Overview

Carbon CMoy Headphone Amplifier. Super clean HiFi.

This has been designed to reproduce the recording as close as possible to the original. Every effort has been made to not colour the sound. This is an amp for people who love their music and headphones. Favor FLAC? Like loss-less? Try this amplifier!

A few notable points at a glance:

- Sanyo OSCON power supply capacitors - Matched carbon resistors - All German made WIMA film capacitors for decoupling and audio path - AD8066 amplifier IC - TLE2426 rail splitter for a ultra stable, clean ground reference - Built using silver infused solder 

This is a very capable amplifier that will effortlessly open up your headphones. Using this amplifier you will hear the difference that your music and your headphones deserve. I pride myself on the quality of my product and service. If you buy one of my amplifiers and don't like it you can send it back for a full refund, no problems!

- Designed and made in the UK by an electronic engineer - Improves audio quality and clarity - Increased volume - Components intelligently chosen for high quality, not low price - 7 day money back guarantee - 7 days to decide if it's right for you/your setup - Insured Royal Mail postage/International signed for service 

Details

Every component in this circuit has been carefully chosen for quality of sound and performance. The is higher than the Chinese products available but you certainly get what you pay for. This has been designed and built by hand in the UK. Even the circuit boards are manufactured in the UK to very high standards. How many HiFi products out there can say that?

There are no toggle switches, meaning you can use this while it's in your pocket/bag/backpack and not accidentally switch it on or off. The power switch is integrated into the volume control. As you turn the volume clockwise it 'clicks' on and the volume increases as you turn. I have not included an LED as this can dramatically reduce battery life. A battery at the end of its life degrades the audio quality of any amplifier.

Power supply and rail splitter:

The power supply element of this amplifier has had a lot of effort put into its design. Small value decoupling capacitors are placed as close to the amplifier IC as possible in ascending order of capacitance. The TLE2426CP rail splitter IC has additional noise canceling circuitry that only the 8 pin(CP) includes. I have always used the CP variation with extra capacitors.

Sanyo OSCON capacitors:

On this amplifier I wanted super clean detail - these were the clear choice for me. When I first started building amplifiers I treated myself to some OSCON capacitors and was impressed with their performance. So far these are the most neutral capacitors I have used in a power supply.

Carbon resistors:

I use carbon resistors whenever I need a super clean, high fidelity amplifier. Most of my bespoke amplifiers will use carbon resistors as the user wants their music the way it was intended to be heard by the artist.

AD8066:

The amplifier IC is mounted in a socket meaning that you can change the amp to suit your taste. I built this with the AD8066. This has become my favorite amplifier IC as it offers a detailed, deep sound and will happily drive delicate IEM's to large Sennheisers. Not many builders or products use this - you should try it!

The gain is set to 11 and can be changed to your specification by me. If you do want a different gain, just let me know – I have set people up with 3, 5, 6 and 11 but any gain is possible. A gain of 11 really works with this setup, giving a great power increase without sacrificing useable volume. If you are unsure just let me know and we can work it out.

Features:

- Dimensions – 10 cm x 6.3 cm x 3 cm (at the longest points – volume knob included) - Housed in a durable, quality extruded aluminum enclosure with a hard wearing anodised layer - ALPS RK097 dual potentiometer with integrated power switch (made in Japan) - AD8066 dual opamp in a socket (instructions on how to easily change the opamp chip are included if you would like to change this) - TLE2426CP power rail splitter IC with noise reduction capacitor - Hand matched carbon resistors - 2x WIMA decoupling capacitors - placed as close to the IC as possible - 2x WIMA .22 uF decoupling capacitors - placed as close to the IC as possible - 2x WIMA 1 uF polyester input capacitors - one on each channel to block any DC that could damage your headphones - 4x WIMA 1 uF intermediate power supply decoupling polyester capacitors - High quality professionally made PCB, made in the UK - Quality standard 3.5mm stereo jacks for input and output - This amplifier uses a 9 V battery. You can use a normal disposable or rechargeable one 

This design has been tested with many types of headphones (even orthodynamics!). Grado, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, AKG, Dr. Dre Beats and so, so many more. If you are unsure what's best for your headphones and source just let me know.

Full paper instructions and my contact details are included.

Custom Orders:

I'm happy to make any modifications possible.

- Want a particular capacitor used? - Your favorite opamp IC used? - Wall power supply? - Different enclosure? - Resistor divider ground? - Not going to change the opamp? I'll solder it in without a socket for better connections!