I kinda been toying with the idea of a optical to RCA DAC so it would go PC soundcard optical out > DAC RCA out > Muse tube amp > HD448.This would eliminate one volume control out of 3 in the chain, as well as move cabling behind my PC instead of across my desk (from the x540 volume module to the MUSE). What about sound quality though? Improved? I have no clue. Any thoughts?
 
EDIT: Seems after some digging win7 doesnt support SPDIF and analog out at the same time so the above doesnt matter I guess.
 
This was the DAC i was looking at...nothing special...im budget Fi. http://cgi.ebay.com/MINI-DAC-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-24BIT-192KHz-/280515999652?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41500e77a4#ht_6405wt_934

 

[zest]

I'm still using the default OPA2134 with mine, I think I will try the more detailed LM4562.

 

[Avro_Arrow]

I've got AD8599 in mine right now but so far I think LT1364 sounded best.
But we digress...
 
 
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I'm still using the default OPA2134 with mine, I think I will try the more detailed LM4562.

 

[BaudlyDamage]

Hey guys, i hate to double post but it seems my post was completly ignored the first time, just looking for some help xD. 
 
My amp keeps making this ZZZZFP noise every few seconds. 
i know its not the source or some weird problem with my headphones.
 
Any ideas guys? 
 
Thanks for your help!

 

[Avro_Arrow]

What troubleshooting have you done so far?
Have you tried a different tube?
Does the noise occur completely at random or
is there some pattern to it? Is the noise loud?
Does it vary with volume?
 
Quote:

Hey guys, i hate to double post but it seems my post was completly ignored the first time, just looking for some help xD. 
 
My amp keeps making this ZZZZFP noise every few seconds. 
i know its not the source or some weird problem with my headphones.
 
Any ideas guys? 
 
Thanks for your help!

 

[geetarman49]

my first thought would be iffy tube --- have u tried a replacement yet?
if not tube, then i would look closely at the solder joints for defect or cold solder; alternatively a leaky/defective capacitor.
if not those, then i would have someone check out the power supply (this seems unlikely tho).
 
 
hth,

 

[QuantumCarrot]

I've got a V3 and have the same issue from time to time. All I have to do to fix it is poke the base of the potentiometers (where the leads enter the PCB) with something metal. On mine it's usually the right pot that fixes it. Not really sure about the nature of the issue. My guess is static but I could be wrong.