CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[ecrabb]

OK, so I just ordered a decent pair of cans for the office...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RB24S2?ie=UTF8&tag=curtpalmecrtp-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001RB24S2

Nothing great - just a pair of Sonys that are supposed to have really good bass, and from the FR test I found, they look like they can be EQ'd back to pretty flat all the way down to 10hz and below. Cool! It'll be better than at home in the HT with subs!

Anyway, they'll be here Wednesday... If I have to sit at the damn desk all day every day, I might as well listen to some decent music on a decent pair of headphones, right? I'm tired of ear buds - they're uncomfortable and they suck ass. Zero bass. They're about a step up from a clock radio. So, better phones... Yes.

Now, I've noticed when I borrowed some better cans, that the headphone amp in new computers and portable music players are obviously geared more toward driving ear buds, as even (especially?) when you use a larger headphone, they just won't play any bass cleanly... I assume they have no current capability. So, I thought I'd try an amp.

So, has anybody built a headphone amp? Any recommendations? I googled and there seem to be dozens of them... I have no interest in spending $200 on some crazy tube design... I'm thinking along the lines of $50 or less.

Anybody built one of these?

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

Opinions?

Thanks!
SC

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[dvh99]

for about 40 to 50 usd you can make one yourself.
have a look at diyaudio.com for some ideas, there are plenty.

[ecrabb]

Spec sheet says impedance is 40-ohms, Jeremy.

Hmmm.. Maybe it's not worth scratch-building one... Rolls, ART and Behringer all make headphone amps for less than $50.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KIPT30?ie=UTF8&tag=curtpalmecrtp-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000KIPT30

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010BWLMS?ie=UTF8&tag=curtpalmecrtp-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010BWLMS

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M0TN6U?ie=UTF8&tag=curtpalmecrtp-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000M0TN6U

The Rolls and ART is both around $50, while the Behringer is only about $22. The little ART box looks pretty nice and I'm reading lots of positive reviews... Heck, the case alone would probably be $20 if you were DIY'ing.

Hmm....

SC

[dvh99]

diy is often more expensive then you think, components that have to be bought at 50 pieces minimum order, getting a case connectors a board for etching plus the chemicals for etching all adds up.
unless you dont have a lot of stuff around its not worth doing when you can get a 50usd amp from amazon.
building it from scratch if you do not have a single transistor or resistor and etching materials it may cost 200-300 usd to complete.
the addon board i made for the 02p vim was way more expensive then anticipated.

you are right, i wouldnt justify starting from scratch costwise looking at the prices on amazon, but i would make one myself because i have a lot of stuff lying around and for the fun factor.

[ecrabb]

Good points all around. I do have plenty of supplies like wire, solder, iron, etc... Of course, I'd likely buy a kit that included a manufactured board so I wouldn't have to do that part, and I'm pretty anal and careful, so I wouldn't anticipate any costly mistakes that can blow the cost factor, too...

I also get that building it is part of the fun and enjoyment, but I probably don't need to take on any more projects at the moment, either.

The cans come tomorrow, so I'm going to do a little more looking and will also wait to see what they sound like connected directly to the computer before I spend any more money.

Thanks!

SC

[macgyver655]

Take a pair of powered desktop speakers. The amp is in 1 speaker. Open it up and you'll see the amp. Get a headphone jack for your headphones and wire it to the speaker wires off the amp board. Power it up and plug them in.

I'm sure you have desktop speakers lying around.

[ecrabb]

Hmmm... I think the only desktop speakers I have handy are hissy, scratchy junk... But, that's not a bad idea...

<leaves to go look around the office>

SC

[Curt Palme]

Mac has a good idea. Also, there are usually kits sold, PC board and parts at decent electronics stores that specialize in parts. Or eBay I'll bet.

BTW, I was in Costco yesterday and saw that they were selling Bose. They had a Bose headphone demo station, so I slipped them on, pushed the button, heard some really bad sounding music, and then a female voice boomed 'now isn't that excellent sound?'


Ummm....NOOO!

[Curt Palme]

Mac has a good idea. Also, there are usually kits sold, PC board and parts at decent electronics stores that specialize in parts. Or eBay I'll bet.

BTW, I was in Costco yesterday and saw that they were selling Bose. They had a Bose headphone demo station, so I slipped them on, pushed the button, heard some really bad sounding music, and then a female voice boomed 'now isn't that excellent sound?'


Ummm....NOOO!

[kal]

Links changed to support the forum!

Kal

[kal]

Links changed to support the forum!

Kal

[Curt Palme]

I'd go with the Rolls. The Behringer is absolute sh*t product, the Rolls is actually US built. I sell a lot of their pro audio stuff, and it's decent.

[Curt Palme]

I'd go with the Rolls. The Behringer is absolute sh*t product, the Rolls is actually US built. I sell a lot of their pro audio stuff, and it's decent.

[WanMan]

Let me know how you like these cans, SC. I just surprised the wife when I mentioned she could listen to music on the new setup without using the speakers. I think she's biting on the idea of getting cans like this. Cans, not jugs. And since they'll be plugged into an AVR, I doubt they'll need to be amplified (or can,; no pun intended).

[dvh99]

kal, can you make a deal with mouser and digikey like amazon so when ordering parts the forum is supported too

[WanMan]

So, how do these headphones sound? I was thinking of getting the wife the XB500/700 (through Amazon), but was waiting on feedback on them. Are these the 3.5mm style jack, or the larger 1/4"?

[kal]

[kal]