Headphone Amplifier

Post by **stipud** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:33 am

After traveling through Europe for the last 5 weeks, i've done a lot of listening to headphones instead of my usual car and home audio. I've grown rather fond of my Sennheisers (HD-201 and PX-200) and Etymotic ER-4i's. However, when I tested the HD-201's in a German Hi-Fi store, I noticed they sounded fabulous... when hooked up to my iPod, they only sound decent. There was far more bass, and the detail was a few cuts above.

Since the HD-201's were hooked up to a large sound board, I figure they had to be using an amplifier to be driving all of the different sets at the same time. This got me wanting an amplifier of my own.

I've always skipped the idea of headphone amplifiers in the past because my main listening was done with my iPod on my bike... not somewhere I want to lug around an additional amplifier. However, now that I listen to my headphones all day at work, I figure now is the time to get myself a decent headphone amplifier for my desk.

It must still be relatively small, but not necessarily pocket sized. My only other concern is cost.... My budget is probably around the $100-200 range at most, which highly restricts my options.

For example, I have been looking at the HeadRoom mobile line:
http://www.headphone.com/products/headp ... bile-line/

all of their other amplifiers cost considerably more:
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/

One thing I don't like about the micro amplifier is that it's only battery powered. At a desk, I would rather just use an A/C adaptor. With an A/C input, having batteries as a backup wouldn't hurt, but it's not a necessity. I am not too sure the electronics are all that impressive in the micro amplifier either:
http://www.headphone.com/products/headp ... ro-module/

Anyways, do any of you have any experience in this field? I would love some suggestions that wouldn't break the bank. My goal isn't to go louder at all... my iPod is already too loud for my listening tastes. I am just aiming to improve clarity and bass response to a level closer to my home and car stereos.

Another option I was considering is hooking a TLD22 or PLD up to a 12-volt power source, then converting the headphone singal to/from RCA. This might offer equal or greater quality for cheaper, though I would also imagine it would only make the signal louder, and not better sounding per-se.

There are also other interesting DIY prospects, but I am not sure I have the patience it would take to get those working properly:
http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/

Post by **stipud** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:41 am

After reading this review, it looks like the BitHead amplifier may be a great option for me. It can get power via USB, so I could keep it running and playing music off of my desktop PC without needing batteries. If I also plugged a line-in via the iPod, it will switch over to that input and mute the PC.

This thing could then also double as a better soundcard for my laptop at home for doing RTA work, or I could use it as a portable headphone amplifier on batteries as well.

Post by **Bfowler** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:24 am

that's funny, i was about to post a question about these. my sonys sound worse then my $15 logictechs, and i think it is because they are starved for power. thanks for all the reading. i will post anything cool i find also

Post by **Wakeup** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 1:37 am

one of my friends had a Sennheisers set and amp for his....but this was like 5 years ago...so I havent talked to him in like 3 or 4...and he used it with his MD player. And it sounded amazing...I believe the amp was by Sennheisers as well...I think he paid around 300 bux for the both of them....headphones i believe were close to 200 bux...and amp 100....but i could be wrong.

Post by **stipud** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:24 am

Well if nobody has anything to say, then tonight I guess I will just pick up the BitHead amplifier from Headroom.

Seriously though, someone must know something about these things. Cecil? Any suggestions?

1moreamp · Post by **1moreamp** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:01 pm

Sorry for being late on this topic. There are a shit load of headphone amps and if you looking for info the try DIY audio forums as they are always building them and reviewing them over there just do a search after signing on .
Oh use someone else's e-mail address you don't like cause they got bots out the ass on this site, but they have a lot of info about headphone amps. from all the home audio junkies over there.
Even on flea-bay there are guys selling posted designs from DIY that they have built custom in cough drop box's C

Post by **stipud** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:54 pm

I ordered the BitHead amp with a set of Grado SR60's from Headroom an hour ago. I am not sure they will ship the Grados to Canada, so if they call me to say no, i'll have them cancel the order. Then I can check out that forum you posted.

I noticed a lot of those DIY Cmoy amplifiers on eBay. Much cheaper indeed, but i'm concerned about the workmanship.

1moreamp · Post by **1moreamp** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:57 pm

stipud wrote:I ordered the BitHead amp with a set of Grado SR60's from Headroom an hour ago. I am not sure they will ship the Grados to Canada, so if they call me to say no, i'll have them cancel the order. Then I can check out that forum you posted.

I noticed a lot of those DIY Cmoy amplifiers on eBay. Much cheaper indeed, but i'm concerned about the workmanship.

Dig up the circuit from DIY and I will build it for you

Or get those chumps to dropship you stuff to me and I will reship the way the 2250 went

Anything for my friends C

Post by **stipud** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:30 pm

How's this for a "simple" one?

http://headwize.com/projects/cavalli2_prj.php

You should be able to whip that up in 5 mins eh?

1moreamp · Post by **1moreamp** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:09 pm

stipud wrote:How's this for a "simple" one?

http://headwize.com/projects/cavalli2_prj.php

You should be able to whip that up in 5 mins eh?

Well except for the tube i have all those parts. It would be nice to buy pre-made circuit cards instead of hand wiring, But I have hand wired a many of circuits in my short life

Is the type of HPA your looking for < hybrid type> ? I will have to use blue LEDs to get the tube that bright blue in color

What impedance is you headphones in ohms?? 8, 16 40, 600 ???

Post by **stipud** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:17 am

Wha, are you serious? I posted that as a joke. The title of the design said "simple", but it looked like the opposite. Then again, now that I look further into the designs, it does seem to be one of the "easier" ones *gulp*.

Yeah, hand wiring was fun back in highschool, but I wouldn't want to do it anymore either. There are some designs with premade circuit boards, or a printable transfer.

I'm still gonna wait to see if Headroom ships the order. If they do, I'll stick with their product, because I've always wanted the Grados, and having a headphone amp double as a USB DAC is also pretty cool. However if they don't, then I'd rather send the money your way so that we can have a little fun with it

I have a wide variety of headphones...
Sennheiser PX-200: 32 ohm
Sennheiser HD-201: 20 ohm
Etymotic ER-6i: 16 ohm
and possibly Grado SR60: 32 ohm

So it looks like I would be running about 16-32 ohms... pretty low impedance by headphone standards.

The amplifier topology isn't too important to me. It can be solid state, or a Tube, or a hybrid tube. I figured since I've always liked the sound of tubes, but the headphone amplifiers are so much simpler and cheaper than loudspeaker amps, that I could start there. Unfortunately I don't know how well suited a tube amplifier would be to driving such low impedances. A hybrid seemed to offer the best of both worlds, though I haven't heard one personally. In all honesty it would be down to what you can or would prefer to build.

There are gobs of designs we could choose from: http://www.headwize.com/projects/

But I digress... before I get way ahead of myself, I have to wait and see if Headroom will ship my order. I should know by this evening. We also need to make sure that you're up to the task as well! I know you're swamped, and what kind of a friend would I be if I put you in the hospital for sleep deprivation

Mastiff · Post by **Mastiff** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:06 am

tom look into this

http://www.redwineaudio.com/index.html

Post by **stipud** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:22 am

Mastiff wrote:tom look into this

http://www.redwineaudio.com/index.html

Sure, I'll just take out a mortgage

The iMod looks like a cool idea, but for my 5G iPod it would end up costing me $250 for the mod, plus ~$150 for the wire... plus shipping. Then you still need to add an amplifier! Dayum!

Hell, most of my content is in AAC/MP3, so I doubt I would notice the difference in that case. Still a neat idea though...

Mastiff · Post by **Mastiff** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:41 am

must pay to play ...but yes it is big $$$$ thats why i have not done it.

Post by **stipud** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:56 am

Just got an email...

This mail is to confirm your order #80175 has been verified. Your order will now be sent to our shipping department. Upon shipping another e-mail will be sent to you confirming the status of your order and shipping details.

- HeadRoom Staff

Sounds like I should be getting the Bithead and Grados then.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:13 am

stipud wrote:Just got an email...

This mail is to confirm your order #80175 has been verified. Your order will now be sent to our shipping department. Upon shipping another e-mail will be sent to you confirming the status of your order and shipping details.

- HeadRoom Staff

Sounds like I should be getting the Bithead and Grados then.

Let's hope they actually ship the grado's and you don't get into some problem where you paid for the amp and headphones but only get the amp or something.

Seems fine so far though.

Post by **stipud** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 11:50 am

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh dammit.

Hello Thomas Vogel,

Thanks for your recent HeadRoom order for Grado SR60 headphones and a HeadRoom TBH Amp / DAC unit.

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to sell or ship any Grado Labs products outside of the USA due to manufacturer-imposed restrictions on our international sales territories. Perhaps contacting your local hi-fi audio dealer would provide some answers as to where you may obtain Grado products within your country. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

However, as a work-around, we can ship to a friend or relative inside the USA (for a $10 FedEx shipping charge) and then they can ship the product your way...

Please advise how you wish to proceed with your order, Thomas.

Cheers!

Well, what do you think Cecil? We can either cross-ship the stuff, or you can build me an amp (i've got about $200 to spare). What do you think? If you don't have the time to build an amp I 150% understand. In that case I would ship the stuff to Brian, and he can send it to me with some other stuff I ordered from him.

1moreamp · Post by **1moreamp** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:42 pm

Well it seems that your mind was set on the grado stuff so get Brian to relay it to you and later on we can do some build ups for you my friend...C

Sounds like you could sell the grado stuff if later on we get you set better < my reasoning for the moment so you can enjoy your goodies now, and build up later when time permits a easy schedule

Post by **stipud** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:54 pm

Thinking more about the Grados makes it seem less exciting than at first. My main concern being that I will be listening at work, but they are an open backed headphone. This means I will be venting off my godawful metal for everyone to hear. I don't think that is the right headphone for the workplace...

So really the Grados aren't a big deal...

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 2:08 pm

stipud wrote:Thinking more about the Grados makes it seem less exciting than at first. My main concern being that I will be listening at work, but they are an open backed headphone. This means I will be venting off my godawful metal for everyone to hear. I don't think that is the right headphone for the workplace...

So really the Grados aren't a big deal...

If they are anything like the PX100, and knowing you, that's a good choice.

The PX100 are almost obnoxious in their leaking of sound (due to open design) in any semi-quiet location.

1moreamp · Post by **1moreamp** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 2:08 pm

lets talk more tonight I am at the shop and swamped is a very light description of my work right now

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 2:09 pm

1moreamp wrote:lets talk more tonight I am at the shop and swamped is a very light description of my work right now

Are we going to have to ban your work IP so you're wasting too much time helping out friends instead of making bucks?!?

1moreamp · Post by **1moreamp** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 3:04 pm

I break for sanity checks to save my sole from the devil

and a smoke or two here and there..THX anyway

Post by **stipud** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:11 pm

Well now without the Grados I am looking for a better set of sealed cans. I figure I might as well get something nice and buy once instead of getting a new pair every 6 months like I am now. Hell, this is still a fraction of the cost of my home and car stereos.

What do you guys think of these?

http://www.headphone.com/products/headp ... dt-770.php

I am trying to find a dealer in Calgary so I can test fit them.

Post by **stipud** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:55 am

Well, I pulled the trigger. Beyerdynamic 770's and BitHead are coming my way