DIY Audio
What with the pandemic and being home all the time, I needed something good for headphones. That led me to try building a Pass DIY Whammy Headphone Amplifier.
This one, which was the first I built, went to my friend Bart Wise.
The case was made from jotoba I'd bought many years before at what was then Downes and Reader lumber year, in Stoughton MA.
The second went to my friend and sometime collaborator Robert May.
Like Bart's, it was made from the recommended 'stock' parts. The case this time was made from redwood left over from a bookcase.
An audiophile friend of Robert's was over at his house and was curious about it. After hearing it, he had to have one! So he got Robert's, and I sent Robert the one I'd been using.
That one had some upgraded parts: Takman REY resistors, Jantzen Superior Z-caps for the input caps, New Class D voltage regulators, and an Audio Note potentiometer.
That left me needing a Whammy for myself, and I decided to go all out on this one.
It has Vishay Z Foil and Caddock resistors in the signal path, Jantzen Silver Z-caps for the coupling caps (which are under the board), New Class D voltage regulators, and a Khozmo stepped attenuator. The case is made from redheart, with the top being bubinga veneer over 1/4" plywood. I'm not thrilled with how that looks, so I'll likely change it when I get the urge.
I also built another headphone amp, a Starving Student II, which uses 18FX6A tubes. The case is made from tigerwood.
That one has since gone to my daughter Isobel. I've built another for myself, with the case being made from kiaat I had left over from a bookcase.
Late last fall, Isobel told me that she had inherited some old audio equipment of mine: an NAD 1600 preamp and an Adcom GFA-545 amp. She had gotten some cheap speakers from a friend. I'd long been wanting to try building some speakers, so I decided to build a pair for her. These are the SEAS CURV design from Troels Gravesen. Foolishly, I did not order the kit from Jantzen Audio but bought all the parts myself—before I realized the kit would be cheaper, even with shipping from Denmark. In any event, the speakers turned out quite well, I think. The cabinets are cherry veneer over MDF. They sound really fantastic.
Here are some pictures of them being built.
