Just how good is the PIMETA?

slowpogo · 6th March 2007, 09:37 AM

I'm currently building the Tangentsoft PIMETA, with PRP and Holco non-magnetic resistors and nice caps (Elna Cerafine, Auricaps), doubled buffers and the AD620 opamp biased to class A, big Alps pot, etc. I'm basically going "all out" with the components. My reward is mostly in the building process, and I'm sure it'll sound, at the least, pretty decent with my Grado SR80s.

My question is, where does a PIMETA rank in the grand scheme of headphone amps? How does it compare in sound quality to something like the $200 BitHead, for example?

peranders · 6th March 2007, 10:35 AM

My QRV-04 is also based on a good opamp + BUF634 and I am very pleased with the result and I see no reason why PIMETA shouldn't be equally good since it is made of a very good pcb.

blip1882 · 8th March 2007, 08:01 AM

The PIMETA is a very solid amp in my experience. It is well designed, good technically and has a great PCB (Tangent or whoever did the final layout really has a nice sense of board design). It has been my main headamp for three years now and I remain satisfied with it....

It certainly isn't the final word in headphone amps but it is a respectable entry. From what I've seen it is generally ranked higher than any similarly priced commercial entry but somewhat lower than the incarnations of the PPA as well as the members of the dyna-family and similar discrete, class-a amps. Also, it is several generations behind the state-of-the-art like the M3 or the B22.

Also, it is hard to rate it against the many tube amps out there... some of which cost very little to build but to tube-lovers are easily superior to the PIMETA.

slowpogo · 8th March 2007, 03:40 PM

I noticed that its dynamic range is only around 92db -- not even enough to take full advantage of the CD format. And its THD is around .1%, which also seems a little high.

Still, I'm just hoping it will sound better than the headphone jack in a typical DVD player or $300 receiver.

6th March 2007, 09:37 AM	#1
slowpogo diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2007	Just how good is the PIMETA? I'm currently building the Tangentsoft PIMETA, with PRP and Holco non-magnetic resistors and nice caps (Elna Cerafine, Auricaps), doubled buffers and the AD620 opamp biased to class A, big Alps pot, etc. I'm basically going "all out" with the components. My reward is mostly in the building process, and I'm sure it'll sound, at the least, pretty decent with my Grado SR80s. My question is, where does a PIMETA rank in the grand scheme of headphone amps? How does it compare in sound quality to something like the $200 BitHead, for example?

6th March 2007, 10:35 AM	#2
peranders Electrons are yellow and more is better! diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Göteborg, Sweden Blog Entries: 4	My QRV-04 is also based on a good opamp + BUF634 and I am very pleased with the result and I see no reason why PIMETA shouldn't be equally good since it is made of a very good pcb. __________________ /Per-Anders (my first name) or P-A as my friends call me

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Best buffer for PIMETA?	slowpogo	Chip Amps	41	26th November 2010 06:11 AM
Debugging a PIMETA headphone amp	Atilla	Headphone Systems	3	23rd April 2009 05:12 PM
Using LMH6642 as a buffer in PIMETA?	TheSeekerr	Chip Amps	2	10th July 2008 12:59 PM
[help] pimeta ground buffer heating up	jchanhm	Chip Amps	0	6th June 2007 04:38 AM
Diamond buffer in PIMETA	slowpogo	Chip Amps	3	19th April 2007 05:58 AM

New To Site?	Need Help?
Register to Participate Search Privacy Statement Contact Us	Frequently Asked Questions Did you forget your password? Mark Forums Read


	Please consider donating to help us continue to serve you. Ads on/off / Custom Title / More PMs / More album space / Advanced printing & mass image saving

8th March 2007, 08:01 AM	#3
blip1882 diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2005	The PIMETA is a very solid amp in my experience. It is well designed, good technically and has a great PCB (Tangent or whoever did the final layout really has a nice sense of board design). It has been my main headamp for three years now and I remain satisfied with it.... It certainly isn't the final word in headphone amps but it is a respectable entry. From what I've seen it is generally ranked higher than any similarly priced commercial entry but somewhat lower than the incarnations of the PPA as well as the members of the dyna-family and similar discrete, class-a amps. Also, it is several generations behind the state-of-the-art like the M3 or the B22. Also, it is hard to rate it against the many tube amps out there... some of which cost very little to build but to tube-lovers are easily superior to the PIMETA.

8th March 2007, 03:40 PM	#4
slowpogo diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2007	I noticed that its dynamic range is only around 92db -- not even enough to take full advantage of the CD format. And its THD is around .1%, which also seems a little high. Still, I'm just hoping it will sound better than the headphone jack in a typical DVD player or $300 receiver.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)