It’s been nearly a year since I posted anything on here. This was for a couple of reasons; probably most importantly, I was finally made redundant in July and have been working towards self-employment. Another reason is that I decided a while ago I would only build things I had a genuine use/need for (although…
Category: Audio Gear
Measuring the Slowdiyer Composite Headphone Amplifier
For this next set of measurements I’ll be looking at another amplifier designed by Uffe at Slowdiyer. There’s no particular reason that I chose another of these designs straight after looking at his recent offering beyond the fact that it’s conveniently available on the rack next to my computer. In addition, it gives me a…
Measuring the SlowMoy OPA1656
Following on from my last post, looking at integrating my existing equipment presented a small headache. I already have a headphones dummy load which, whilst not providing the exact impedance of my current headphones, does the job. The problem is that the outputs from the dummy load are BNC sockets, as it was originally designed…
Further (mis)adventures in measuring audio equipment
The most visited page on this site has always been the guide to distortion measurements, written when I had just discovered the thread on DIYAudio. That post, like many of my other posts here, was written more as a reference for me and this one fulfils much the same function. If it’s of use to…
A modern take on the CMoy Headphone Amplifier
Anybody who has browsed these pages in the past knows that I keep an eye on certain people’s projects, one of those being Uffe at Slowdiyer. Recently he has been experimenting with USB-C power supplies, one of the offshoots from this being an updated version of the’mini-pre‘, a variant of the classic Chu Moy headphone…
SlowSwitcher – DAC to amplifiers switch box
A convoluted setup in one of my rooms needed a little more confusion adding to it. As mentioned in my last post, I have a couple of sources – a PC and my streamer, which connect to a preamplifier, two amplifiers, two DACs and a headphones amp. I know I could streamline this, but I…
Amplifier switch box
A very simple project this time and actually one that addresses a problem I needed a solution for, rather than yet another headphone amplifier…although those are in the pipeline! In one of my rooms I have a range of (mostly) DIY audio equipment. Connected by USB to my desktop PC I have a Topping D30…
Simple and cheap streaming setup
I noticed the other day that I hadn’t posted anything on this site for nine months! There are a few reasons for this; following my contraction of Covid-19, I found it difficult to muster enthusiasm for hobbies, something that is only now just beginning to come back. A more pressing obstacle over the last few…
PeeCeeBee Preamplifier
As previewed in an earlier post, this is a preamplifier designed by Shaan and offered for sale in a group buy at DIY Audio. It is fully discrete, Class A with an integrated power supply. The twist is that it offers adjustable (from less than 0.001% to over 1%) single-ended, predominantly second harmonic distortion. In…
Elliott Sound Projects P113 Headphone Amplifier
I’m a fan of the projects on Rod Elliott’s ESP site as they come with lots of information to help you understand the circuit, and most are simple and robust enough for entry-level DIY hobbyists. Yet this does not mean these are low audio quality circuits, Rod specifies this P113 headphone amplifier as a very…