My New Project worklog : DIY Beta 22 Headphone Amplifier

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titana

titana

Forerunner
Well, it has been some time since i build something and now it seems that i am all set for a new project. This time i am planning to make AMB Laboratories DIY β22 Stereo Amplifier. There has been some great reviews about this amp, it is widely accepted as the best DIY headphone amp and would like to compare this with my existing EHHA RevA amp.

As compared to the EHHA RevA this is a bigger project, in terms of components required and the number of PCB's to be populated. I am planning a three board build. It will use the Sigma 22 power supply with a R core transformer instead of the toroidals. It will also use ε12 Muting / Protect Circuit. I Have not finalised the casing as yet but this time intend to use some professional ones.

Here are a few initial pics:







Will keep you guys posted as this project evolves.
 
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Finally started on the project. populated a few resistors on the amp PCB and some more progress on the power supply boards. things are going a bit slow as i am also modding the DAC's which i acquired recently. may be from weekend things will be more fast.
 
This looks very complicated to say the least... How do you go about soldering the components.. Normal solder or something different... Cause I think normal solder would cause a lot of noise due to impurities...

Can you share your work bench where you assemble this ?
 
Thanks for the encouraging words guys.

I use a good quality rosin core 60/40 (Bond brand) solder, Goot soldering iron & flux- nothing special. I don't see how a solder would cause noise if you make good, solid joints.
 
titana said:
Thanks for the encouraging words guys.

I use a good quality rosin core 60/40 (Bond brand) solder, Goot soldering iron & flux- nothing special. I don't see how a solder would cause noise if you make good, solid joints.
Click to expand...

Hmm but good signal is basically related to better conductivity if you are considering in electrical terms... A bad solder might have impurities which will have higher resistance and wouldn't it effect the electrical signal which passes through it... I am not stating anything I am just asking as I am curious... I wanna build a Tube amplifier later so wanna know all I can
 
I don't see any impurities in the solder that I use. Of course, its not the el cheapo one that is ubiquitously seen in electrical shops but nothing exotic either.
 
titana said:
I don't see any impurities in the solder that I use. Of course, its not the el cheapo one that is ubiquitously seen in electrical shops but nothing exotic either.
Click to expand...
I was considering the normal solder as the el cheapo electrical shop solder :bleh:

Could you make a guide for a simple project or document your this project better for noobs like me... Just a simple part of the work would do... Not the entire process ... Say the documentation and picture guides for a single PCB

By the way do you use a temperature controlled soldering station for your projects something like this

hakko936lrg2.jpg
 
further progress at this front. The Sigma22 power supply boards are up and running. This is the first time i am using R core transformer in my project, good to see them in action:ohyeah:

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for the beta22 boards the process of matching the transistors, JFETs, CRDs is going on. Hope to get one amp ready by next week...
 
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one of the current regulator diode batch has turned out to be faulty..will be receiving replacements in at least a week.
 
Hello people,

This project was delayed coz of some initial hiccups, shortage of supplies and exams did not help either. Finally i am done populating the boards.

Here are some initial " switching on " pics:

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And setting the DC offset, things look good to go

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Hooking up the headphone, and yes there was sound..an awesome sound
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This amp passed all the recommended tests as described by AMB and the awesome sound adds to the experience. Now the search for the chassis begins for this awesome amp.

Initial expressions are very good , however it will be too early to compare it with EHHA RevA. Will post some detailed reviews sometime later.
 
Congrats on the sucessful build !!!
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I am still loving your earlier EHHA that you built for me so much that I really don't care if this sounds better or not !
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^Thanks, I am glad you are still enjoying it.

Makes us really proud that even though EHHA was our first project, all of them are working fine and I haven't been informed of any issues with them.

The EHHA is a great amp but we needed another amp at home and decided to build a Beta22 this time.
 
^I'll be selling the EHHA once I get the Beta22 cased up, so keep an eye on the member's market in the coming week.
 
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