The PPA headphone amplifier
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This is my first attempt at building a PPA headphone amplifier. If you ask me, this turned out pretty good... ;-) | ||
The enclosure measures app. 100x170 mm. and is designed to fit eurocard-sized PCB's. The amp is a bit larger than the others I've built, but still compact. The locking Neutrik output jack is mandatory to avoid short-circuiting the output if the headphones are accidentally (un)plugging the headphones while music is playing. | ||
Note the way the colour of the LED changes depending on the angle and the material it is shining on (compare with the picture above). | ||
Rear panel. Nothing elaborate here, just one input, a power switch and the DC-socket. Power is supplied from a "wall-wart"-type DC power supply salvaged from an old modem. | ||
The image below clearly shows how the amp is designed with separate channels for left, right and ground. The circuit and PCB-layout is designed to give the best possible sound quality - the good looks are just a bonus :-) This amp is built on a version 1.0 PCB. The current layout is slightly different. | ||
The transparent lid gives a nice view of the internals, even if it isn't very practical for daily use. Every fingerprint and speck of dust shows and it scratches very easily. | ||
A good example of my excellent phtography skills, don't you think? ;-) | ||
This is by far the best sounding headamp I have built (and also by far the most expensive). The sonic differences compared to the META or the MINT are simply astonishing. Because I mainly have "bright" headphones, I prefer the OPA627 opamp to the default AD8610. I am still surprised that exchanging opamps can have such a profound impact on the sonic signature of an amp. | ||
© Uffe Nisbeth 2003-2004 | Last update: Sept. 28, 2004 |