The Objective2 (O2) Headphone Amp DIY Project

[qusp]

Originally Posted by agdr

Yeah, he seems to have just suddenly disappeared. Last comments on his blog were back in August. Hope he is OK! Must have either been medical or a sudden loss of interest.

Reminds me of the "Dr Xin" situation over on the H-F forum. He apparently just disappeared one day in the middle of taking orders for a headphone amp.

I dont think RS would appreciate this comparison and you havent got the story right. he didnt just disappear, he simply stopped filling peoples orders or responding to emails. people who paid with credit card were mostly OK because it wasnt charged till the order shipped, but many people lost their money through paypal, some are still waiting years later. every now and then an amp would be shipped, at a staggeringly low frequency and amps that were sent back for updates or repairs, some were repaired and appeared out of the blue, some never returned.

he did send some refunds too, very strange situation

I think its much more likely RS just got bored and moved on, can you blame him? either that or he was paid off or snuffed out =P

[Willakan]

I don't think he got bored IMHO: from my (limited) correspondence with him he seemed rather passionate about what he was doing, but speculation is worthless...I do hope he's OK though.

[qusp]

yeah, but a reality check may have revealed that he was essentially doing high paid work 24/7 for nothing, answering the same questions over and over again, that would do my head in and its not really challenging is it?

youre right though, its all guessing, its all there is left to do though.

luckily the O2 is the last amp you'll ever need to own right?

who's going to pick up the ball?

[Willakan]

Originally Posted by qusp

luckily the O2 is the last amp you'll ever need to own right?
who's going to pick up the ball?

My ideal amp would involve marrying the O2 to a ludicrously expensive stepped attenuator: channel balance at very low volume levels (which, despite unity gain and a source with a reasonable 2VRMS output, is something I get uncomfortably close to with my K702s) is the only real complaint I have.

I respect the more serious DIYers such as yourself, who continue to explore the design of hi-fi equipment for the sheer fun/interest of it (note how I'm carefully side-stepping the sound quality minefield... ), but that approach probably isn't for me. DIY is fun, but I do it for the end result rather than for the exploration.

As for who picks up the ball, I'd like to think it'll keep rolling of its own accord. Sure, some people will dismiss the entire thing as insane zealotry (thus completely missing the point), and some people will inevitably read his blog and extrapolate too far from it (EVERY AMP EVER MADE SOUNDS THE SAME 11!!!1), but on the whole I think the poke in the eye with a sharp stick was a good thing for the hobby!

[agdr]

Hey qusp! You are right. Although the "disappearing" part is similar, Dr. Xin was selling stuff directly and taking payments (as far as I know, was before my time on the forums). RocketScientist/NwAvGuy apparently never made any money on any of it.

I noticed that Tyll Hertsens announced that he had bought an AP and was going to start measuring headphone amps at the end of this year, with a set of protocols that NwAvGuy sent him, at about the time NwAvGuy disappeared:

InnerFidelity Headphone Amp Measurement Program Update July 2012 | InnerFidelity

I've wondered if that was part of it. Maybe NwAvGuy figured "my work here is done". His big thing at the beginning seemed to be raising awareness that RMAA was nearly useless, measuring the sound card more than the amp being tested, and that many amps never had a proper testing of their specs. BTW, in that article in the link Tyll tested the O2 with his AP and confirmed a nearly exact duplicate of RocketScientist/NwAvGuy's reported measurements. They are real!

As for who would be good to run with the ball, I vote for opc of course.

[coolhead]

Originally Posted by agdr

Hey qusp! You are right. Although the "disappearing" part is similar, Dr. Xin was selling stuff directly and taking payments (as far as I know, was before my time on the forums). RocketScientist/NwAvGuy apparently never made any money on any of it.

I noticed that Tyll Hertsens announced that he had bought an AP and was going to start measuring headphone amps at the end of this year, with a set of protocols that NwAvGuy sent him, at about the time NwAvGuy disappeared:

InnerFidelity Headphone Amp Measurement Program Update July 2012 | InnerFidelity

I've wondered if that was part of it. Maybe NwAvGuy figured "my work here is done". His big thing at the beginning seemed to be raising awareness that RMAA was nearly useless, measuring the sound card more than the amp being tested, and that many amps never had a proper testing of their specs. BTW, in that article in the link Tyll tested the O2 with his AP and confirmed a nearly exact duplicate of RocketScientist/NwAvGuy's reported measurements. They are real!

As for who would be good to run with the ball, I vote for opc of course.

You also do a lot of 'upgrade' on the amp my vote in on you.

[greenalien]

There's no doubt that the O2 plus ODAC are brilliant designs that have made a lot of people happy. Wherever he is, and whatever has happened to him, the work done by RocketScientist / NwAvGuy is outstanding, what a great legacy to leave to the world.

[Battou62]

Hypothetical question here: How much would the raw parts cost to build a Odac/O2 combo? If I were to get someone to build one for me, how much do you think they would charge?

[agdr]

Originally Posted by Battou62

Hypothetical question here: How much would the raw parts cost to build a Odac/O2 combo? If I were to get someone to build one for me, how much do you think they would charge?

The ODAC is only sold assembed. By the time you paid someone labor to assemble O2 parts it would cost the same or more than just buying an assembled one. Looks like around $285 USD for a fully assembled ODAC + O2 in a case from JDS labs in the US JDS Labs - O2+ODAC Combo

Audio Poutine in Canada Audio Poutine - diyAudio Head-N-HiFi in Switzerland Audio Poutine - diyAudio and Epiphany Acoutics in the UK EHP-O2 Portable Headphone Amplifier | Epiphany Acoustics likely all offer assembled O2 and ODACs for similar prices.

[agdr]

Originally Posted by coolhead

You also do a lot of 'upgrade' on the amp my vote in on you.

Lol! Thanks. I have fun with the mods but I'm no rocket scientist.