Project Headphone amp build thread.
Jun 25, 2011 20:57:16 GMT
Post by PinkFloyd on Jun 25, 2011 20:57:16 GMT
I completed my Project this morning... quite literally too.... 4.00am! Couldn't sleep (was woken up by birds) so decided to crack on with the amp. It was all complete at 6am so total build time was about 3 hours for me (I spent an hour on it last night).
Let me say one thing.... this is the easiest kit amp I have EVER put together, the instructions are SUPERB and there is nothing left to the imagination. The amp fired up first time (after this idiot, "me", realised the phono sockets he had fitted were not the correct types and weren't connected to the signal tracks!).... I fitted the ones supplied with the kit and, BINGO!, she lived!
This is simplicity itself, from a handful of parts to a FULLY functioning, and beautiful looking, amp in a matter of hours.... this has got to be the most user friendly / stylish kit amp on planet Earth (I jest not).
I'll keep this basic.... all you have to do is populate the boards with the parts, shove in a valve of your choice and then set the bias to 13.5V per side. This is a simple case of connecting a multimeter (DCV range) and probing the bias pads which are on the board.... a few turns of the high quality Bourns trimpots (clockwise) and you are, as near as dammit, tuned to 13.5V per channel in seconds.... it's as easy as that!!
It's then just a simple case of choosing what "colour" you would like glowing under the valve.... the pre-release version has 3 colours.... red, green or blue.... all you have to do is jumper (jumpers are supplied) over the colour of your choice "RGB" and, VOILA!, the valve will glow in your chosen colour!
My pre-release board will differ, ever so slightly, from the production versions... you can see the little revision Jeremy made to the Pre-release board before he shipped it to me.... just to the right of the valve socket pads in the picture:
That REALLY is about all I can say regarding the build.... it is SIMPLE!! A fantastically thought out design (as you would expect from Frans), absolutely bullet proof and not one part that left me scratching my head.... this is painting by numbers kit amp building at it's VERY best. There is no doubt, at all, that this amp deserves to go global.... (more on the sound quality later
) Frans has designed, possibly, the best valve kit headphone amp on the market and Jeremy has brought it to market.... I am very impressed with the end result.
I have started off with a JAN Philips 6922 valve and I matched both sides of it as close as possible with my Tube Imp (took about 9 valves before I came across one that was almost perfect per side) so my evaluation of the sound quality will be from a position where I "know" the valve is 100% spot on.
I also measured all the caps for ESR and am happy to report that most of them were around the 0.01 ohm mark... the Dale resistors were also within a couple of ohms of each other (high values) and spot on (low values).... the parts are certainly top quality and close to each other in tolerance.
This has got to be the easiest typing job I've had (with regard to kit amps)..... how much more can I say than "SIMPLE TO BUILD"? how much more can I say than "IT DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN"?..... I was expecting a half decent amp but I wasn't expecting THIS amazing sound quality (again..... more on that later)
Let's just say this (at this juncture) there is ZERO comparison between an Indeed / Bravo... the PS is a totally different beast that has "evolved" into something magnificent.... this not only LOOKS good it sounds even better
I must stop drooling now because I don't want to spend the evening "typing".... I want to sit back and become immersed in the music. Frans and Jeremy, you have done a fantastic job and this is (IMO) is the biggest wave to hit the headphone market in many a year, well done
Here are a few pics of the completed amp.... Jeremy was right, she looks a LOT better in real life but I hope some of these pics will give you an idea of what you can expect.
Mike.
Pictured next to a "Bravo"....
A few random pics.....
On test in the workshop....
Russian military grade valve shield....
I will share notes with you blokes if you have a kit on the way.... for anyone that doesn't have a kit on the way I would suggest they RUN (don't walk) to their computers and order one.... this is the best thing to happen to headphone land in YEARS.
All the best,
Pinkie.
Let me say one thing.... this is the easiest kit amp I have EVER put together, the instructions are SUPERB and there is nothing left to the imagination. The amp fired up first time (after this idiot, "me", realised the phono sockets he had fitted were not the correct types and weren't connected to the signal tracks!).... I fitted the ones supplied with the kit and, BINGO!, she lived!
This is simplicity itself, from a handful of parts to a FULLY functioning, and beautiful looking, amp in a matter of hours.... this has got to be the most user friendly / stylish kit amp on planet Earth (I jest not).
I'll keep this basic.... all you have to do is populate the boards with the parts, shove in a valve of your choice and then set the bias to 13.5V per side. This is a simple case of connecting a multimeter (DCV range) and probing the bias pads which are on the board.... a few turns of the high quality Bourns trimpots (clockwise) and you are, as near as dammit, tuned to 13.5V per channel in seconds.... it's as easy as that!!
It's then just a simple case of choosing what "colour" you would like glowing under the valve.... the pre-release version has 3 colours.... red, green or blue.... all you have to do is jumper (jumpers are supplied) over the colour of your choice "RGB" and, VOILA!, the valve will glow in your chosen colour!
My pre-release board will differ, ever so slightly, from the production versions... you can see the little revision Jeremy made to the Pre-release board before he shipped it to me.... just to the right of the valve socket pads in the picture:
That REALLY is about all I can say regarding the build.... it is SIMPLE!! A fantastically thought out design (as you would expect from Frans), absolutely bullet proof and not one part that left me scratching my head.... this is painting by numbers kit amp building at it's VERY best. There is no doubt, at all, that this amp deserves to go global.... (more on the sound quality later
) Frans has designed, possibly, the best valve kit headphone amp on the market and Jeremy has brought it to market.... I am very impressed with the end result.I have started off with a JAN Philips 6922 valve and I matched both sides of it as close as possible with my Tube Imp (took about 9 valves before I came across one that was almost perfect per side) so my evaluation of the sound quality will be from a position where I "know" the valve is 100% spot on.
I also measured all the caps for ESR and am happy to report that most of them were around the 0.01 ohm mark... the Dale resistors were also within a couple of ohms of each other (high values) and spot on (low values).... the parts are certainly top quality and close to each other in tolerance.
This has got to be the easiest typing job I've had (with regard to kit amps)..... how much more can I say than "SIMPLE TO BUILD"? how much more can I say than "IT DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN"?..... I was expecting a half decent amp but I wasn't expecting THIS amazing sound quality (again..... more on that later
)Let's just say this (at this juncture) there is ZERO comparison between an Indeed / Bravo... the PS is a totally different beast that has "evolved" into something magnificent.... this not only LOOKS good it sounds even better
I must stop drooling now because I don't want to spend the evening "typing".... I want to sit back and become immersed in the music. Frans and Jeremy, you have done a fantastic job and this is (IMO) is the biggest wave to hit the headphone market in many a year, well done
Here are a few pics of the completed amp.... Jeremy was right, she looks a LOT better in real life but I hope some of these pics will give you an idea of what you can expect.
Mike.
Pictured next to a "Bravo"....
A few random pics.....
On test in the workshop....
Russian military grade valve shield....
I will share notes with you blokes if you have a kit on the way.... for anyone that doesn't have a kit on the way I would suggest they RUN (don't walk) to their computers and order one.... this is the best thing to happen to headphone land in YEARS.
All the best,
Pinkie.
although slow progress for me (measure twice, cut once approach) i am really enjoying putting it together, no 3hr job for me, everything positioned dead centre, with printing on components upright etc etc, but should be finished and running soon, i hope. 
