TPA6120A2 best headphone amp in the world?

[peranders]

http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tpa6120a2.pdf

Check out this IC! Anybody who has come near this IC?

0.00014% THD + N
120 dB S/N

 

[Glassman]

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70517

and yes, it does look great

 

[peranders]

Oops... still has anybody laid hands on this IC?

 

[Glassman]

I'm gonna look at it sometime in summer, should be interesting.. the best portable amp & DAC ever?

 

[kevin gilmore]

Yes i have built a prototype and it sounds mighty good indeed.
Especially for portable applications, all you need is this ic, 4 resistors,
a miniature volume knob and a small dc-dc converter. All surface
mount, and requires attachment to a headsink thru the bottom which
is certainly a pain. I have a board layout which is not done yet.

I believe it is actually better sounding than the opamp/buffer solution
for portable sound.

 

[was ist los?]

Kevin, do you know of any good dc-dc converters for 9v batteries?

 

[doobooloo]

Is this the next mighty head-fi DIY project...

 

[ITZBITZ]

I sure hope so, it sounds like it could rival the MINT in terms of size and parts count.

 

[kevin gilmore]

With the 12 volt cosel converter, running VERY loud into grado headphones
the input power is 1.15 watts. A little high for 9 volt batteries.
But it is very small and it is very high quality.

In contrast my portable stax box uses about 6 watts of input power.

 

[was ist los?]

Kevin, so i should get a converter rated at 1.5W. What series would you recommend? I was looking at the ZU series since they are so small. They also seem to have more leeway on input voltage requirements. I may just use 4AAs instead of a 9V.
Also, what type of heatsink am i looking for?

 

[Garbz]

excuse my ignorance but what is the DC-DC coverter for, and why would i need it if i start a project with this chip?

 

[aos]

I also have designed a board and have them coming, hopefully in two weeks I'll build one as well. It does sound like a perfect solution for a portable.

 

[doobooloo]

If this chip sounds so good, can it be used as a high-end amp solution?

Or at least somehow made to be a high-end solution? (Sort of like the maxed-out peranders' gainclone solution...)

 

[aos]

Sure, take two of them (also recommended in TI datasheets) with separate voltage regulators and see how that works out. I am really looking forward to trying them out. My board shipped yesterday and I hate waiting...

 

[kevin gilmore]

http://gilmore.chem.northwestern.edu/cosel.jpg
(warning huge)
Zuw 1R5 1215
(how you like that antique and rare ruler)

You don't really need the converter, i like regulated everything so
i use it. a 8 x AA brick is 12 volts and runs the thing for about 10 hours.
If you use 10 x powerex Nimh AA you get about 20 hours.

board picture
http://gilmore.chem.northwestern.edu/micro.pdf
Yes that is real size .9 x .9 inch.

You solder the chip thru the backside of the board then solder
on a piece of copper that is .3 inch wide and about 1 inch long.

Why build it. Sounds great and is sjosae tiny. I mean really tiny.

High end? For high impedance phones, sound is amazing for such
a little squirt. Low impedance phones, seriously lacking.