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pls welcome the noob - what to buy to set up a portable headphone setup
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Hi, This is my first post on this forum. Pls welcome me and also help me build a system. What I have - I have purchased an hd 650 (just got it yesterday). What I want - Now I want to create a portable rig where everything is battery powered, and is balanced. So following is what I think I need to buy: 1. DAC - BII can run balanced and give balanced output. 2. Ventus headphone amp - this too can be made balanced. 3. battery power supplies for both of them. What help I need: for 1, 2 and 3, what is the quantity of kits I need to purchase? My understanding for running complete balanced rig is: For 1 - I need to purchase only one BII kit for $249. Is that correct? For 2 - I need to order one Ventus 2-Channel Complete Kit. Is that correct? For 3, if I want to power PLACID from batteries, do I need to order for the 9V+9V transformer? Please help me in deciding how much to buy? I want to buy assembled and tested kits only. A good question is what would be my source. I am working on it, but help would be appreciated. Is there any digital out portable dock for iphone/ ipod? One idea is to break open my sansa e 260 and tap the i2s. way too complex for a noob like me but I can give it a try. I will take help from a person who is more has more exp in diy than me. regards EDIT: Do I need to purchase any other components like IVY? How many? EDIT 2: if I need to connect it to USB, I would need a usb-> spdif converter. If I want optical connection that I need another converter. Edited by user Tuesday, May 4, 2010 4:20:32 AM(UTC)
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Ivy III will give you balanced headphone output too, plus it's designed especially for the BII. It's what I use. Check out the manual. You won't need transformers but I expect you'd need some hefty batteries! There are varying degrees of portability I suppose. I think some portable players have digital output. Getting digital from an iPod would be difficult. For USB to SPDIF as well as TOSLINK, check out the Musiland 01 USD - it has both outputs. Placid/IvyIII kits require soldering. They aren't hard to build though. Edited by user Tuesday, May 4, 2010 9:08:20 AM(UTC)
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Wow lots of questions for a first post. :) kesgreen did a good job summarizing things. I have some suggestions. I too have some HD650s and I use them quite a lot. :) My first choice rig would would be Buffalo II and IVY III directly to your cans using volumite for volume control. You would not necessarily need placid, and it may not be the best choice if you use batteries. A series regulator like the LCDPS/LCBPS may be better suited unless your batteries can supply a lot of current for a long time. Then placid would be fine. If I were you I would drop the battery driven requirement and just use the transformers we suggest. Our power supply kits do not come pre-assembled. You will need to do at least that. Or find someone to do it for you. :) Cheers! Russ Edited by user Tuesday, May 4, 2010 7:15:23 PM(UTC)
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Thanks guys for your responses. I have spent some time researching, and it led to more questions. I think and rethink the application. This hd 650 can't be heard in office/ bedroom late night due to its open design. A portable is needed mostly for carrying around in home to different rooms or lawn. Am I confused? Well anyways, it would be great if I can lug it around to the lawn, sit there and listen to the music. Or may be a dual power with a separate psu for playing by connecting to the grid, plus battery charger. ok, so trying to make up my mind - if I drop the battery requirement from the equation, what would I need? I thought of this for usb, and this for optical input - but is musiland musch better for usb? Should I hack it open to tap the i2s? Are you saying that IVY III itself is capable of driving balanced headphones? So Won't need ventus headphone amp? Here comes the very noob question - why do we need i/v? Is it same as an op-amp in function? Or like a tube output stage? Would I need an ivy if I want to use buffalo with some other headphone amp? regards
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Fot USB to i2s, you might want to get in on this group buy.
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thanks kesgreen! exactly what I found last night after spending several hours on internet! Thanks a lot. So pls answer my other questions regarding headphone amplification. What if I want to use iphone with LOD? Edit: I could reach there from your musiland pointer. I have enrolled for two such pieces. My first group buy on the forums. Edited by user Friday, May 7, 2010 1:36:36 AM(UTC)
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Glad you found the link helpful. I don't feel qualified to answer the other questions. I don't know if the Ivy III can amplify an external analogue signal - the Ventus may be required there.
Personally, I bought the Ivy III, the Buffalo II, a Volumite, a Placid and a Placid BP plus the 2 necessary transformers. I stuck it all in a biscuit tin (see photos on DIYAudio BII thread!) and use it as a DAC/preamp with outputs into my Linkwitz Pluto active speakers and (at night) into headphones (I'm going to stick a 4-pin XLR socket on the tin so I can use balanced headphones - HD650s here as well when I buy some). All my music is on my PC or comes via cable box. It certainly does the job very well.
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thanks kesgreen. Ok, so what I understand - you defined complete BOM for one complete project. A DAC+hp amp (balanced and se) and a pre.
Why do you need both placid and placid bp? For experimentation? Or you need two power supplies, 1 for BII and 1 for ivy iii? Exactly how many transformers (2 or 4) for completing the project?
Have you tried the hd 650 with single ended output? Which other headphones have you tried?
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Apart from RCA sockets and hook-up wire, enclosure, solder etc. yeah. Placid is for the Buffalo II and the Placid BP for the Ivy III (although you can use the LCDPS and LCBPS instead). Transformers are needed for each. TP sell 2 types and you need one of each type. I only have a pair of Grado SR80s at the moment, SE output. They sound fantastic to me. I can't wait to try some better 'phones from the balanced output. I'm leaning towards the Sennheiser HD600/650 or maybe the Beyerdynamic DT 800/900 (600 Ohm version). Russ says the Ivy III will drive any dynamic headphone easily. The kits are easy to assemble - only basic soldering and everything is nicely labelled. I promise you won't regret putting it together (no they're not paying me to say this!) Edited by user Friday, May 7, 2010 4:34:31 PM(UTC)
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gr8! I am sure they must have given you quality product and great service! Expecting the same for myself. Just wondering if I can give a line level input to ivy III from my cdp. Edited by user Tuesday, May 18, 2010 8:41:05 AM(UTC)
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Rank: Member
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Just wondering if I can give a line level input to ivy III from my cdp, or other line level source?
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