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Headphone amp remomendations

Trower

Trower

Two-Headed Boy
Hey do you guys have any thoughts on headphone amps for 75 or under? I just got a job for the summer as a summer camp directorish person and need a way to listen to my new Nakamichi Dragon in style, but on the cheep. I might just go with a vintage amp's headphone out, but don't mind DIY at all so throw some ideas my way, as well as opinions on sound characteristics. Thanks guys!

-Nick
 
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Trower: You can also easily find more advanced designs on the web (although a simple Cmoy (which refers to the name of the founder of headwize.com, btw) sure isn't a bad idea for a start). Sometimes commercial manufactuers even publish a couple of their older designs on their sites for DIY - for example Jan Meier of Meier-Audio(.de) does. I think at the moment you could find descriptions and schematics for both the portable PortaCorda 3 USB and the home use Corda HA1Mk2 on his site - and both are pretty good ones, btw.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Well I must say I love tubes.......and after lusting over the pictures of different "Starving Students" I just ordered the parts for one! It should be a fun project anyhow:) Thanks Onepixel for mentioning it:thmbsp:
 
Good luck with the build. My amp was kinda of a test run to see if I had the skills to build one. I did most of the work on mine in a couple days, but since I'm a real novice I got stuck. It's been stalled out and forgotten like this for months. I'm going to have to finish it and figure what kind of cabinet to put it in.

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Little Dot 1+ used for around a hundred if you can find one, and close to that for a new one.
Regards,
Jim
 
onepixel - that's a nice clean build :thmbsp:

I went the easier route and built a PCB kit version from Beezar over Christmas (made my own case and changed it around a little) and I'm impressed with the sound quality, if you can get hold of the 19J6 valves the student is a good amp for the money.

Btw - one of the members of Head-fi figured out how to build a version using 12AX7s or similar with just some minor changes, those are plentiful and still in production so the starving student lives on!
 
Bravo Audio V2 tube/hybrid can be had for around the $30-40 mark delivered (but it takes 2-3 weeks) uses a 12AU7. Fairly upgradeable yet sounds pretty darn sweet just using a NOS tube (instead of the stock Chinese tube).
 
Well I had a couple hours last night to through the parts together to make a Millet Starving Student. I don't have a camera with me......and honestly I don't know if I would post the pictures of it here as it is nasty looking, because I just wanted to hear it and speed was of the essence. But I got it up and running, and I must say its quite a shocker! This far surpassed my expectations, very detailed and smooth. All I have with me at the moment is a FLAC loaded ipod, but man does this sound good, very "tubey" but in a good way:yes:

Thanks Onepixel for the idea! And if you need any pictures or explanations on what needs to be done to finish yours shoot me a pm:)
 
Considering you can build a Millet Starving Student amp for very little it sounds quite amazing! Enjoy the new toy.
 
What about the T-Class amps? A/B morphology with class D power requirements. Can even run off batteries if you like. Check out Sonic Impact or the Daytons in PE.
 
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