DIY Headphone Amplifiers

Geek with Family Headphone Posts 

My own Headphone Reviews and News

Simplify Your Next DIY Project With My CMoy Headphone Amp Shopping List

Through the haze that is new born care sleep deprivation, I ordered all the parts needed to make Audiologica's version of the Chu Moy Headphone amp that fits into an Altoids mint tin. I fought my former reluctance to buy all the parts through multiple small electronics dealer's crappy e-commerce systems with my desire to improve long commute's soundtrack quality.

You Cannot Afford this Audiophile Grade CMoy Headphone Amplifier

I'm putting together a typical Audiologica CMoy Altoids Mint Tin headphone amp. The electronic components needed for the amp are less than $40. I hope this gives me great performance when I install it between my iPod and my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 in-ear headphones.

DIY Headphone Amps - Amazing Collection of 130+ Pocket Size Amplifiers » Home Theater, Anime, Geek Gadgets for the whole family

Ever since I've owned an iPod I've wanted a companion headphone amp like the Headroom Total Airhead. Never able to justify the cost and added weight to my already back breaking commuter kit, instead bought nice headphones, Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3, that work well with an iPod's internal amp. Still, my itch for an amp remains.

The Decemberists’ Picaresque - Toddler_o_Geek Doesn’t Hate My Music Yet » Home Theater, Anime, Geek Gadgets for the whole family

We bought a 2000 Lexus RX 300 SUV on Saturday. The Lexus has a factory upgraded sound system with a six CD changer in the glove compartment. On Sunday we remembered to take a CD, Decemberists' Picaresque, with us on the short drive to the local horse farm.

Mobile Video Convenience versus Home Theater Quality » Home Theater, Anime, Geek Gadgets for the whole family

I've never bought entertainment software for convenience's sake. If I try to purchase something I already own, Wife_o_Geek vetoes with, "Don't you already have that? We need diapers." I can't smell a dirty diaper while riding the train to work, watching Samurai Champloo on my PSP. We move out of electronics and into the baby aisle.

Improper Earphone Insertion - Commuter Pet Peeve #1 » Home Theater, Anime, Geek Gadgets for the whole family

If you want to listen to music on your iPod or watch a movie on your PSP without going deaf and bothering the other passengers you need in-ear headphones like my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studios. Many commuters use Shure E2Cs. The Shures were my first in-ear set so I know when properly shoved into your ear canal they provided improved isolation and sound over the iPod's earbuds.

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio Isolation Earphones Review » Home Theater, Anime, Geek Gadgets for the whole family

I bought the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio Isolation Earphones last week and have been enjoying them. Key benefits include: clean open sound with good separation of instruments and performers, very detailed yet smooth response in the upper frequencies, controlled, tight bass if not a little muted (though may improve when I figure out how to reliably lodge them in my ear canal, more later), adequate sound isolation from both your environment and the headphone wire itself thanks to over the ear hard, but pliant to fit snuggly over your ear, plastic encased wire stress relief, low listening fatigue and good comfort with the correct sized ear plug (still don't know if I've found mine yet).

LTB 5.1 Personal Home Theater Headphones Review » Home Theater, Anime, Geek Gadgets for the whole family

When you have a family, you constantly have to deal with differing sleep schedules. Toddle_o_Geek goes to bed by 8 PM, Wife_o_Geek passes out by 10 PM and I like to stay up till whenever. Those times when I stay up late or even when my wife is enjoying some other form of entertainment in another part of the house (usually Desperate Housewives) I can't raise the home theater's volume to a level where I can hear a Eastern Bloc commando sneaking up from my back left speaker. LTB Surround Headphone ads crept into my periphery vision while reading home entertainment magazines for the past few months.

DIY and Commercial Headphone Links 

PenguinAmp.com - The "DELUXE" Line

Penguin Amps makes basic and deluxe modified CMOY circuits with fast opamps. The designs (built into Penguin Mint Tins) are sold through his site and auctioned on ebay.

Products - HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears

Headroom makes great sounding and affordable headphone amps with crossfeed circuits, like the Total Airhead (so your headphones sound more like a stereo image in front of you). The site is also great for targeted headphone advice depending on your application (like jogging versus audiophile home set up).

Audiologica

Audiologica has all the info and tutorials you'll need to make your own mint tin headphone amp. The site includes basic and advanced tutorials for the electronic novice and expert alike. It is the best place to start for DIY projects.

HeadWize Library - Projects

The Library is the main archive of HeadWize. It contains articles, essay, projects and technical papers on headphone-related issues.

Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Head-Fi covers headphones, portable audio, iPod headphones, Zune earphones and audiophile equipment.