THE ORRONOCO AUDIO DIY

I take a break from my home audio for awhile and look what I got here. The Audio Art 100MS car amplifier. This is a sound quality car amplifier that very famous in early 90's along with others brand such as Monolithic amplifier, Linear Audio, Soundstream, A/D/S and many more. Perhaps you never heard this name yet, but we are that growth in the era of 80's and 90's are praised with this amplifier above all the major brand like Sony, Alpine or Pioneer. So let's take a look in detail.

This op-amps comparison topic is actually boring, but at the same time, many of us still curious about what others think about it. The reason is simply because of the op-amps variation are hundreds and they are depends by the implementation. The op-amps are considerably cheap and an interchangeable electronic components but they are not built for the same function. So in this discussion, I will focus on the modern Vs. vintage high performance op-amps in the simple non-inverting pre-amplifier gain stage.

This Mauro Penasa LM3886 amplifier is not typical Gainclone amplifier because it is not what it is. This amplifier is published over 10 years ago and the designer name is Mauro Penasa. He was mimicking and redesigning this amplifier from his nostalgic good sounding vintage amplifier, the Musical Fidelity A370 amplifier. If you read his design notes, he was really like the A370 amplifier so much and he think that today amplifier is not as good as it. The sound of A370 can only be compete with most linear class A amplifier that inefficient, hot, and heavy. That is why he redesign the A370 but using LM3886 IC for more economical approach. This LM3886 act as current pump and the op-amp is LM318 act as voltage gain. Yes, it is using op-amp, same like the original design as well. The goal for this amplifier is like having a good class A sounding amplifier with the efficiency of class AB just like the A370 original design. This amplifier is quite famous in DIY audio for years and I will try t...

This post is the update from my PCM1704 DAC built. As I always mentioned that a DAC will sound good if it is feed with a good power supply as well. It is all begin with the power transformer, regulator circuitry, the capacitors around it and the components layout. It will bring significant improvement to the DAC sound quality. In this post, I will upgrade my previous PCM1704 DAC built with better transformer and I will make a small change to the power supply layout as well.

I still have several PCM1704 U-J DAC IC taken from the Pioneer unit  here , so I think I will use a pair of it to make another DAC again. As usual, this DAC build will never be the same like my previous built. Lately I prefer the sound from the non-oversampling DAC and this will be in my first list when making a new DAC. The input will using the SPDIF because this is the only input that I feel more convenience since all my digital source support this input as well. The schematic will be the same like my previous PCM1704 DAC built  here  which is the same as the schematic on pavouk.org website. The key difference is only on the analog stages after the current output from PCM1704 DAC. Let's get started.

I am quite remember many years ago when the first time I saw the advertisement flyer contain of the Sennheiser HD800 headphone, it instantly blew me away by just looking to the design. This is an expensive headphone that cost US$1,500. At that time, I believe this would be the best headphone in the world. Ever since, the HD800 is become my dream headphone, until I got it on my hands right now. But will this headphone fulfilled my long audiophile dream? Let's continue.

When you hear the name STAX headphone amplifier, first things comes in mind is the electrostatic headphone which is made in Japan and expensive. It is all make sense since STAX never selling their unit cheap, same with many of the Japanese product as well. Speaking for the STAX headphone amplifier, I have one long time ago  here , but the entry level STAX headphone amplifier and I can say it sound really good. The sound is so much open, larger soundstage, so much detail and very natural music presentation. I may called it the STAX sound signature. But if I get a cheap old STAX headphone amplifier that intended use for the professional, will it sound better then what I have before? Before jump to that conclusion, lets see the unit that I just got here first.