Thanks Russ! I am not ruling out the HD 600s, but if the dog got a hold of them (or anything more expensive!)...
I see the JVCs have 50mm diaphragms and are getting hard to find. Maybe I'll order a pair to hold me for now and then possibly upgrade when the puppy has outgrown the urge to chew (and the Ventus is running).
Cheers,
Frank
I see the JVCs have 50mm diaphragms and are getting hard to find. Maybe I'll order a pair to hold me for now and then possibly upgrade when the puppy has outgrown the urge to chew (and the Ventus is running).
Cheers,
Frank
Attachments
Oh-oh... I saw photos over on head-fi of two different driver units in this same model - one reportedly nice, one reportedly much less engaging. ...went for the sure thing and ordered a pair of HD600s instead. Will NEVER leave them in range of the canine! Thanks again!
Frank
Russ,
I would buy a couple of pairs from you. I think the matched SMT is a worthy improvement.
Hi Russ/Brian
As you know from my postings on the OPUS thread I’ve enjoyed using the Ventus as a headphone amp for some time now and have ended up with the gain set to 3 as this sounded best with the headphones that I have.
I also have a Buffalo 3/Legato
I’ve had a hankering to drive my power amp directly from the Buffalo but the limited gain was always a drawback with the Buffalo’s internal Volco maxing out too early. With my Audiosector chip amp that was not a problem as it’s much more sensitive.
But then I had a light bulb moment and decided to try the Ventus as a discrete Bal/SE gain stage with my Buffalo 3 driving the 15W Class A PA directly.(yup exactly how it’s described in the manual but I’m a little slow sometimes)
WOW it sounds superb and (just in my opinion. To my ears in my setup) a little better than the built in Bal/SE on the Legato.
It would be a real shame to loose such a useful and good sounding piece of kit and now I’m in need if a stand alone HA.
so
Count me in for the improved version and SMD no problem.
As you know from my postings on the OPUS thread I’ve enjoyed using the Ventus as a headphone amp for some time now and have ended up with the gain set to 3 as this sounded best with the headphones that I have.
I also have a Buffalo 3/Legato
I’ve had a hankering to drive my power amp directly from the Buffalo but the limited gain was always a drawback with the Buffalo’s internal Volco maxing out too early. With my Audiosector chip amp that was not a problem as it’s much more sensitive.
But then I had a light bulb moment and decided to try the Ventus as a discrete Bal/SE gain stage with my Buffalo 3 driving the 15W Class A PA directly.(yup exactly how it’s described in the manual but I’m a little slow sometimes)
WOW it sounds superb and (just in my opinion. To my ears in my setup) a little better than the built in Bal/SE on the Legato.
It would be a real shame to loose such a useful and good sounding piece of kit and now I’m in need if a stand alone HA.
so
Count me in for the improved version and SMD no problem.
That could make for an interesting project
How about all SMD caps and resistors also?
That’s going to shrink the boards down nicely and also keep the board tracks even shorter.
If it’s small enough then that could be the basis for a Legato 4 even.
Still easy to say and much harder to design.
I’m mighty impressed with the Ventus as is but the SMD matched transistor route could be even better for those who need just a little more OP for the direct IP to power amp.
The Ventus is a great piece of kit that opens my Buffalo up a little wider IMHO.
Nice work
Thanks.
I have always been very proud of ventus. It started as a design I wanted to do to solely as a DIY effort. Completely open and designed to educate as well as entertain. It really turned out better than I originally hoped. I am glad to have it take another step forward in its evolution.
Cheers!
Russ
Cheers!
Russ
Hi Russ
That’s great news
I’ve built a few SMD based projects now and whilst I’m no expert I’ve found it less difficult than I was expecting.
Even those multilegged DAC chips can be done with a little patience and know how.
So a good opportunity for people to learn something useful and open up a whole new world of possibilities later for those new to SMD work.
The price of SMD resistors (even the good ones) is pretty low so maybe a selection of gain setting resistors could be supplied with the kit (if one is on offer).
That would leave people free to choose their gain at the build stage.
BTW I don’t wonder at your pride in the Ventus.
I was shocked at how good it sounded as a headphone amp and a Bal/SE gain stage driven from the Legato's balanced OP's.
Exiting times we live in.
I'm building 4 * Ventus to act as headphone outputs. I decided to measure and match the BC550s for fun. Most were very close with hFE of 443 and Ic of 6.2mA. Two pieces stood out with hFe of 349 and Ic 2.1 mA. Is it really OK to use these odd ones in the QN4 position or should I order replacements?
Hi there,
can't find any manual or build guide, such as to know how to feed it (Z, passive pot from line option, DC offset @ output and case of DC feed, when the output coil is needed or not...).
Any tips welcome, got 2 boards in hands and wanted to build a stand-alone head amp. Planned UltraBib supply therefore I need also the current drawn.
Thanks!
can't find any manual or build guide, such as to know how to feed it (Z, passive pot from line option, DC offset @ output and case of DC feed, when the output coil is needed or not...).
Any tips welcome, got 2 boards in hands and wanted to build a stand-alone head amp. Planned UltraBib supply therefore I need also the current drawn.
Thanks!