[TT600R]

I have been searching for a portable amp for my E5's and I have decided to go for a PINT since they get such good reviews here.
I am having it build by a DIY AMP builder here in Holland because I myself am an absolute electronics n00b.
I Just don't know what stuff to order(what AMP etc.) and what about GAIN??
Have no clue about these things.Maybe it is too hocus pocus for me but since I have it build by a profesional I will give it a try.
I just asking you guys some configuration suggestions for this particular AMP.Power will be 2 x 9 Volt.
It goes with a Iriver H320.
Thanks in advance.

Sincerly,Matt

 

[threepointone]

good reviews? I guess the first impressions have been pretty good, but i personally feel that it's still a bit too early in it's design to say that much about the amp. There's been a few changes in the design recently, and i think the opinions on different configurations are still developing.

The gain is pretty much how much the amp amplifies your signal. It seems that almost everyone who has built their PINT so far uses a gain of 6, and that would also seem fine for your E5s.

There are also two major, overall PINT designs: the original one by tangent, and the "Mini^3" version. Both have their pros and cons, and you'll have to balance them to see which suits you. Tangent's design filters out something called DC offset. Too high of a DC offset can damage your headphones. However, tangent's design also has relatively high noise, and some find that the capacitor which filters it out may have a negative effect on sound quality. The Mini^3 version has low noise, but doesn't filter out DC offset. There's widely varying opinions on maximum safe DC offset, anywhere from 20mV to 100mV. I have an H3xx like you, and I would estimate the offset out of the headphone amp with a gain of 6 to be around 25mV max.

The other decision would be what opamp chips to use. These have the biggest influence on the sound. There are two opamps in the PINT design: one for the left/right channels and one for the ground channel. There are also two different chip models which seem to be the best for the PINT: the AD8397 and the LM6171. In general, there are two configurations which seem to be favored by most: AD8397 for all the channels, and AD8397 for the left/right with LM6171 for the ground. Filburt has compared these two in a post before:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filburt PINT #1 - Not "mini^3ified", AD8397 on L/R, LM6172 on ground, gain 4. Sound - Smooth with great detail and rather good soundstage and imaging for a portable. Has a nice amount of depth, relatively speaking. The sonic 'feeling' is that of the LM6172 keeping the aggressive 8397 in check. PINT #2 - "mini^3ified" with AD8397 on both. Gain is still 4. More aggressive sound to it, and more forward. A bit brighter as well on upper mids it seems like. Soundstage and depth seems to be less than on PINT1. I can try to elaborate more if necessary, but perhaps this will help. I prefer #1 for classical and jazz, and prefer #2 for rock and metal.

Apart from the sonic differences, the AD8397 chip takes A LOT of battery power. With the LM6171 as the second opamp, you are significantly increasing the battery life of your amp.

Most likely your amp builder might be able to provide you with more advice.

Hopefully I didn't get too technical =)

 

[TT600R]

Thanks for your clear reply Threepointone,really appreciate it.
Will print it out and show it my AMP builder.(hasn't got internet)

PS:
Would you consider me a n00b if I myself soldered a modchip into my Xbox

 

[[AK]Zip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TT600R Thanks for your clear reply Threepointone,really appreciate it. Will print it out and show it my AMP builder.(hasn't got internet) PS: Would you consider me a n00b if I myself soldered a modchip into my Xbox

If you can mod an xbox there is a good chance you can build this amp yourself.

-Alex-

 

[TT600R]

Was considering doing it myself but I happen to have a college who is a AMP builder and he is willing to build it for me.
But still having problems with my E5 monitors.They had a weak sound in the left channel and had them repaired at my dealer here in Holland.They replaced the internal filters but now the right channel is very weak.

Have to call them again and send them back again.GRRRR...
Think they are busted.

 

[nysulli]

the dc offset filtering your refering to on the normal pint design isn't really dc offset, theres a capacitor in place which takes the changing resistance of the volume pot out of the balancing equation for the opamp, however that requires you to use higher resistors to set your gain on the output side of the opamp, which in turn leads to higher noise, where the minified version allows for lower resistor values, but will usually be a little unbalanced between the input and output sides, but i really haven't noticed a problem at all in mine as a result

one thing to be aware of is that with lower impedence headphones, some people are complaining of hiss issues with the normal pint, but no ones complained of those issues with the minified version.

i highly suggest you read these 2 threads at least, if not search pint and read a bit more so you can make an informed decision about which route you want to go

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...highlight=pint

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...highlight=pint

the later pages of the second thread are loaded with information from people building minified pints, and various people have run into in general, very informitive

 

[TT600R]

Thanks for the links Nysulli.I try to get some usefull info of them.

Offtopic.See you are from Rochester NY.I'll be travelling there soon for work(at the NalgNunc factory)Maybe visit the Niagara falls when I get some spare time.