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some reasons why what you're seeking is impossible:

1) speakers need alot more power than a portable headphone amp can give. If you just listen to how loud your headphone can go when you put it some distance away from you that should give you an idea.

2) it might be theoratically possible for a headphone amp to drive a speaker, but you'll need very sensitive speakers upwards 95db. Those speakers are expensive (cheap ones tend to be less sensitive), and no one would make them in small packages for portable use, especially since to retain the high efficiency without any performance drop you can't have any crossover which lends itself to a single driver solution which lends itself to a largish i.e. non portable enclosure.

3) you could diy one yourself, but firstly, it would sound terrible in a small portable box, and secondly, I don't see how a stereo out from a headphone amp can be terminated to 4 speaker jacks. I guess you could diy some cable there...

best you just get a small portable speaker which has its own amp, or not go down that route at all. Or you could technically just set your small speaker to max volume and use it as a 'power amp', allowing your mini3 to be a preamp, but I doubt you'll get much out of that.

*looks like I'm wrong there are such things in existence!

hmm. I'ver never heard of any of the other speakers but my sis has a bose companion 2 with her mac and I think it's actually not too bad, and worth an audition.

If I could tout the 'earphone' solution, you could actually get a pair of grados or a similarly open pair, which will allow you to hear ambient noise.

ah I thought so, but didn't know alps pots had that function. thanks

great looking panels btw. looking forward to seeing the end product!

this is prob a very stupid question, but how do you switch this thing on/off???

ey how come you build before never let me try? Died is it? lol

Ya it's damn ex.

What I do usually is buy 2nd hand when I can, which provides rather substantial savings, though you don't get warranty coverage.

If you're into that you can try www.head-fi.org alot of sellers there but mainly from the USA.

try calling them to check?

http://www.dama.com.sg/home.htm

Hi Owen, welcome to sgheadphones!

Will there be any difference say if i purchased a set of super.fi 5 pro, shure e4 or etymotic er-4p?

There shouldn't be much of a difference in terms of whether or not the nano can power these models. The main difference is how they sound, and this is a subjective thing. You could read more reviews to make your head hurt even more (!) or just go to a shop to try all 3. I believe both Jaben and SE carry these models except for the etymotic, which is a real pity because you should try it out I like my ER4S alot.

What kinda set up is recommended for the nano? will there be any further difference if say I got a portable amp?

For best sound, a portable amp would make a difference, but you should get a lineout dock to take full advantage of it. Remember, however, that the nano is first and foremost a portable player, so it still won't be top top draw, but probably more than good enough for portable use.

Once you're into this hobby long enough, and are rich enough , you should look at a home system (dedicated CD Player or USB DAC plus desktop amp), which should sound better than the nano.

it's mainly for planes because the headphone out in planes have so much noise it can be so unbearable that the sacrifice in audio quality is worth it.

I would get an amp if I were you. just make sure it's a dead quiet one and attach it to the line out of your zen, and I think you'll be happy. =)

looks real sweet, but crazy though if that huge circle housing a trafo (is it?) isn't enough of a PSU!

Hi mouz, can you add me with 1 set, black?

thanks

you can try asking in the Echoloft lounge if you haven't yet; http://www.echoloft.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi

it attracts an older crowd (because rich men go for speakers really....), and it's likelier someone there will know.

ps - apologies for any offence caused by my generalisations..

http://headwize.com/ubb/newsshowpage.php?fnum=1&tid=77

As if this market isn't saturated enough...would love to see some new entrants from the headphone market though...

I don't think the circuits you're looking for can be implemented with a portable amp. Amb's ε12 requires at least 12V, and even if you want to craft your own circuit (e.g. the one here for the zen headamp: http://www.headwize.com/projects/showfile....lerano_prj.htm, it also looks like 12V.

Why don't you just turn it on before you put in your earphones? If you hate the 'bump' that much I can't think of a cheaper solution, though if you do this too often you might wear out the contacts. lol

is this MO still on? can i get one in black? thanks

i've never heard other iems but owning an er4s myself, i never found a need for another iem. there's a good reason why unlike the other brands, etymotic hasn't come up with any replacement for it's er4 series - you don't change a winning formula.

good luck finding a pair maybe jaben still has them?

this thread is getting funnier by the day.

heady, i teach you.

first just buy the pcbs and the parts you need from amb. that will be like 100plus US? then next month buy the casing, then after that other parts....won't feel it at all!

thanks for the compliments; it's really not hard to make this one look nice, with the backplane board sorting all the wiring for you...

This is the case I got: http://www.atiresearch-anodized.com/ATI-737U.html. it wasn't cheap can't remember but shipping alone was like 30usd, which was like 50% packaging go figure...Very nice case though

The psu is in the hammond as mentioned. Can get from farnell

Cost wise, I don't know because this thing was dragging on for like 4 months plus and I didn't take my accounts. But I would say at least 1000sg, probably cos of that silly DACT volume pot i'm using (250). Well, it's sounding nice though!

OK have found one free evening to post about this. pics first!

Beta 22

Full info: http://www.amb.org/audio/beta22/

My build: PSU case is a hammond, Amp case from ati enclosures, Recommended parts were used (Panasonic FC capacitors throughout). Most 'boutique' component is the CT2 stepped attenuator, following which UPOCC copper wire from ahfartaudio was used throughout the amp, and the RCA sockets are neutrick

DIY info

ease of build

Pros: 1) uses PCBs 2) parts are easy to find 3) once assembled and powering fine, the adjustments which need to be made are relatively straightforward. 4) Most importantly, documentation is thorough and Amb has a thread where he'll answer all your questions

Cons: 1) all discrete design = high parts count. 2) 3 values need to be adjusted for each board. 3) This amp is very sensitive to temperature: quiescent current goes down when ambient temperature goes up. I tried to keep my amp as ventilated as much as possible and spent a day drilling holes. However, the temperature was still too hot for my liking so I just listen to the amp without the top cover now...4) have to be very careful when taking measurements: I shorted some parts while doing so and burnt them.

Case work

Pros: with the backplane, you don't need to drill that many holes for the base, and wiring is easy

Cons: 2 box solution recommended. Ventilation is necessary (this amp and psu runs hot!) so hole drilling is needed if your box is not punctured enough!

Sound

Setup used: Cambridge Audio Azur 540Cv2 - beta22 - HD600/HF-1

This amp needs about a good 10 minutes warm up before it starts sounding good, but as mentioned, once it gets too warm and the current starts to drop it sounds worse, so you have to be careful. Nevertheless, once you get the temperature right you get a nice sound.

Caveat: All diy amps sound a little different from each other, since they use different parts etc etc. So my description might not be true of the professionally made b22.

Basically, this is a quality amp, so in terms of detail, soundstage, it's all there. In terms of its character, I would describe the sound as warm, smooth, and laid back. It's not laid back in the sense that it sounds weak though: one thing about this amp is that you feel like there's alot of power driving the music. There is this sense of weight throughout the frequency range - bass is plentiful even for the HD600, and the mids and highs are very meaty. One might however feel that the highs don't extend enough because of its warm signature, and in terms of dynamics it won't please someone who likes a fast, light, zippy listen. This amp is about power, not speed. imho, having owned SS amps and tube amps, I think if someone is looking for the warmth of tube amps with the details of SS, this is one amp which must be considered.

I've tried to be as neutral as possible, and I think in terms of general character this is a good description, and the rest is really about component matching. To this extent I'd say that this amp should be paired with silver cables, and frankly, I don't think the HD600 is the best match. Too warm sometimes; I think low impedence phones like my hf1 sound better out of it, as they benefit especially from the high current this amp provides. I particularly liked it with my W1000 when I listened to it back home. I think that's a match made in heaven! Anyway I didn't bring it to my hostel because I fear wood cups getting scratched. Have a K701 on its way so we'll see how that works out!

**EDIT: After about 200++hours burn in, something just 'clicked' and this has become a real kickass amp. Previously I was not very happy with the overly warmish character, the slow speed, and the fact that everything seemed to come from just one distant point i.e. great soundstage, but separation was slightly lacking. Now, the soundstage is still very wide but the layers are becoming very apparent. I let my friend listen to it and before burn in, she had loved my other diy amp alot more than this one but when she heard it again a month later she noticed that the b22 is much better now because "you can tell the drums are further away from the vocalist". It has also become relatively brighter with burn in, and definitely faster, especially with the bass tightening up. It's now a really good match with my setup

I'd thought that as it didn't have capacitors in the signal path, and that I didn't use any boutique caps which have notoriously long burn-in, that burn-in wouldn't make any difference. I'm so wrong!

Hi guys,

I expressed some interest in the face plate for the mini3 during the MO at headwize, and this morning i got this email from Ti (who runs amb.org):

"Hi,

You had expressed interest in Mini3 panel sets. I don't have any panels

left from the group buy, but I will be ordering a few more. If you're

interested, please let me know ASAP and the number of sets you want.

Since it's a small order, we won't get any volume discount, so the price

is $40 a set plus shipping.

-Ti"

want to just hop on this instead? if it's 40us plus shipping should be somewhat less if a few of us do it, but someone else will have to organise because i'm leaving singapore soon...

please seriously consider the HD600. It's the best pair of headphones imo and not at all difficult to drive. Most standard equipment with a headphone out will drive it loud enough.

In terms of audio quality, obviously an amp will make it sound much better. but don't be fooled by the low impedance = easier to sound nice talk, which isn't necessarily true; the hd600 will sound much better with most amps than a low impedance headphone due to the high current requirements of low z headphones, and that likely includes the internal amps in your TV, cdp, etc etc

this month's edition of what hifi sound and vision rates the new marantz 6002 as the best budget cdp around. maybe you can try but it's not out in singapore yet. im very tempted...

*oops realised you bought your cdp already hope you're having fun!

ahfart audio can do it for you.

www.ahfartaudio.com

I paid them 35sg for drilling all the holes i needed for 1 face plate (2x 1/4") and 1 case (IEC holes, switch, pcb holes, ventilation holes etc)

worth it esp if you don't have the tools, but make sure you tell Robert exactly what you want. as powerful as his bench drill is he cannot read your mind! had to do some touch up myself..

*make sure you call before going the shop is not open every work day

Anyone like me here likes to watch the premiership? and used to love ESPN's coverage?

This new football channel is crap. the colour is like worse, and the commentators are worse, the half-time talkshow people are worse (can't even hear them properly they sound so muffled).

What's even worse, ESPN shows like football focus can't even show highlights anymore. It's awful! and we're paying more for this!

can't stand it. nowhere to rant, so rant here. lol