Interested in building a headphone amp

[Tyrius]

This will be my first DIY so im wondering what you guys think would be good for a beginner to do that is inexpensive?

 

[thrice]

The stock answer to this question is to check out tangent's website.

There's a great article about getting started in DIY audio...

http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/new-diyer.html

...and two tutorials for what can be considered "entry-level" amp projects.

http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/

http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/mint/

If you have little to no experience with DIY audio you might want to start with the CMOY. It's a relatively easy and inexpensive amp to build that sounds good...if you catch the bug (as most people do) you'll have "cut your teeth" on that project enough to move to a MINT or a PIMETA.

Read his site thoroughly though...he covers a lot of valuable material and it will answer a lot of questions and provide you with a great resource.

I hope that helps....and welcome to head-fi!

 

[Tyrius]

Thanks alot for hte info.

 

[Syzygies]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrice ...and two tutorials for what can be considered "entry-level" amp projects. http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/ http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/mint/

My read on Tangent's advice is to perhaps build a CMoy as a warmup, but to definitely build the Pimeta

http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/pimeta/

before the MINT. The MINT involves working at a rather delicate scale.

 

[robzy]

Build a cMoy first - its simple, and cheap. Its also much easier to debug if something goes wrong. And even if you screw it up beyond beleif - at least you did it with the cheapest amp you could (although most people report cMoys working stragith away).

Rob.

 

[bg4533]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syzygies My read on Tangent's advice is to perhaps build a CMoy as a warmup, but to definitely build the Pimeta http://www.tangentsoft.net/audio/pimeta/ before the MINT. The MINT involves working at a rather delicate scale.

I didn't have much experience soldering before I built my Mint. I would say it is really no harder than a Pimeta. I think soldering SMT chips with a proper iron is sometimes easier than through hole things. I am probably in the minority here though.

The CMOY is the cheapest amp to build and sounds decent. I think the Mint is a nice step up and more beginners should build it provided they have a decent soldering iron and tip. If you are interested in getting more involved with DIY the CMOY will teach you things other projects won't due to the lack of a PCB.

 

[Tyrius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robzy Build a cMoy first - its simple, and cheap. Its also much easier to debug if something goes wrong. And even if you screw it up beyond beleif - at least you did it with the cheapest amp you could (although most people report cMoys working stragith away). Rob.

Reading the cMoy guide im puzzled. How do you know exactly where to put the pieces? Just look at the picture? Also how do you make the case using a mint tin? Looking to cost around 80-100 bucks w/ tools, once i get the funds ill start work on it.

EDIT: How do you read a Schematic? (sp?)

 

[tangent]

Quote:

Just look at the picture?

That's one way.

Quote:

How do you read a Schematic?

That's the other way.

I guess the simplest answer to the question is to get a copy of Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest Mims. This used to be available through Radio Shack until RS stopped carrying electronics books. Now it's available direct from the author. This is a very gentle, but rather shallow introduction to electronics. If all you need is some basic concept of what the various electronic components do and the correspondence between the parts and the schematic symbols, it's fine. If you want to truly understand electronics, start with some of these books.

 

[dmunky]

I'm also interested in building an amp as a weekend project, but I'm wondering how much a CMoy would benefit a pair of Grado SR-60s or Sony D66 Eggos with a 3g iPod as the source before I try to build one. Also, are there any sites that sell a DIY kit with all the parts included for a CMoy so I don't have to order from multiple places?

 

[Syzygies]

My CMoy with a 4G iPod improves the sound of Grado SR-80's, but they aren't my favorite headphones for this combination, a bit too revealing. That can't quite be it, I love my Etymotic ER-6i's with this rig, and they're very revealing. But so far, the Grados sound a bit brittle and fatiguing to me.