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

Ricemarine

Ricemarine

Lifer
I'm building a CMoy, and since I don't want to buy a $8 enclosure, might as well resort to the ones @ my local Rite Aid for $1, the altoid tins...

They have all 6 flavors, so I'm wondering if you were going to make a headphone amplifier with a green LED, which one would you use?

Linky (Hope the site doesn't mind the added bandwidth...)
 
Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
why the hell would you need a headphone amp? you want to go deaf overnight?
Click to expand...

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.
 
Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
why the hell would you need a headphone amp? you want to go deaf overnight?
Click to expand...

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.
Click to expand...

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

carry on.
 
Originally posted by: Aflac
Cinnamon was the one I picked for my own CMoy. Gold and red work very well together.

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4950661620809990162

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4950661613946142738

EDIT: whoa, just looked at your link and the tins are totally different. Of those six, the best one is probably Spearmint, then Peppermint.
Click to expand...

By any chance can you take a picture of the inside of your tin? I'm wondering where you soldered your R2 and R3 (if you did go Tangent's way of protoboard + stuff instead of PCB).
 
Originally posted by: biggestmuff
Why go with an Altoid's tin? There are other candy, gum and mint products that utilize similar sized tins.
Click to expand...

Care to give some examples? My mind has only been thinking of Altoids or Sours for candy in a tin.
 
Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Originally posted by: Aflac
Cinnamon was the one I picked for my own CMoy. Gold and red work very well together.

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4950661620809990162

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4950661613946142738

EDIT: whoa, just looked at your link and the tins are totally different. Of those six, the best one is probably Spearmint, then Peppermint.
Click to expand...

By any chance can you take a picture of the inside of your tin? I'm wondering where you soldered your R2 and R3 (if you did go Tangent's way of protoboard + stuff instead of PCB).
Click to expand...

http://picasaweb.google.com/submergence/CmoyInsides

It's a big mess, though... and I think I screwed up my amp. During some testing me and a friend found that it doesn't really do much improving... the most noticeable effect was a big boost in midbass, which was rather undesirable. I don't have the amp with me and I don't have the BOM saved anywhere, so I can't be of much more help. I got all my parts from Digikey and I think I picked some random polyester caps at the suggestion of some Head-FI members (though I probably got the wrong kind).

I'm gonna go dig for my help thread and see if I can find it.
 
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?
Click to expand...

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.
Click to expand...

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

carry on.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Originally posted by: Aflac
Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Originally posted by: Aflac
Cinnamon was the one I picked for my own CMoy. Gold and red work very well together.

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4950661620809990162

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4950661613946142738

EDIT: whoa, just looked at your link and the tins are totally different. Of those six, the best one is probably Spearmint, then Peppermint.
Click to expand...

By any chance can you take a picture of the inside of your tin? I'm wondering where you soldered your R2 and R3 (if you did go Tangent's way of protoboard + stuff instead of PCB).
Click to expand...

http://picasaweb.google.com/submergence/CmoyInsides

It's a big mess, though... and I think I screwed up my amp. During some testing me and a friend found that it doesn't really do much improving... the most noticeable effect was a big boost in midbass, which was rather undesirable. I don't have the amp with me and I don't have the BOM saved anywhere, so I can't be of much more help. I got all my parts from Digikey and I think I picked some random polyester caps at the suggestion of some Head-FI members (though I probably got the wrong kind).

I'm gonna go dig for my help thread and see if I can find it.
Click to expand...

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/...elp-cmoy-parts-183397/

There's my nub amp thread. It's a pretty big thread with some good CMoy part info in it, but make sure you read my impressions at the end before you make any decisions.

By the way, as a side note regarding mint tins - my favorite kind are Penguin caffeinated mints - Text.

They're kind of expensive, but you get caffeinated mints! You'll probably have to order some parts to make shipping worth it, though... but hey, you can always use stuff from Jab-Tech, right? If not, look elsewhere, I'm sure you can find them.
 
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?
Click to expand...

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.
Click to expand...

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

carry on.
Click to expand...

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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Originally posted by: Aflac
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/...elp-cmoy-parts-183397/

There's my nub amp thread. It's a pretty big thread with some good CMoy part info in it, but make sure you read my impressions at the end before you make any decisions.

By the way, as a side note regarding mint tins - my favorite kind are Penguin caffeinated mints - Text.

They're kind of expensive, but you get caffeinated mints! You'll probably have to order some parts to make shipping worth it, though... but hey, you can always use stuff from Jab-Tech, right? If not, look elsewhere, I'm sure you can find them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the thread...
By the way one question if you remember... can you fit the pot, switch, 3.5mm jacks, and the LED all on that one side of the altoids tin? On wikipedia, there apparently is someone who has, but with 1.5mm width of space, I'm wondering if its really possible to do it or not.

Btw, I'm using an OPA2228PA, you can probably find my thread on head-fi 😛.

 
Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Originally posted by: Aflac
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/...elp-cmoy-parts-183397/

There's my nub amp thread. It's a pretty big thread with some good CMoy part info in it, but make sure you read my impressions at the end before you make any decisions.

By the way, as a side note regarding mint tins - my favorite kind are Penguin caffeinated mints - Text.

They're kind of expensive, but you get caffeinated mints! You'll probably have to order some parts to make shipping worth it, though... but hey, you can always use stuff from Jab-Tech, right? If not, look elsewhere, I'm sure you can find them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the thread...
By the way one question if you remember... can you fit the pot, switch, 3.5mm jacks, and the LED all on that one side of the altoids tin? On wikipedia, there apparently is someone who has, but with 1.5mm width of space, I'm wondering if its really possible to do it or not.

Btw, I'm using an OPA2228PA, you can probably find my thread on head-fi 😛.
Click to expand...

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4977733548770394130

I'm using an RK097 potentiometer (the green box in the center), which includes an off/on switch - it definitely makes the exterior of the amp look cleaner, and it ensures the volume is always at minimum when I turn the amp on. The 3.5mm jacks flank the pot. It was a bit of a pain soldering the CAT5 wire I used onto the jack ends, especially since I had to heatshrink the connections to make sure I didn't have a short (that's what those clear plastic sheaths are).

The LED is that mummified thing snaking from the lower left to the upper right (I wrapped it in teflon tape... don't really remember why, actually). I used a smaller LED than normal, but it shouldn't make a difference. There's plenty of space... where are you getting that 1.5mm number from? I had to add some styrofoam pieces to the bottom so nothing would move around.

By the way, regarding my picture... my layout is a bit of a mess, haha... it's not symmetrical because the input capacitor wouldn't fit. I also have a ghetto-ized TLE2426 rail splitter for virtual ground. I accidentally ordered the DIP8 version instead of the TO92 version, so I had to cut off some of the pins and wire the tantalum capacitor (Radio Shack) in free air... it looks kind of like a spider, actually.

EDIT: oh, regarding your choice of opamp... Tangent doesn't seem to like the OPA228 (http://tangentsoft.net/audio/opamps.html). I liked my AD823, but it was really sharp and distracting through my Grados or KSC75s (but perfect for my iM716s). When I was using Grados/KSC75s I switched out the opamp for a 2227 (which seems to be a pretty popular choice, under the 2132/2134).

EDIT2: are you LazyAzN? :laugh:
 
Originally posted by: Aflac
Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Originally posted by: Aflac
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/...elp-cmoy-parts-183397/

There's my nub amp thread. It's a pretty big thread with some good CMoy part info in it, but make sure you read my impressions at the end before you make any decisions.

By the way, as a side note regarding mint tins - my favorite kind are Penguin caffeinated mints - Text.

They're kind of expensive, but you get caffeinated mints! You'll probably have to order some parts to make shipping worth it, though... but hey, you can always use stuff from Jab-Tech, right? If not, look elsewhere, I'm sure you can find them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the thread...
By the way one question if you remember... can you fit the pot, switch, 3.5mm jacks, and the LED all on that one side of the altoids tin? On wikipedia, there apparently is someone who has, but with 1.5mm width of space, I'm wondering if its really possible to do it or not.

Btw, I'm using an OPA2228PA, you can probably find my thread on head-fi 😛.
Click to expand...

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...to#4977733548770394130

I'm using an RK097 potentiometer (the green box in the center), which includes an off/on switch - it definitely makes the exterior of the amp look cleaner, and it ensures the volume is always at minimum when I turn the amp on. The 3.5mm jacks flank the pot. It was a bit of a pain soldering the CAT5 wire I used onto the jack ends, especially since I had to heatshrink the connections to make sure I didn't have a short (that's what those clear plastic sheaths are).

The LED is that mummified thing snaking from the lower left to the upper right (I wrapped it in teflon tape... don't really remember why, actually). I used a smaller LED than normal, but it shouldn't make a difference. There's plenty of space... where are you getting that 1.5mm number from? I had to add some styrofoam pieces to the bottom so nothing would move around.

By the way, regarding my picture... my layout is a bit of a mess, haha... it's not symmetrical because the input capacitor wouldn't fit. I also have a ghetto-ized TLE2426 rail splitter for virtual ground. I accidentally ordered the DIP8 version instead of the TO92 version, so I had to cut off some of the pins and wire the tantalum capacitor (Radio Shack) in free air... it looks kind of like a spider, actually.

EDIT: oh, regarding your choice of opamp... Tangent doesn't seem to like the OPA228 (http://tangentsoft.net/audio/opamps.html). I liked my AD823, but it was really sharp and distracting through my Grados or KSC75s (but perfect for my iM716s). When I was using Grados/KSC75s I switched out the opamp for a 2227 (which seems to be a pretty popular choice, under the 2132/2134).

EDIT2: are you LazyAzN? :laugh:
Click to expand...

Why hello thar! hi2u2!!!

Yeah, so MisterX was nice enough (very grateful) to give me a layout with the ceramics reistors and TLE2426CLP. So hopefully, it'll work since it needed decoupling capacitors (thanks to help from infinitesymphony). Then maybe a resistor (R5) or two if there's still a hiss.

As for the dimensions, the altoids tin has a 1.5 inch flat surface, not mm... Since digikey didn't stock the RK097, I had to resort to the Panasonic pot. The reason why I'm asking about if all 5 parts can fit on one side is because Tangent's CMoy along with others have the pot on the side, which looks kind of odd to me. Otherwise, the switch and the LED are on the long side of the altoid. I'd rather not have a LED sticking through the lid... make it clean ya? 😉

 
Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Why hello thar! hi2u2!!!

Yeah, so MisterX was nice enough (very grateful) to give me a layout with the ceramics reistors and TLE2426CLP. So hopefully, it'll work since it needed decoupling capacitors (thanks to help from infinitesymphony). Then maybe a resistor (R5) or two if there's still a hiss.

As for the dimensions, the altoids tin has a 1.5 inch flat surface, not mm... Since digikey didn't stock the RK097, I had to resort to the Panasonic pot. The reason why I'm asking about if all 5 parts can fit on one side is because Tangent's CMoy along with others have the pot on the side, which looks kind of odd to me. Otherwise, the switch and the LED are on the long side of the altoid. I'd rather not have a LED sticking through the lid... make it clean ya? 😉
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. I'm pretty sure the Panasonic pot will fit on the same side that I have my RK097 on, but I'm not sure about the switch. If you're using one of those big flip switches that a lot of CMoy makers use, I don't think you can cram it all onto the edge like I have it.

I actually got my RK097 from Tangent himself. I ordered a couple RK097s and some Brown Dog SOIC -> DIP adapters (I was really interested in AD8620s, but I couldn't get my hands on them). If you order from him, check out his other stuff too... a few months after I finished my CMoy, I developed an interest in his crossfeed circuit, but that never panned out. Consider getting a STEPs or a TREAD board if you plan on building a bigger home DIY amp, like an M^3... (I was SOOOOO close to getting one of these, but then I ended up wasting my money on my computer).

If you use a small LED like I did (I think I used a 3mm LED, where most normal LEDs are 5mm...), you can put it anywhere unobtrusively. It's best if you use a color that matches well with your case color, and if you put a high ohm resistor for RLED, it won't shine like a beacon... (my RLED value is a little bit too high, though, and combined with my frosted orange small LED it's hard to tell if my amp is on or not...)

Ah, this discussion brings back the memories of my audiophilia days... 😀

You can tell from my thread that I changed my mind a million times too, haha... at first I was going to do dual-battery, but once I got all my parts I realized it was practically impossible to fit everything inside a mint tin.
 
Originally posted by: Aflac
Ah, I see. I'm pretty sure the Panasonic pot will fit on the same side that I have my RK097 on, but I'm not sure about the switch. If you're using one of those big flip switches that a lot of CMoy makers use, I don't think you can cram it all onto the edge like I have it.

I actually got my RK097 from Tangent himself. I ordered a couple RK097s and some Brown Dog SOIC -> DIP adapters (I was really interested in AD8620s, but I couldn't get my hands on them). If you order from him, check out his other stuff too... a few months after I finished my CMoy, I developed an interest in his crossfeed circuit, but that never panned out. Consider getting a STEPs or a TREAD board if you plan on building a bigger home DIY amp, like an M^3... (I was SOOOOO close to getting one of these, but then I ended up wasting my money on my computer).

If you use a small LED like I did (I think I used a 3mm LED, where most normal LEDs are 5mm...), you can put it anywhere unobtrusively. It's best if you use a color that matches well with your case color, and if you put a high ohm resistor for RLED, it won't shine like a beacon... (my RLED value is a little bit too high, though, and combined with my frosted orange small LED it's hard to tell if my amp is on or not...)

Ah, this discussion brings back the memories of my audiophilia days... 😀

You can tell from my thread that I changed my mind a million times too, haha... at first I was going to do dual-battery, but once I got all my parts I realized it was practically impossible to fit everything inside a mint tin.
Click to expand...

I learn from others' mistakes (hopefully). Tangent originally listed a 3mm LED, but I bought a mount for it so that it would look better... I also bought a 4.7k ohm resistor for it, since with his equations and ohms law, I should still be able to maintain above 1 mA until the battery dies. Got the green light ya 🙂...

I'm going to use these to use on my SR-60's, and possibly on my JVC Marshmallow. I listened to my MP3 player with a Little Dot Mk I from a friend, and WOW, blew me away. So I'm hoping the CMoy will be at least a slight bit better than using the power source from my MP3 player to drive it, along with my SR-60's...

I was thinking of going with the AD823's, but then I realized maybe I didn't really want to buffer it, so I stuck with something a bit easier (not really, but hey, I hope it works 🙂).

Sadly for me, I ordered the mini SPDT 360-1788-ND switch, so it's probably going to be bigger... Darn.
 
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.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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 🙂
 
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