DIY headphone amp?

[phalanger]

I was wondering wether building your own headphone amp is a realistic option for someone with mediocre soldering skills and if so which are some good ones to look into?

Thanks

 

[pddjsteve]

The canonical starting point for everyone is the CMoy amp, Tangent has a wonderfully detailed guide at his site (http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/).

 

[mminutel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pddjsteve /img/forum/go_quote.gif The canonical starting point for everyone is the CMoy amp, Tangent has a wonderfully detailed guide at his site (http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/).

Agreed. This is usually the started amp for everyone. Very easy. I had not soldered anything in my life and was able to make the CMOY.

 

[cotdt]

CMoy is a nice amp to get started and practice with, but doesn't sound that good. It's actually easier to solder the Dynahi board because it is bigger and easier to see everything.

 

[Pars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif CMoy is a nice amp to get started and practice with, but doesn't sound that good. It's actually easier to solder the Dynahi board because it is bigger and easier to see everything.

I think he means that it doesn't sound as good as more sophisticated amps do. A Cmoy really slayed the headphone out on my old Hafler preamp and Nakamichi tape deck, so everything is relative. And while it might be easier to solder a Dynahi board, it will be orders of magnitude more difficult to troubleshoot if something goes wrong or isn't done right initially.

 

[mofonyx]

For all you know, the Hafler preamp and Nakamichi tape deck uses a CMoy circuitry.

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pars /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quote: Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif CMoy is a nice amp to get started and practice with, but doesn't sound that good. It's actually easier to solder the Dynahi board because it is bigger and easier to see everything. I think he means that it doesn't sound as good as more sophisticated amps do. A Cmoy really slayed the headphone out on my old Hafler preamp and Nakamichi tape deck, so everything is relative. And while it might be easier to solder a Dynahi board, it will be orders of magnitude more difficult to troubleshoot if something goes wrong or isn't done right initially.

Agreed. I'd have to say: I've seen others suggest a PIMETA or even a Millett as a first try. Certainly, both of those amps are uncomplicated enough to make the soldering job easier than a CMoy. Yet, the cost and potential troubleshooting headaches from the greater component list may be intimidating to the beginner and present insurmountable obstacles. Then there's the whole point of the power supply, which can be another whole project.

Nevertheless, I believe that's the first time I've ever seen anyone suggest a Dynahi as a first project.

Admittedly, the CMoy is not as easy to solder as a prepared PCB. The Mint Tin is also rather unforgiving in drilling holes, etc. Yet both submit the potential DIYer to a skillset/learning experience that is a real confidence booster: very few bigger boards are actually that hard to construct or case up. At the same time, the CMoy's investment is perhaps $10-$20 at the local Radio Shack, while Mint Tin's are yesterday's recovered trash. So, the consequences of mistakes and the intimidation factor are quite low. Finally, the sound can be superlative. This combination is what makes the CMoy so singularly ideal as a DIY headphone amp starting point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mofonyx For all you know, the Hafler preamp and Nakamichi tape deck uses a CMoy circuitry.

Doubtful. The virtual ground is still superior to many mainstream headphone amps today. At the same time, the quality/price advantage of today's opamps probably didn't exist back then. (I always wanted a Hafler amp and a Nakamichi deck, though.

)

 

[nysulli]

i pulled off a pint for my first amp, but i had tons of soldering experience

a cmoy or even pimeta would be a great starter amp, just remember that the key is planning, read all the documentation on tangents site for whatever amp you choose, dig up old construction threads and read up on the pimeta if thats your choice, then go ahead and order your parts, your time spent planning will really make parts selection and troubleshooting a lot easier your first time around

 

[cotdt]

My first amp was an SMD Class D amp and it was super tiny to solder everything. One tiny mistake and the amp was toast. I had to attach a magnifying glass to my eyes and take drugs just to steady my nervous shaking hands to perform perfect solderings. Many of the connections were even smaller than the legs on DAC chips. The SMD components were such a pain and after that I vowed to only build amps with large PCBs and thru-hole components. My second amp was the Dynamight and it was sooooo much easier. I highly recommend you start out with the Dynahi (half of a Dynamight). Another easy amp to make are single-ended tube amps. They have simple circuits and you don't even need a PCB.

 

[Seaside]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phalanger /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was wondering wether building your own headphone amp is a realistic option for someone with mediocre soldering skills and if so which are some good ones to look into? Thanks

It is realistic option of cause, and don't worry, even experienced person was like that some time before. You will learn. Cmoy will be a good choice for first time DIYer. Go for it.

 

[hYdrociTy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif CMoy is a nice amp to get started and practice with, but doesn't sound that good. It's actually easier to solder the Dynahi board because it is bigger and easier to see everything.

That is so true. I fudged up two cmoys, but my pimeta build was a flawless few hour deal with absolutely no hitch and worked on first run.

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I'd stick with the CMoy

 

[AndrewFischer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mofonyx /img/forum/go_quote.gif For all you know, the Hafler preamp and Nakamichi tape deck uses a CMoy circuitry.

Umm I have a Hafler DH-110. It most certainly does not have a CMOY style head amp. All discrete transistors. 90dB S/N and 12V/µS slew rate is hardly state of the art these days.



http://www.hafler.com/techsupport/pd...preamp_man.pdf

 

[rb67]

IMO the CMOY is the perfect starter DIY audio project. It's relatively simple and sounds great. The soldering is easy and troubleshooting is simple as there aren't as many places things can break. There is lots of support so if there is a problem, people will be able to answer your questions really quickly.

An RA-1 clone is another very simple and inexpensive amp you can build, although I won't mention the details here for obvious reasons.

 

[fordgtlover]

The CMoy is cheap and easy to build with the added bonus that troubleshooting is easier because there are only a dozen parts. While I found assembling the pimeta easier to build in many respects, tracking down an incorrect voltage on one of the 5 IC sockets - compared to 1 on the cmoy - was far more challenging.