Hi everyone,
I posted this in the photo thread but later realised that it would be better to have it's own thread in case there is any discussion which would disrupt the photo thread. Just thought I'd share my first amp project, a tube headphone amp with integrated DAC.
The amplifier is based off a well-known OTL amp circuit which utilises 12AU7/ECC82 input & 6080 triodes and is output transformerless (OTL). It should pair nicely with the high input impedance of my my Sennheiser HD6xx headphones. Input options are either switchable line level analogue or USB digital. Digital input is provided via Khadas Tone Board. It currently has GEC CV 2984(6080) and GE 12AU7 tubes installed, these are just what we had easily available at the tim eof building and I had planned to upgrade them. After some research it seems the CV 2984 is fairly well regarded and an upgrade would be quite costly, but i'm interested in any recommendations.
This amp will predominantly reside on my desk at work, the decision was made to integrate a high quality DAC as I have found the sound output of modern office PCs to be quite poor.
I’m very happy with how it turned out. I've attached some pics below but there are more pics and full build documentation on my blog if anyone is interested. OTL Headphone Amplifier / DAC – Jeremy Young Design
Cheers,
Jeremy
I posted this in the photo thread but later realised that it would be better to have it's own thread in case there is any discussion which would disrupt the photo thread. Just thought I'd share my first amp project, a tube headphone amp with integrated DAC.
The amplifier is based off a well-known OTL amp circuit which utilises 12AU7/ECC82 input & 6080 triodes and is output transformerless (OTL). It should pair nicely with the high input impedance of my my Sennheiser HD6xx headphones. Input options are either switchable line level analogue or USB digital. Digital input is provided via Khadas Tone Board. It currently has GEC CV 2984(6080) and GE 12AU7 tubes installed, these are just what we had easily available at the tim eof building and I had planned to upgrade them. After some research it seems the CV 2984 is fairly well regarded and an upgrade would be quite costly, but i'm interested in any recommendations.
This amp will predominantly reside on my desk at work, the decision was made to integrate a high quality DAC as I have found the sound output of modern office PCs to be quite poor.
I’m very happy with how it turned out. I've attached some pics below but there are more pics and full build documentation on my blog if anyone is interested. OTL Headphone Amplifier / DAC – Jeremy Young Design
Cheers,
Jeremy
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
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Thanks, if you look at my build notes you'll see that it's a flexure clamp. After making the box I realised I was a bit tight on space and this was the neatest way I could think of. I actually have to detach the capacitor/clamp unit and move it slightly away from the side of the box and slip a hex key in behind to access the screws that attach the transformer cover. Which is also why I used flex cable for the ground bus and B+, would have prefferred solid core.
Sorry, the link didn't work in my original post.
OTL Headphone Amplifier / DAC – Jeremy Young Design