[Dake]

Hi,

I'm new to the DIY scene. But as I got a Beyerdynamic DT 990 today I realy would like to have a good headphone amp. I went to my cousin (who has a studio with good equipment^^) and there I got the impression that a good amp will raise the soundquality of the DT 990 extremly- not at least the max. volume which is a little bit low on my computer. I have a Creative X-Fi Platinum which actually has got a headphone amp but I think its only supporting up to 150 ohm. The DT 990 has got 250 ohm...so there realy is still some place for improvements (volume).
What I'm searching for now is an amp that makes my DT 990 be much louder (of course...each amp does do that- but it needs to be good for 250 ohm as well!)- but also with more kick bass! The DT 990 has got pretty strong highs...so the amp shouldn't imrpove the highs much further. Mids are also very good in my opinion. Also the sub frequence bass is unbelievable strong. But in my opinion there is still some kick bass missing. The whole sound of the DT 990 should be a little bit more direct- it should be more aggressive and more kicking- especially the basses as I said.
And should there still be a possibility to improve the sub-woofer style of the DT 990 I'd appreciate that as well

So my focus for improvements is lying on kick bass!, bass in general (allthough that's already awesome

) and I think also the mids could need a little improvement maybe. Not to forget the max. volume @ 250 ohm here.

So which amp would you recommend? And the reason why I want to build (or mod) one myself is cause I want to save some money...I don't think I could get all the improvements mentioned above with an amp sold under ~300 $.
The price for the parts of the amp (or amp + parts- should u recommend to mod a cheap amp- maybe the BTech BT928?) should be less then 100 $.
I hope I can get something that will help me at this price range^^


Dake

 

[ATAT]

Okay, first look to see if you have a soldering iron and other assorted equipment.. yes? good. because if not that's probably around $30 of your budget there in construction and troubleshooting equipment.. Now.. go search for a thread on bass-boosting the CMoy.. you can easily make a CMoy and Bass boost for cheap..

 

[MASantos]

Welcome to head-fi and sorry about your wallet!!

Do you have any experience with electronics, tools needed( soldering iron, pliers, cutter, solder, etc etc etc) ?
If yes, then I think something like a mint could be suitable, properly configured.
If not then the cost for tools could easily be over 100 alone!!

If you give us some more info on your experience then that can be really helpful.

ps: you could also strech you budget a bit and build a PIMETA.

Manuel

 

[leftshoe]

Cmoy is basically the only common amp that will cost less then $100. The great thing is that it is well documented on tangents site(google it). You can build it with whatever additions you want; bass boost etc.

Don't forget to factor the power supply into your cost calculations. For a cmoy you would probably want to use a wall wart or batteries.

 

[ATAT]

You can make a MINT or PIMETA for <100. (if you made the case yourself and cut costs on every component). You could get a Millet for ~120 or so.

 

[Dake]

Well, I have each tool I could need for building such an amp. I already informed myself at tangents website (the newbie tutorial or something like that).
Now the only question is which amp to build of the amps listed at tangents page for example.
Of my first posting you know what I want...so which amp should I build^^
And I want to add that I don't want to build an amp that's running with batteries^^ Or maybe another question: How long does a batterie driven amp run?
I mean- should it last like 1000 hours until you have to change the battery that should also be fine.


Dake

[EDIT]: I want to add that the case is no problem cuz my uncle will build one for me

He's got a plumber "company" and he knows how to make a nice aluminium case.
Also I could ask my dad to build the amp at the end...he worked as an electronic engineer like 15 years ago. The problem is that he can't read english and so I have to understand how to build the amp and which parts to buy first before we can build the amp.

 

[ATAT]

In that case.. go with the PIMETA. Get a bassboost going for it.. it shouldn't be hard... Worst case you can have your pater troubleshoot it.