[rebonz]

Hello all, Just wanted to let everyone know that I just assembled an Ear + Basic headphone amp and I could not be happier. The unit is absolutely quiet, and drives my HD-580's to perfection. I am using a Sony SCD-CE775 as a source. This piece has an unreal neutralness to it's sound. Hard to believe tubes are in the unit. Lloyd was also the best and most responsive person in the audio industry in my over twenty five years of enjoying this hobby! When it came to any questions or situations that arose during assembly, he responded to my e-mails almost instantly.

[Thump553]

What sort of headphone amp did you use before?  Any other units you have compared it to?  And also, do you think this project is doable for someone who has barely touched a soldering iron before?

I'm presently driving my Sennheiser 600s with a homebuilt (by someone else) CMOY amp, but the upgrade bug has bitten, and I've never given tubes a try.

[rebonz]

I had used an Adcom GFP-565 as a headphone amp for a while, but I have been using an 11 year old Sony D-111 walkman as my main source up to November when I purchased a Sony  SCD-CE775. At that time I was using the built in headphone amp in the SACD player.
I normally would only listen to headphones when I went to sleep. I was not being to critical, I just didn't want to listen to the TV that my wife watches every night. I was looking for something to build that had tubes in it. I read a lot of reviews about the ASL  MG Head and did not want an amp that was as colored as most of the reviews stated. I happened to come across the MAD web site and liked what I saw. I then searched for reviews and found a few on the Ear+ headphone amp. Liked what I had read but didn't need pre-amp outs or a balance control. It just so happened that the Ear+ basic had just come to market. Specs and sound were said to be the same as the Ear+ so I gave it a try. It so happened that I was the first person to buy and build this kit. Even if you do not have much experience with a soldering iron you should not have a problem if you take your time. It took me three evenings to build the kit. The instructions are very well laid out and it would be very hard to make a mistake. The pride that you get when you fire it up and it works is unbeatable.The only change that I have made so far is that I have swapped a telefunken 12ax7 smooth plate  for the 5751. I will enjoy this headphone amp for many years to come!