chris1967
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Post by chris1967 on Mar 9, 2013 8:34:11 GMT
Has anyone had experience with this amp? i tried a search and i found one comment (a couple years back) from Alex that he might try it compared with his excellent amp...
Do you think it is worth the try?
And in what configuration? is full balanced worth the much extra cost?
Boards are $12 each (you need minimum 2 but they recommend 3, and is the linear supply board σ22 as good as they say, or can i use another one such as Salas shunt v1,1 which i have extra boards?)
I would really apreciate your answers
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2013 11:02:20 GMT
Chris I was unable to find out much about the amplifier from the designer's site other than a brief description. You would need to Google "β22 headphone amplifier kit " and read up about it in other foruns where some have constructed it. You would also need to obtain proper lists of parts and check their cost and availability. Regards Alex
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Mar 9, 2013 11:06:44 GMT
I have listened to a couple of versions of this amp and it is a very niece sounding amp, although a bit expensive and hard to build. It has been 2-3 years so I cannot recall specifics.
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chris1967
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Post by chris1967 on Mar 9, 2013 15:20:23 GMT
Thank you for the answers, i have found the site www.amb.org/audio/beta22/There are descriptions schematic, and construction instructions... also comprehensive parts list. And from what i see it is too complicated,and costly and i am not sure if the sonic benefits will be worth it... i also had some friends try to refrain me form building an active ground amp... also they told me that if i go for full balanced i should have the whole chain in full balanced... and this is not so on my headphone rig... I will give this one a skip...
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ronzo56
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Post by ronzo56 on Mar 9, 2013 20:37:19 GMT
Hi Chris,
I had a chance to listen to the β22 about 3 weeks ago at a headphone meet. It was a nice sounding amp, but it did look like might be a challenging build. With the separate power supply, it takes up a lot of room as well. Honestly, I heard amps that I liked better and at a lower cost. Of course I was listening with the highly revealing HD800's. May have just been they aren't a good match for each other. BTW the designer is a really nice guy.
Cheers,
Ron
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chris1967
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Post by chris1967 on Mar 10, 2013 8:32:38 GMT
Hi Ron,
well the truth is that i don't really need an amplifier, because the ones that i have are working fine and cover a wide spectrum of quality and power, but i thought to myself, maybe i should go for one good one at home (desktop rig separate from my main hifi), and maybe get rid of some lesser designs...
I have been slowly collecting stuff and some now are only collecting dust themselves...
I have always admired the high end solid states, but also the SET valve (tube) types...
Also my headphones vary, i have Senn 650/800, modded Fostex, AKG Q701 (my least liked phone) and a few more not worth mentioning because their power requirements are not demanding... (in the future if funds allow although i doubt it i might consider the Audeze LCD 2 also)
I would require something with lots of power/headroom, transparency, yet i might prefer it to the warmer side o neutral...(i do not want to go balanced since this will mean i have to spend extra on headphone cables/modifications).
This is why i enquired about the β22...
Do you or anyone else have any recommendation for a cost effective high end kit i could consider... (buying a completed/branded amp in this category is financially out of the question for me).
Thank you
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Spirit
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Post by Spirit on Mar 12, 2013 11:05:14 GMT
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2013 23:28:43 GMT
Hmm, I might be a bit late as it seems you already decided to abandon building the Beta22. I have built that and other headphone amps. As an alternative, you could consider the M3, I have one in my office (since my Beta22 took its place at home). Alternatively the appraised Panda will get you a long way.
To be fair, the Beta22 is the most (ridiculously) expensive project I have built this far, but also it is my favorite performer. I have Beyerdynamic T1 and HifiMan HE-500 as my primary headphones and the Beta22 drives them both to my fullest satisfaction. The Panda has its own charm and a tremendous value-for money, the M3 has its bass boost, but cost aside I would choose my Beta22 over any of those any day of the week.
I haven't really felt the craving for a new amp since I built the Beta22 though I have heard several commercial offerings when attending meets and built a couple more myself. It simply gives me a feeling that it will drive anything and still have reserves. It truly DOES go to eleven! :-)
If interested, take a look at the projects I've done on my website.
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chris1967
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Double dip recession, Humous and taramosalata are off the menu!
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Post by chris1967 on Mar 17, 2013 9:38:36 GMT
My interest for the β22 started a couple of years ago when i read the thread in headfonia... in the meantime i went into an amplifier frenzy (i have 5 at the moment), until i am now content with my modified Chinese Lehmann Black Cube Linear clone (kit i built from e-bay)... this amp is the best i have heard but it is lacking that little bit of extra clarity i think i need, plus it is lacking in power under certain conditions... (i can try to give the circuit more power and run the ad797's i am currently using at maximum voltage...)...but you know how it is... one always likes to fiddle around...
It is certainly better than my Musical Fidelity M1 HPA, that i sold already... there was always something irritating about that amp... i blamed everything else until i built the BCL... then i realized it had to go... got a good price for it also...
The clarity issue came to me as soon as i upgraded my DAC for obvious reasons... i was kind of happy before with all of them, but now the differences are so much more obvious, and i have realized how much an amplifier can contribute to the sound, since i always thought it was about power and headroom... it is... but also transparency and clarity...and/or favorable coloration...
Many friends have deterred me from building the β22 not only as a cost factor, but also because they don't believe it is necessarily better sounding with these active earth stories... ( i am not sure why, they explained but i am no electronic buff...).
I am having a look at the Class A HA at the moment but there is too much to read and absorb at the moment...
Finances are extremely bad here the crisis and everything going on in Greece... and maybe i don't build anything at the moment but it is always good to ask and learn...
Can you give me your site address to look at your projects?
Many Thanks
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2013 15:29:28 GMT
Can you give me your site address to look at your projects? I thought it was in my profile somewhere... Anyways, it is mcfrede.dkAlternatively you could skip right to the projects page mcfrede.dk/projects
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chris1967
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Double dip recession, Humous and taramosalata are off the menu!
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Post by chris1967 on Mar 17, 2013 16:19:15 GMT
Wow!! Excellent work there !!
I will keep everything in mind...
Thanks again!!
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Post by ukemaxxer on Mar 21, 2013 15:53:22 GMT
Hi Ron, well the truth is that i don't really need an amplifier, because the ones that i have are working fine and cover a wide spectrum of quality and power, but i thought to myself, maybe i should go for one good one at home (desktop rig separate from my main hifi), and maybe get rid of some lesser designs... I have been slowly collecting stuff and some now are only collecting dust themselves... I have always admired the high end solid states, but also the SET valve (tube) types... Also my headphones vary, i have Senn 650/800, modded Fostex, AKG Q701 (my least liked phone) and a few more not worth mentioning because their power requirements are not demanding... (in the future if funds allow although i doubt it i might consider the Audeze LCD 2 also) I would require something with lots of power/headroom, transparency, yet i might prefer it to the warmer side o neutral...(i do not want to go balanced since this will mean i have to spend extra on headphone cables/modifications). This is why i enquired about the β22... Do you or anyone else have any recommendation for a cost effective high end kit i could consider... (buying a completed/branded amp in this category is financially out of the question for me). Thank you Personally, I wouldn't bother with the Panda, I did build one, which is now confined to the cupboard. I opted for the Project Horizon amp from Frans and available from www.garage1217.comGreat sounding amp, not difficult to build. I would definitely recommend it. Mine is here Horizon Mine is used with Sennheiser HD650. No shortage of power or bass.
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Post by oohms on Mar 30, 2013 6:19:57 GMT
Glass jar audio sell the kits.. but count on spending a lot more on the enclosure and the rest of the bits.. and it's a fairly hard kit to assemble, so i wouldn't do it unless you've built several others already
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