In my opinion butte is the better sounding am and very easy to build. Go for it.
To elaborate, the O2 is great and very neutral, i have no complaints with it. But to me the Butte just sounds better, more authority and sweeter. I build it with the optional class A bias, mind, without it i cannot say.
To elaborate, the O2 is great and very neutral, i have no complaints with it. But to me the Butte just sounds better, more authority and sweeter. I build it with the optional class A bias, mind, without it i cannot say.
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You can see my review of the O2, including measurements, here: O2 Headphone Amp Review & Measurements.
If you plan to use the O2 battery powered, beware that its behaviour when the batteries are nearly discharged is not pretty.
Tom
If you plan to use the O2 battery powered, beware that its behaviour when the batteries are nearly discharged is not pretty.
Tom
Thanks. Which amp does in your opinion sound more objective? I will go for the other one (for now).
After listening to a lot of headphones and a couple of weird amps, my favorite is an old, cheap philips reciever. It's no high end, you can hear mains 50hz, the detail is decent, but it just sounds fun. Too bad it's absolutely massive, which makes it impossible to use at my desk.
That's one of the reasons why I want to build a CMOY and a copy of grado ra-1 at the same time (those 2 are really cheap to build, I think). Just to try something different, because more expensive does not always mean more fun sounding.
Also, I was wondering about swapping the opamps in o2 or Butte (I've read that OPA2134 better in o2 than stock and I was wondering if I could swap the singe channel version OPA134 into Butte to try it, or if it would just release the magic smoke).
After listening to a lot of headphones and a couple of weird amps, my favorite is an old, cheap philips reciever. It's no high end, you can hear mains 50hz, the detail is decent, but it just sounds fun. Too bad it's absolutely massive, which makes it impossible to use at my desk.
That's one of the reasons why I want to build a CMOY and a copy of grado ra-1 at the same time (those 2 are really cheap to build, I think). Just to try something different, because more expensive does not always mean more fun sounding.
Also, I was wondering about swapping the opamps in o2 or Butte (I've read that OPA2134 better in o2 than stock and I was wondering if I could swap the singe channel version OPA134 into Butte to try it, or if it would just release the magic smoke).
Considering that I have Sennheiser HD598 (32 ohm) I don´t really need a lot of power (one of the problems with my Fiio e10k is that with my computer maxed I never exceed 3 on the volume pot, in fact I'm currently on 1. But I feel like all better amps are designed for a lot of power). I need pleasant sound. Do you have any suggestions? I probably will build a cmoy for fun (might as well, if I´m paying the same shipping anyways). The main amp will be at my pc desk all the time, so I don't really have any requirements other than price.
If you want "pleasant" I'd look at a small SE class A follower. A szekeres or something along those lines. Not perfectly accurate but not fatiguing for long term listening.
or that kind of things: fs Assembeld JLH 1969 Class A Headphone Amplifier (no affiliation with the seller)
or that kind of things: fs Assembeld JLH 1969 Class A Headphone Amplifier (no affiliation with the seller)
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I have just acquired two O2's, one JDS Labs O2 and one Massdrop O2+ODAC. They sound very good and are very powerful (plenty for K702), the best sound I've heard from DIP-8 opamps. The O2 will stand out as one of the classics in diyaudio culture, not just for its performance but for the story behind it and "Who is NwAvGuy?!"
I think AGDR's excellent implementation of a compact OPA1688 should be considered by anyone looking into an O2 or a Butte, or any other opamp based headphone amp. The power supply cut-out system and the power-on relay management system is excellent.
OPA1688 Super CMOY, 2x 9V with real ground and headphone relay - PCBs
OPA1688 Super CMOY, 2x 9V with real ground and headphone relay - PCBs
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