Quote: Yeah I suppose- it's just that it seems there is always a question about gain from someone and the advice is always something anecdotal and often the source (DAC) isn't even cited.  I may take all this info and see if I can create something useful w/ it for people new to DIY and...

Quote: That's interesting.  Any idea what the relative dB difference is between those 'quiet' albums and louder albums at the same volume pot setting?  I think if we could come up with a reasonable range of 'headroom' needed for various recording levels, we could come up with some solid...

Quote: I think you'd actually be fine for anything but a seriously variable collection.  The K702 is rated at 105dB/V, which translates into ~93 dB/mW efficiency @62 Ohms.  Based on your source you should only need a gain of 2-3 to get 115dB+ peak volume on normalized recordings.  How...

Quote: Thanks for the input, all.  Will revisit the questionable numbers.   Edit:   Okay I've revisited all of the numbers and corrected the sensitivities that were originally 1dB/V.  I have added a calculator to the spreadsheet to do that.   Nikongod- actually the gain...

Quote: I can do that if there's interest.  It's a series of pretty simple calculations but I've got them packed in a table for quick reference.

Quote: Sure.  I've upped the dB requirement to 115 for some additional headroom for quieter recordings.  In practice I've found this to be enough, but again YMMV.   I'd attach the .xls file instead of posting screenshots but I seem to have been denied that ability.  Sorry!  

Quote:   Quote: Where is your data showing that the amp does not, by spec, have enough output to properly drive the quoted headphones?   Actual power specs: 6.25 volts RMS on AC power at < 1% THD into 150 ohms 4.5 volts RMS on DC power at < 1% THD into 150 ohms...

Quote: Huh?

Quote: Fair enough.  I don't want to come across like I'm overreacting, was just trying to provide a parallel and it's a bit half-baked.

Hold on a second here- I'm a bit confused at the overall tone from the vets here.  Bear with me, please.   So the limitations of the input stage are being touted as a "major problem" for the DIY crowd because it requires some forethought and building the amp such that the gain is correct for...

Quote: I'm also interested to see this.  Did some quick searching (here and Google) and couldn't really dig anything up.  

I will definitely be building one of these.

Great to hear that it's up and running!  Enjoy your new amp- over a year after building mine I rarely go a day without listening to it...

Quote: You can (and I did as well).  What I was stressing earlier is that they are definitely not required, though some were giving Chrono the idea that they were.  Either way, that wasn't his problem so we can move on.

Good to hear that there are no issues there.  Check out the Troubleshooting section of the Initial Setup page on amb's site for a good start on what to check.   Other than that, one of the first things I'd check is the orientation of your trimpots.  I've seen a number of blown boards on the...

Quote:   That's what I was referring to as well in my very first sentence.  Sorry for any confusion, but I was in fact answering your original question.  I was simply expanding on my answer with the other info because some of the previous posts suggested you had done something horribly...

Quote: The pads are isolated.  When in doubt, break out the multi-meter!  What you need to worry about, and amb describes this very clearly on the site (for the others saying this is taboo), is if the heat sinks are in very close proximity to the enclosure when installed.  If so, then...

Quote: People can find my opinion on the quality of the Furutech plug just a few posts back... maybe I'm just unlucky.   majkel- If I'm correct here, are you suggesting that floating the shield on the ~10foot cable is an improvement?  I'm finding that pretty difficult to swallow.  ...

Quote: I did because I had one sitting around and was bored.  Of course there was no discernible difference in sound, but the Furutech looked nicer for a while- and I prefer how it fits in the jack of my B22 vs the Neutrik the headphones came with.  Now that a few months have gone by...

Interesting remarks guys, keep it up.  It's too bad if this is true, considering how well Beyer did on the T1.  I love the T1 and would definitely be in the market for a sealed version with a similar signature...

My Beyer T1s caused my 3-ch gain8 Beta to oscillate at low volumes only.   Based on some advice from amb and others I ordered the parts for a zobel, but since I also wanted to reduce the gain anyway- also ordered the parts to try 5x and 2x gains.   Started with 2x gain and no zobel...

It's the identical Hammond case that the Mini^3 uses, and they fit almost perfectly.  This is what they were designed to do.  You can find pictures of my builds on the previous page in this thread I believe.   I used the BantamDAC for my two Carries and I do not have a single complaint on...

19XX here as well.  Looks like the 2nd.

Quote: Agreed.  The fact that the cable is completely non-microphonic is enough for me to probably never replace/alter it.  I don't mind the weight, though I do recognize it is heavier than typical factory cables.

Quote: I don't foresee you having any issues driving a T1 with the Ultra Desktop.  I will admit to not ever owning one, though I did have an Ultra Micro, and even that little amp had more than enough juice to power HD650s, K701s, etc. on the lowest gain setting.  As for the solid state +...