Which altoids tin looks best for a CMoy (headphone amp)

[rockyct]

Originally posted by: astroidea

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
why the hell would you need a headphone amp? you want to go deaf overnight?

You do realize all speakers no matter how big or small need amps, right? Every headphone jack is amplified (unless its a lineout in which case there's other issues), a quality headphone amp can improve the sound. Its not just a volume issue.

As for which tin looks best, to be honest I think they all look bad. I would say the Spearmint looks best I guess though.

ah, nope didn't realize it would do anything except make it louder.

carry on.

basically high end headphones that aren't as efficient and meant to be driven from a stereo receivers big headphone plug.
plug into a regular player and you get lousy volume and sound.
doesn't apply to most consumer headphones you'd actually carry around for most folks.

Yup, usually high end headphones have really high impedance, that of several times higher than consumer phones (>100ohms vs. <25ohms, respectively)

Therefore, the higher end headphones take a lot more oomph to drive.
I have the Etymotic ER4S that runs on 100ohms. Plugged into regular players and outputs, the sound is thin and fatiguing, even with the volume up.
With an amp, it sounds much much fuller and richer. It sounds like an eargasm actually.

Yeah, I have a pair of Sennheiser HD580s with a 300 ohm impedance. My Creative Vision:M can make them loud enough, but loudness has nothing to do with sound quality. After about a year with the headphones without a real amp, I finally broke down and just bought a $200 desktop amp (CKKIII) from someone at Head Fi (it's currently in transit).

I wanted to build a CMOY but I figured I would want to upgrade too soon. Funny thing is that the headphones were only $125 from Amazon new, so I'll probably want to get a better pair sooner than I'd like.

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: Aflac
Cool, I actually found the exact LED I used... Digikey Part Link
I believe I used a 15k ohm resistor, which was too dim. I think a 10k ohm one would've worked well... I think I picked the low value for battery life savings, but the power consumption of an LED is probably trivial.

Where'd you find a mount for a 3mm LED? I couldn't find any chrome mounts at Digikey (I actually did find them at RadioShack, but then I forgot about them for some reason). 3mm LEDs are really small, by the way... I was surprised at how tiny they were.

If you're using SR-60s, I would suggest you pick up an OPA2227. I really liked the combo. Since Grados are super forward, the Burr-Brown signature tames it a bit, and improves the bass to boot.

And yeah, that switch looks kinda monstrous... what you could do, though, is place the jacks on one end and have the pot knob and switch on the other end. Sure, a little inelegant, but it depends on how you have the amp oriented in your pocket. You could also place the switches on each side of the amp, so that it works like a chain link rather than a hub.

I was thinking about getting an OPA2227, but then decided against it for the last minute (since slowly the budget got bigger, forgot I needed desoldering braid, 0.05" solder is too big, forgot about heatshrink (going to a local hobby store since RS apparently has awful heatshrink))...

http://search.digikey.com/scri...Detail?name=67-1331-ND
for $0.60, why not use those instead of $1.50 - $3.00 for RS stuff...

I guess I might have to stick with the design of the pot and two jacks on the smaller side and the LED w/ switch on the other... I just hope the switch doesn't break! .

Let's just hope the OPA2228PA matches well with the sr-60's. I might need a closed can though, not IEM's.... Hmm... Darn audiophilia :laugh:

I wonder how good my cable management skills can be .

 

[uhohs]

i've been looking at the darkvoice 336i or bada ph12

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: uhohs
i've been looking at the darkvoice 336i or bada ph12

I've never heard of the bada, but the Darkvoice is very nice... I can't remember specific impressions, but they did wonders with my friend's HD580 and DT880s... but I'm still a Grado man, so I can't say much more beyond that

But yeah, Head-Fi's a really dangerous place for your wallet... I didn't even have a steady source of income and I was ready to drop like $300 on an amp and $200-400 on a nice pair of headphones... I'm glad that never panned out /relief

While I haven't been sucked into hardcore audiophilia, I refuse to buy headphones which I've never heard of (this pretty much means anything under $40). It's tough being picky...

 

[Muadib]

I'm going to have to try this when I have time.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: nineball9

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
[You do realize all speakers no matter how big or small need amps, right? Every headphone jack is amplified (unless its a lineout in which case there's other issues), a quality headphone amp can improve the sound. Its not just a volume issue.

As for which tin looks best, to be honest I think they all look bad. I would say the Spearmint looks best I guess though.

Actually, a crystal radio has no batteries, has no amplification, and one can listen to the AM radio band with an earphone. Only needs a few parts: wire for ground and antenna, a coil (one can easily wind one) and a detector - a diode, or years ago, a piece of galena with a cat wisker. There is no on/off switch as there is nothing to turn off! But it's not amplified; the broadcast radio wave powers the circuit including the "speaker" (earphone).

Alas, this is not what the OP has in mind

I wondered how long before someone said something along those lines. Smartass (seriously, I'm meaning that in a joking fun way, just to be certain, as it can be hard to tell via text on the internet).

 

[Captante]

Peppermint

 

[Ricemarine]

Cmon people I need a clear winner (not rly but hey sure )

 

[gorcorps]

they're all pretty much the same except for color... so what's your fave color? Mine is blue so I picked that one

 

[Ika]

Just go with whatever color scheme you think works best. Red and gold worked really well (and I'm a Cavs fan... and stuff), so that's what I got. If you like green, go with that. I find it weird that your Rite Aid has two different types of CMoy tins (compare three in bottom left corner to three in top right corner). The bottom style tin in cinnamon is delicious...

 

[Ika]

Oh, that an cinnamon smells better than mint.

 

[konakona]

Originally posted by: uhohs
i've been looking at the darkvoice 336i or bada ph12

the bada amp, just like the beresford DAC, could in fact be an oustanding product with an excellent value; however its reputation is tainted by some overly enthusiastic members that worship as the best amp ever produced. You would be aware of this if you were frequent to head-fi forums, quite a sore sight to eyes I might add. Personally, I am so disgusted that I wouldn't touch either with a 10foot pole, and I am sure I am not the only head-fier extremely annoyed by blatant display of fanboism. There are some legitimate (and unadressed) questions on build quality as well IRC.

oh btw, if you are a fan of smooth, lush and organic sound, go singlepower by all means

 

[dighn]

I like to get an enclosure so it looks somewhat professional

 

[konakona]

spearmint
go green!