F5 Headamp ?

Totally agree. It is expensive enough now😱 Just curious, are there no current production JFETs that can be used instead?

Regards,

Yes, there is the linear systems parts which are sold from this very site:

Linear Systems Matched JFET pairs (Grade B) – diyAudio Store

The prices of toshiba matched pairs are probably being held down by the linear system prices. If LS stops production, which is a real possibility given they were just bought out, then prices of NOS toshiba devices will go through the roof. Iam speculating here. But it's probably going to become reality soon. The time to start hoarding was probably 10 years ago but I think it's wise to always have a half dozen or so matched pairs around just in case.

It's a shame because so many of the diy designs use these jfets...pretty much all the pass stuff and many more.
 
They're Idss matched, but as you said they're not fully curve matched.

That said, expect fully curve matched quads is a bit unrealistic nowadays. Even if you manage to find a seller who'll do this, expect to be charged for a further premium.

Shouldn't we just need to match Idss at the one operating point or certain operation range to narrow down the matching requirement?
 
If you match at multiple points it's clearly a better match, and as the number of points increases you're approaching a full curve match. The transconductance is derived from the slope of the curve at the operating point.

But at that level, you should then match at the operating temperature instead. Very few seller, if any, would have that capacity.

For us typical DIYers, if I get an Idss matched quad from a seller, I think it's not bad already.
 
They're Idss matched, but as you said they're not fully curve matched.

That said, expect fully curve matched quads is a bit unrealistic nowadays. Even if you manage to find a seller who'll do this, expect to be charged for a further premium.

I agree that exact matched quads are ideal but not too practical. Of course if one can afford the price, then perfection is the only choice. Unfortunately, not for a poor DIYer like me. Thank you for the comment.

Regards,
 
What percentage do you think those active device would be in the final cost of a properly built headphone amplifier like the F5-HA ?

And when they have more of an influence of the sonic signature than e.g. case, transformers, rectifier diodes, connectors, knobs, .....


Patrick
 
What percentage do you think those active device would be in the final cost of a properly built headphone amplifier like the F5-HA ?

And when they have more of an influence of the sonic signature than e.g. case, transformers, rectifier diodes, connectors, knobs, .....

Patrick

Patrick,

I guess different people will give you different answers. I understand your point. For these "purist designs" that excel in simplicity, the tolerance for all the components have to be very tight in order to extract all the performance build into the design.

Regards,
 
Yes, there is the linear systems parts which are sold from this very site:

Linear Systems Matched JFET pairs (Grade B) – diyAudio Store

The prices of toshiba matched pairs are probably being held down by the linear system prices. If LS stops production, which is a real possibility given they were just bought out, then prices of NOS toshiba devices will go through the roof. Iam speculating here. But it's probably going to become reality soon. The time to start hoarding was probably 10 years ago but I think it's wise to always have a half dozen or so matched pairs around just in case.

It's a shame because so many of the diy designs use these jfets...pretty much all the pass stuff and many more.

Thank you for the link.
 
FYI, for those of you doing the veroboard layout in post 1 it's important to put a resistor at input hot to ground...probably 47K-100K ish. This resistor, while not on the veroboard layout can be put across the RCA jacks if you wish.

Why?

We'll it provides a path to ground if you unplug the inputs which may save the amp if you unplug/plug while powered up but also it establishes the input impedance.

How do I know? Well, I couldn't figure out why this thing sounded good with my vinyl setup that has a buffer on the output of the phono stage but bad with my DAC which has a higher output impedance. The DAC didn't like feeding into a 10K pot directly. A couple of resistors across the RCA's and all is well with the digital setup. Before, it was dull and lacked contrast. Now, it's all lit up.

I know this is elementary stuff but I thought you guys following the veroboard layout should be aware.
 

Attachments

> The DAC didn't like feeding into a 10K pot directly.
> A couple of resistors across the RCA's and all is well

So it likes 100k // 10k = 9.09k more ?
Strange DAC you have.

🙂

BTW putting it at the F5-HA input is NOT the same as putting it at the RCA, if you have a 10k pot in between.


Patrick
 
Prasi F5HA layout arrived

They arrived today. These are from Seeedstudio and look really good. They are *tiny*. 🙂 About the same size as a 35mm film negative.
Thanks, Prasi.

Will test tonight. Should be one of the fastest builds I think.

575854d1477103016-f5-headamp-f5ha-prasi.jpg
 

Attachments

  • F5HA-Prasi.jpg
    F5HA-Prasi.jpg
    95.4 KB · Views: 961