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The headphone amplifiers are mystery for me. Form one perspective it should be simple but from another perspective I never heard any interestingly performing headphones amplifiers. Well, I have to take it back probably as wherever I even heard different headphone amplifiers I always listen them with whatever headphones they were demonstrated. This last condition always was difficult for me as I also am conditional to the headphones. The problem is that for many years I am very much habituated to use Japanese made Audio-Technica headphones but they for whatever reasons are not widely used by hi-fi people. With my headphones, and having over the years a half-dozen different headphone amps in my room I always found that they all sounded not as good as full scale amp driving headphones through an  impedance converting adapter. Actually, the cheap phone amplifiers built into the ¼” jack at consumer radio sound way better then those “dedicated high-end phone amplifiers”.

I do not know what the reasons but I decided probably try to get a headphone amp. I asked myself that if I so like the Melquiades and if the Milq’s sound live in the driver’s stage then could the driver stage to drive the headphones. I called Dima and he confirmed that he use to bult the headphone amps around a single 6E5P.

Well, I figured that it would not be difficult to do. The Milq’s plate resistor will be replaced with amorphous Lundahl1627 with enormous for 6E5P gap and all the rest will be identical to the Milq, with exception of the magnetic currents. I ordered the transformers and for a time being, during the Black Friday, put together the amplifier section. It took a little over 4 hours.

The gain stage sits in magnetically sealed enclosure and should be operational now, thought I did not tested it. I will get the transformers in ~10 days and the will put it all together.

I wonder if anyone heard any deserving attention headphone amplifiers? Any further advise to a person who never imploded any dedicated headphone amps?

Rgs,
Romy the Cat

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