"The Wire" Ultra-High Performance Headphone Amplifier - PCB's

[jdkJake]

BTW, this is a very nice little power supply. I think most folks should really consider it as the size is nice and pairs well with the amp. The SMD diodes are a pain until your realize you need to dump a bit more heat on them than the rest of the SMD parts. At least that was my experience. For some reason, soldering the anodes first also seemed to help. Not sure why.

In any case, be aware the space for the big electrolytics is limited if you deviate from the BOM. I had some extra Elna Simic's in the parts bin which I was able to make work, but, just barely. I had to elevate them off the board a bit. Not ideal from an inductance stand point, but, it worked fine. Doing this eliminated the ability to use the Molex headers. BTW, if I had a wish, it would be to include headers for the power output connectors (as well as power input on the amp itself). The trimmers are a bit tight next to the heatsinks, but, still quite usable.

As for transformers, I went with an Amveco 62053-P2S02 (Digikey: TE62053-ND) 15VA part with dual primaries and dual secondaries (each secondary is 15VAC at 1A). An expensive part, but, I love the size of these things! I used them before in my gamma2.

As for performance, at 121.3VAC from the wall, I am getting 18.8VAC at the regulators (output locked in at +/- 15 at the respective rail). So, I suspect this is right about perfect as it gives some overhead to allow the regulators to stay in regulation. I have not measured them, but the heat sinks for the regulators are barely warm. Touch them all day if you like without fear of pain. Nice.

Anyway, I would seriously consider this part if you are considering "The Wire".

[qusp]

nice work Jake, yeah she's tiny alright!!; you'll find its not quite as touchy with balanced input due to the cmmr, but i agree with everything else you said about the lack of a sound character to this amp and the need for a good source. haha the klhozmo is 3 times as big as the amp!! did you use the stock 317/337, or go with lt1085/1033?

the bass is sooooo controlled, i agree. didnt matter what cans i through at it for testing either

[MrMajestic]

I'm in:

1. Full kit
2. No PSU
3. Fully balanced
4. At least one, probably two units

Would it be ok to run this off a Placid BP together with a Buffalo II?

[idjoel2000]

is the pre order on now?

count me in:
1. ONE FULL kit BAL-BAL
2. PSU (does it include the transformer, or pcb only?)

count me in for those two.. any price estimation yet?

will the BAL-SE and BAL-BAL have any sound differences? i thought they would sound difference since the opamp is not the same

btw, how big is the output power of the BAL-SE version? i can't seem to find the answer in the first post

nb: i don't care what kind of balanced pins are on the board, since i prefer to use panel mount jacks. with the design of the previous pcb, it's pretty hard to make a decent casing if you insist on using pcb mount input output jacks

[qusp]

Originally Posted by MrMajestic

I'm in:

1. Full kit
2. No PSU
3. Fully balanced
4. At least one, probably two units

Would it be ok to run this off a Placid BP together with a Buffalo II?

no way, balanced version will pull up to >1A thats max and you are using a shunt, so your placid would have to be capable of supplying the ~250ma for the dac and 1A for the amp continuously (not a chance). also i'm confused, the dac needs 5v, this will need +/-15 and +/-20-22v. you will burn the dac regs momentarily

[qusp]

Originally Posted by idjoel2000

is the pre order on now?

count me in:
1. ONE FULL kit BAL-BAL
2. PSU (does it include the transformer, or pcb only?)

count me in for those two.. any price estimation yet?

guys, you really should read the thread, i mean its only the last 5 pages or so for this version.

pcb only, or full kit, kit does not include transformer, that would add considerably to the shipping and really imo for the bal/bal you should use 2 , as i think it was confirmed going with the option of supplying the buffer section separately with higher voltage.

will the BAL-SE and BAL-BAL have any sound differences? i thought they would sound difference since the opamp is not the same

I would think so yes, the 2 chips do 'sound' different, though not hugely in the same type of implementation i would think. both are excellent and very very transparent. but just having balanced output will change the sound in my experience. generally cleaner with a bit more bass authority. hard to believe with this amp, because it already really commands respect from bass drivers. (I use multidriver in ears jh13 mostly)

btw, how big is the output power of the BAL-SE version? i can't seem to find the answer in the first post

output depends on what the load is, but its capable of up to +/- 250mA @ +/- 15 rails, but with unity gain and a 3vrms source, you are looking at the potential for about 750mW per channel. you can of course change the gain with a few resistors, but even the bal/se version has easily enough power for hd600 when fed with a balanced source and the bal/bal version will be significantly more powerful

[MrMajestic]

Originally Posted by qusp

no way, balanced version will pull up to >1A thats max and you are using a shunt, so your placid would have to be capable of supplying the ~250ma for the dac and 1A for the amp continuously (not a chance). also i'm confused, the dac needs 5v, this will need +/-15 and +/-20-22v. you will burn the dac regs momentarily

Sorry, I meant to say on the same Placid BP as the IVY III of course. But I guess that wont work either because of the current draw. Thanks.

[MrMajestic]

In the light of recent posts I will revise my post:

1. Full kit
2. PSU
3. Balanced to SE and Bal to Bal
4. At least one unit of each

I realise that I too have not read the thread properly before jumping on here. Will read through it tonight.

[idjoel2000]

Originally Posted by qusp

guys, you really should read the thread, i mean its only the last 5 pages or so for this version.

pcb only, or full kit, kit does not include transformer, that would add considerably to the shipping and really imo for the bal/bal you should use 2 , as i think it was confirmed going with the option of supplying the buffer section separately with higher voltage.



I would think so yes, the 2 chips do 'sound' different, though not hugely in the same type of implementation i would think. both are excellent and very very transparent. but just having balanced output will change the sound in my experience. generally cleaner with a bit more bass authority. hard to believe with this amp, because it already really commands respect from bass drivers. (I use multidriver in ears jh13 mostly)




output depends on what the load is, but its capable of up to +/- 250mA @ +/- 15 rails, but with unity gain and a 3vrms source, you are looking at the potential for about 750mW per channel. you can of course change the gain with a few resistors, but even the bal/se version has easily enough power for hd600 when fed with a balanced source and the bal/bal version will be significantly more powerful

qusp, thank you for your response..

i did read the posts from couple pages back, but then i got confused with the order of some members here, stating PSU in their order. if i order full kit, then it means the psu pcb is included, right? hence my order will be one BAL-BAL PCB ONLY (i hope opc will provide BOM along with the package )

as for the output power, i'm planning to use this for my wharfedale id1 isodynamic headphone 150ohm (REALLY power thirst), which i currently hook up to gainclone LM3886 (68Wx 2 output power i believe?). using this gainclone, i need to crank up the volume to 2-3 o'clock

maybe i should be more specific, will this amplifier (BAL-BAL version), drive my headphone sufficiently?

[idjoel2000]

i'll make my order easier to list:

1. One BAL-BAL version PCB only