vwbeetle
04-03-2008, 10:02 PM
Because of the ease and quality of portable compressed music brought about by the iPod, things naturally progress into getting better earphones, wishing to use harder to drive/better sounding "cans" with the ipod and ultimately getting a headphone amp to power decent sounding headphones.
In searching the web for materials, I have discovered people dedicated (obssessed?) with "portable audio" and who claim to have "audiophile sounding" portable set-ups. I read with envy how they were able to have their iPods "modded" with better capacitors, how they were able to get exotic looking dock connectors and interconnects and of course how easily available great sounding headphone amps were to them. Living in a third world country sucks that way. Of course those accessories were available through the web, its always better to get things (especially audio things) locally especially because you have a chance to "audition" them.
Good thing we have more than enough competent people willing to DIY the things we can only wish for. The latest project of our local DIY guru is a modified "Mini3" headphone amp designed by amb of www.amb.org (http://www.amb.org).
the specs of the mini3 are as follows:
- Three Channel active topology
- LMH6643MA opamp for L/R channel
- LMH6642MA opamp for Ground channel
- TLE2426 rail splitter
- Alps RK0971221Z05 volume potentiometer
- Solid Aluminum Case and Knob
- 1% metal film resistors thin film type
- Built-in tickle charger (set to 20mA)
- 12v - 24v DC input
- 5670uf Total Caps
- 3 5/8" x 2 1/2" x 15/16" size
right off the bat, what interested me was the charging circuit. one of my complaints about the other portable head-amps ive had is that when the battery dies, you have to open them up to take out the battery and charge it. the charging circuit built in the amp definitely is a welcome feature.
ive also had some good sounding amps in the past, but they were power hungry, one particular one could drain a 9v rechargeable batt in 4 hours. i was told that this amp was designed specifically to allow great sound at minimum battery drain. so i decided to get one from our local diy guy and hooked it up to my iPod.
this amp is the smallest ive had. definitely smaller than my ipod video. its light too-- increases the over all portability of the set-up. the build quality is impressive. its built solidly with no loose parts which jingle when you shake it. i especially like the allen screw on the front and back plate. on the front plate you find the in & outsocket/ volume knob & small led at the back is the charging socket and led light. doesnt look too shaby at all together with my ipod.
this head-amp is highly regarded in audio sites. its even been rated as one of the top ten best headphone amplifiers-- landing 9th in a group of "branded" and more expensive ones. so i listened with high expectations. i was not disappointed.
straight out of the fedex envelope it came in, it sounded great.
it has good soundstage, and doesnt have that in your face quality of the sound.
the sound is clear, clean and crisp with no noise at all. comfortable listening volume is at 10 o'clock of the knob, and when i cranked up the volume to ear splitting levels, there was no distortion. it has strong but tight bass and clear but not shrieking treble. where it really really shines is in the midrange. female vocals sound so good, you find yourself totally immersed.
best of all is that the price of having one built is just the same as an entry level earphone.
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9746/p1010122lq0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
this amp is definitely a worthy accessory to the ipod.
In searching the web for materials, I have discovered people dedicated (obssessed?) with "portable audio" and who claim to have "audiophile sounding" portable set-ups. I read with envy how they were able to have their iPods "modded" with better capacitors, how they were able to get exotic looking dock connectors and interconnects and of course how easily available great sounding headphone amps were to them. Living in a third world country sucks that way. Of course those accessories were available through the web, its always better to get things (especially audio things) locally especially because you have a chance to "audition" them.
Good thing we have more than enough competent people willing to DIY the things we can only wish for. The latest project of our local DIY guru is a modified "Mini3" headphone amp designed by amb of www.amb.org (http://www.amb.org).
the specs of the mini3 are as follows:
- Three Channel active topology
- LMH6643MA opamp for L/R channel
- LMH6642MA opamp for Ground channel
- TLE2426 rail splitter
- Alps RK0971221Z05 volume potentiometer
- Solid Aluminum Case and Knob
- 1% metal film resistors thin film type
- Built-in tickle charger (set to 20mA)
- 12v - 24v DC input
- 5670uf Total Caps
- 3 5/8" x 2 1/2" x 15/16" size
right off the bat, what interested me was the charging circuit. one of my complaints about the other portable head-amps ive had is that when the battery dies, you have to open them up to take out the battery and charge it. the charging circuit built in the amp definitely is a welcome feature.
ive also had some good sounding amps in the past, but they were power hungry, one particular one could drain a 9v rechargeable batt in 4 hours. i was told that this amp was designed specifically to allow great sound at minimum battery drain. so i decided to get one from our local diy guy and hooked it up to my iPod.
this amp is the smallest ive had. definitely smaller than my ipod video. its light too-- increases the over all portability of the set-up. the build quality is impressive. its built solidly with no loose parts which jingle when you shake it. i especially like the allen screw on the front and back plate. on the front plate you find the in & outsocket/ volume knob & small led at the back is the charging socket and led light. doesnt look too shaby at all together with my ipod.
this head-amp is highly regarded in audio sites. its even been rated as one of the top ten best headphone amplifiers-- landing 9th in a group of "branded" and more expensive ones. so i listened with high expectations. i was not disappointed.
straight out of the fedex envelope it came in, it sounded great.
it has good soundstage, and doesnt have that in your face quality of the sound.
the sound is clear, clean and crisp with no noise at all. comfortable listening volume is at 10 o'clock of the knob, and when i cranked up the volume to ear splitting levels, there was no distortion. it has strong but tight bass and clear but not shrieking treble. where it really really shines is in the midrange. female vocals sound so good, you find yourself totally immersed.
best of all is that the price of having one built is just the same as an entry level earphone.
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9746/p1010122lq0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
this amp is definitely a worthy accessory to the ipod.