DIY Class A Headphone Amp suggestion

Hello,
I am looking forward to build a headphone amplifier and looking for a project/schematic I could use as a reference. I am looking for the following:
  • capable of driving a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 250 Ohm which I am using at the moment (if possible also the 600Ohm version), probably will upgrade later
  • Class A (the single ended class a topology or in genereal the designs by Nelson Pass really appeal to me 🙂 )
  • external PSU prefered
  • parts which are available at the known large distributors, if possible also in a few years
  • maximum size around 200x200x50mm
For me its okay to do the PCB layout by myself/use SMD components to shrink the needed size a bit (and accept maybe a bit less performance)

At the moment I have seen:
  • ACP+ (needs to be modified for 250Ohm impedance)
  • AMB M³ ("active ground technology" which is new for me)
  • Whammy (internal PSU, therefore quite large)
Shipping for kits is really expensive, so a bit more DIY would be less expensive (and more fun😉)
Do you have any recommendations?
Thank you!

Best
Florian
 
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May I suggest you consider Omicron? It is simpler and cheaper than many alternatives, yet it is in a different league in terms of fidelity. Those who built it say the sound quality is "fantastic". It was not designed for an external power supply, but it has been routinely built in 200×200×50mm boxes with its internal power supply; here is a nice example. The only catch is that its PCBs are not immediately available unless a past GB participant is willing to part with his.
 
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I actually think this assembled kit is super hard to beat for merely more than $100: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3251926702...HbusGwtRI-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
probably hard to beat, but I would like to do a bit more by myself 🙂
But Dynalo is noted, will look into that.


May I suggest you consider Omicron?
Thanks, looks nice!


The only catch is that its PCBs are not immediately available unless a past GB participant is willing to part with his.
No problem, I am willing to do the layout by myself if needed (as long as I can get the schematic/parts).



Maybe suitable
Do you have more information/test for this design?
 
Hello,
I am looking forward to build a headphone amplifier and looking for a project/schematic I could use as a reference. I am looking for the following:
  • capable of driving a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 250 Ohm which I am using at the moment (if possible also the 600Ohm version), probably will upgrade later
  • Class A (the single ended class a topology or in genereal the designs by Nelson Pass really appeal to me 🙂 )
  • external PSU prefered
  • parts which are available at the known large distributors, if possible also in a few years
  • maximum size around 200x200x50mm
For me its okay to do the PCB layout by myself/use SMD components to shrink the needed size a bit (and accept maybe a bit less performance)

At the moment I have seen:
  • ACP+ (needs to be modified for 250Ohm impedance)
  • AMB M³ ("active ground technology" which is new for me)
  • Whammy (internal PSU, therefore quite large)
Shipping for kits is really expensive, so a bit more DIY would be less expensive (and more fun😉)
Do you have any recommendations?
Thank you!

Best
Florian
Built all three and ACP+ is best sounding to me. I use 50 ohm hifiman.
 
Do you have more information/test for this design?
Nice harmonics, high-ish THD, amplification a bit more than 3x, should sound interesting I think:
Aksa R05.png
 
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No, I did not built it (yet). The amplification of 3x may be enough for 80 ohm headphones but probably not for 250 ohm ones.
I am not sure yet how to change the circuit for an amplification of 9x, but I'd suggest you take a look at 3 Transistor HP Amplifier with low dist.
That one I built, not the 300 ohm version but the original one and it sounds very good. No harmonics like these however.
 
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