My headphone - the Sennheiser HD201

Naturally the previous headphone amp was purposely built to drive this, the HD201.
I'd say the HD201 would be the best bang per buck headphone. Of course there are 'better' headphones out there.. and obviously more expensive. I paid RM120 (equiv. to USD36, early figureof 54 was wrong..)
I do not use headphones all the times, rather occasionally when I need the privacy and this is where the HD201 shines.. mostly it is used with my Sony's S7000 DVD player which being the flagship model during it's heyday, has the best built-in headphone amp…
To really enjoy the dynamics and the potential of the HD201, a headphone amp is really recommended, DIY or otherwise!

Here's a review of the HD201, and here.
More info here. Very interesting read.

Pros:
Light weight. You can wear them for hours at length!
Very neutral sounding with slightly bright overall but not too 'fatiguing'..
Very good sound esp. the bass.
Cheap. Best bang per buck

Cons:
The cable can be a tad too long and can tangle things..
May required amplification to realize full potential if your puny little mp3 player don't have enough juice.. but that’s being critical. ;)

Headphone amplifier using TDA2822M

The kit with all components installed.. 'standard' stuffs without any exotic components.. we'll 'see' how it performs later.. Have checked the datasheet. Not bad data and performance figures... if you check ebay, there's a headphone amp kit using the same IC!


The amp powered by a 9V PP3 battery, powering up the first time and using a SONY's PCDP as the sound source. The trimmer pot is shown there installed on the board.. more like a preset to me than volume control! Have to check if I have a spare dual/stereo 10K pot to be used as a volume control (checked, I have!)...


Was on leave today.. and feeling a little 'bored' and nothing interesting to watch on TV, went through my spare parts stuffs and I found a 1W stereo amplifier kit that I have bought 'eons' ago but not built for unknown reasons.. well one reason actually, I have no use of it, yet! Meant for 'bench amp' I decided if it's good enough to drive my Sennheiser's HD201.

Conclusions

I have been listening to it now (housed in a proper casing), which took about an hour to do. Total listening sessions is about 5 hours... just the Sony's CDP as the source (did connect to my notebook for a while). Will update with the finished product soon.

After using a shielded cable for the input connections, a slight hiss which was noticeable earlier during testing has somewhat gone.. very good bass, imaging and depth.. midrange(voice) was breathtaking (Diana Krall CDs) and highs were very well reproduced without overboosting too much.. which should minimized fatigue on extended listening session. At the time of writing I am still listening to it.

All in all.. this would be the best bang per buck headamp! The kit is cheap and listening satisfaction is fantabulous! Two thumbs up. I had a great monday this week... ;)