[Jimmy24]

Just tried the MUSES02 vs the OPA2107. DC offsets were much higher on the MUSES02 at 18/12. OPA2107 offsets were near 0 at -0.8/-0.3.

MUSES02 didn't have the kind of soundstage and instrument separation as the OPA2107. OPA2107 had a wider holographic soundstage. Also I can't stress enough how good the life-like sound comes out of the OPA2107. I don't get excited about head-gear often, this is revolutionary.

 

[doowap]

I'm thinking about building a WHAMMY. I see there is a lot of info on how to build it, but not much on how it sounds. Can anyone give me an idea of what commercially available HP amps this might be comparable to, and maybe some subjective impressions about the sound? For reference, right now the only amps I have are a Schiit Magni2U, Fiio A5 and Fiio Q1ii using a topping D10 or Schiit Modi2U as a DAC.

 

[JamieMcC]

I'm thinking about building a WHAMMY. I see there is a lot of info on how to build it, but not much on how it sounds. Can anyone give me an idea of what commercially available HP amps this might be comparable to, and maybe some subjective impressions about the sound? For reference, right now the only amps I have are a Schiit Magni2U, Fiio A5 and Fiio Q1ii using a topping D10 or Schiit Modi2U as a DAC.

Its a Wayne Colburn design so don't "think" just order, build and be very happy you did so instead of dropping $1000 on a commercial off the self amp.

 

[doowap]

Its a Wayne Colburn design so don't "think" just order, build and be very happy you did so instead of dropping $1000 on a commercial off the self amp.

Its that good, huh? Yea I won't be buying any $1000 hardware any time soon, so I'm sure its better than anything I could afford to buy off the shelf. I've never soldered or done any kind of electronics DIY stuff, so I think I'm gonna start with a CMoy or something, but the WHAMMY and Bottlehead Crack(or starving student, as that describes my budget) are the two amps I really want to make, once I feel confident I can put them together. I usually listen on HD600s, or Beyer DT880 600ohm and I want to get the most out of them.

 

[JamieMcC]

Its that good, huh? Yea I won't be buying any $1000 hardware any time soon, so I'm sure its better than anything I could afford to buy off the shelf. I've never soldered or done any kind of electronics DIY stuff, so I think I'm gonna start with a CMoy or something, but the WHAMMY and Bottlehead Crack(or starving student, as that describes my budget) are the two amps I really want to make, once I feel confident I can put them together. I usually listen on HD600s, or Beyer DT880 600ohm and I want to get the most out of them.

I've built half a dozen or so Cracks (a modified Crack with premium tubes can easily double the cost of a stock Crack & Speedball) Crack is a lot of fun but if on a tight budget do factor in the temptation of a bit of tube rolling on top which can get spendy real fast. With the Whammy in comparison if you do get the itch to experiment a bit with tweaking the sound to your personal preference rolling op-amps might only cost a few dollars.

In addition to the Whammy currently I have also Diyaudio T2/Noir a Chord Mojo a heavily modified Bottlehead Sex and Bottlehead Mainline. The Whammy is a easy recommendation while its doesn't give quiet the same experience as the Mainline performance wise in my system the Whammy does get very close for a fraction of the cost (I'm using a Burson V6 Classic op-amp in my Whammy with Sennheiser HD800 cans, OPPO 205 as dac, Roon Rock server).

The Whammy due to the pcb layout with block transformer and lower operating voltages is I would say a more user friendly build for a new builder than a tube amp with high voltages present throughout the amp like the Crack.

Definitely a good idea to practice first on a couple of cheap projects. Lots of support and good advice for builders on the Whammy thread on the DIY audio site

Hope that helps

 

[doowap]

I've built half a dozen or so Cracks (a modified Crack with premium tubes can easily double the cost of a stock Crack & Speedball) Crack is a lot of fun but if on a tight budget do factor in the temptation of a bit of tube rolling on top which can get spendy real fast. With the Whammy in comparison if you do get the itch to experiment a bit with tweaking the sound to your personal preference rolling op-amps might only cost a few dollars.

In addition to the Whammy currently I have also Diyaudio T2/Noir a Chord Mojo a heavily modified Bottlehead Sex and Bottlehead Mainline. The Whammy is a easy recommendation while its doesn't give quiet the same experience as the Mainline performance wise in my system the Whammy does get very close for a fraction of the cost (I'm using a Burson V6 Classic op-amp in my Whammy with Sennheiser HD800 cans, OPPO 205 as dac, Roon Rock server).

The Whammy due to the pcb layout with block transformer and lower operating voltages is I would say a more user friendly build for a new builder than a tube amp with high voltages present throughout the amp like the Crack.

Definitely a good idea to practice first on a couple of cheap projects. Lots of support and good advice for builders on the Whammy thread on the DIY audio site

Hope that helps

Yea the Bottlehead Crack would be an expensive project. I really want a tube amp though, so I will hopefully end up making one eventually but I'm gonna work my way up. Have you heard one of the "Starving Student" amps? I'm curious how that would compare, or if it would be a good project while I get some experience/save up to make a Crack.
Also, did the switch to the Burson V6 Classic require any modification, or do you just pop the original op-amp out of the socket and pop in the Burson? What made you pick Burson V6 Classic?

 

[ThermalAlchemy]

Just came back from the 2019 Burning Amp festival in SF Last weekend. Just build the WHAMMY and swap out Op amps untill your hearts content listening to the different sound signatures. Very beginner friendly and tons of support with an excellent illustrated build guide over at DIYaudio.
Save your desire for tubes until you’re a little more experience with the soldering gun and laying down and putting together components.
If you really want to crave that thirst for a tube amp a very cheap inexpensive one with great performance and you do not have to purchase the ridiculously expensive tubes you could get plain Jane RCA or Sylvania stay away from the high price tubes as a beginner and be pleased with the tube sound. There’s also many brand new tubes manufactured in Russia and in Italy and Japan and China some of the better brand Chinese ones. For roughly $199 on sale get the (Dark Voice SE336) it works excellent with my Sennheiser 650 and 800.
And the dark voice makes an excellent preamp for your solid-state amplifier to give you that that tube Sound and soften up the harshness of a class D amplifier

 

[Allanmarcus]

The starving student amp from DIY is good, as is the crack. The crack commonly goes on sale for Black Friday, and you don't need a speedball for fancy for it to sound good. The speedball will alter the sound a bit, and good tubes and make it sound much better, but even with stock everything, the crack sounds great WITH high impedance headphones. It will sound like crap with low impedance headphones. The crack is also incredible easy to make. garage1217 also has some nice DIY amps and a good DIY tips page The starlight kit is only 149, but I don't know if that includes a tube.

The WHAMMY is a pretty easy build for the board. The harder part is the chassis.

I recommend you start with a few cables, then build an amp.

BTW, see my signature for all my collected wisdom on DIY stuff.

 

[Jimmy24]

Shouldn't this be moved to the Headphones Amp Full Size category? I think it deserves a bit more recognition

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Shouldn't this be moved to the Headphones Amp Full Size category? I think it deserves a bit more recognition

The WHAMMY is inherently DIY in nature, but I don't see why a separate thread on WHAMMY impressions would be out of place in the Headphone Amps forum. Why don't you do the honors and get one started Jimmy?

Also FWIW, Bottlehead gear is 15% off currently.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Hi. Burson Audio sent me a couple of their opamps to test (unsolicited) in exchange for posting a picture. They sent me a classic V6 and a vivid. Here's the picture. I had to use a couple of extra sockets to extend the pins and allow a fit.

How do they sound? Honestly, I really can't hear a difference between them, or other opamps. I even have two WHAMMYs and did a/b testing. Maybe, possibly, there is a subtle difference, but I could not really identify it, and my ears would adjust so fast, it wouldn't make a difference to me.

Thanks to Burson for the opamps.

 

[JamieMcC]

Burson Audio also contacted me (unsolicited) before xmas and asked if I would like a V6 Vivid and V6 Classic discreet opamps to try in my Whammy as well.

Having purchased both the both V6 Classic and V6 Vivid personally in the past it was great to have another listen and revisit my initial thoughts especially as some things have changed in my system.

I had moved on my original V6 Vivid some six months or more ago as I found the Vivid just to fatiguing to listen to for longer sessions and my personal preference was for the more musical presentation (as I heard it) of the Classic. Luckily I still have my original V6 Classic so was able to compare a new out of the box V6 Classic with one that had several hundred hours of use. The fresh out of the box V6 Classic presentation was instantly recognisable and very similar to my well run in one but there was certainly a little less openness and the intimacy to the vocal presentation. The density of tone and texturing that I really like about the V6 Classic was there but it didn't quiet have the finesse and polish to its presentation that I was used to with my well run in one but still very enjoyable and easy to listen to for long sessions.

Now switching to the V6 Vivid something I was in all honesty not really looking forward to and put off for some time but wowzers what a surprise and difference compared to my prior experience of comparing the Vivid to the Classic.

I distinctly 100% preferred the Classic previously finding the Vivid a bit to much of a good thing and to fatiguing for me to listen to for anything but a short periods. For me the Classic just had more of the refined and musical presentation I enjoyed.

The surprising thing is I'm now going to do a complete about face a full on U-turn and say I find the V6 Vivid a really enjoyable listening experience my dac Oppo 205 and HD800 headphones remain the same the only difference is I had moved to a dedicated Roon Rock set up for my source last year.

The difference between my past and present experience with the V6 Vivid must be down to Roon and I honestly found it was a chalk and cheese listening experience for me. I now find the V6 Vivid equally as musical and long session are not tiring in the slightest which means I can enjoy that extra level of resolve and speed the Vivid brings to the table a very unexpected and ultimately very enjoyable result.

Its very commendable of Burson to reach out to ordinary diy headfiers and give the chance to try out their products I very much appreciated the opportunity to try their V6 Vivid and Classic Op amps once again.

 

[Jbucla2005]

I love this amp, I use it for headphones but also as a pre amp. I prefer the LM833N op amp to the OPA2107A because it is warmer to my ears.

 

[Ad-Astra]

I have a whammy amp for sale if anyone is interested. I'm located in the US

 

[gaz2613]

Hey all I made a few different designs based on Wayne's power supply for the whammy. The one shown is a single rail positive CRCRC filtered linear supply. This board is already in the fabrication house and I'll be fully testing when they arrive.



I have also made a board based on the pilot light schematic submitted by 6L6 which allows you to easily add a pilot or power LED to the whammy or any other amp that doesn't have the provision for a power LED. Simply tap into the transformers AC output or the power supplys DC output. I made an alteration to the original circuit by adding a variable resistor to allow you to adjust the brightness of the power LED indicator for your build. These are also in the fabrication house.