Finally finished the amp! This was the first time I'd ever held a soldering iron, so I was not expecting things to go quickly or smoothly. But, for the most part, they did. Took a lot longer than 12 hours though (maybe 20-25 total??)... most of the time I had to work on this project was when I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night.... probably not the most efficient way of working...
Anyway, the instructions were very clear and straightforward. The only problems that I ran into was when I didn't read carefully or made assumptions without fully reading. All was clear once I actually read and understood things (only a few Homer Simpson moments). Powered it on last weekend, and everything worked! No noise at all until the volume was turned to ~ 7/8.
Even before the amp was burned in, brought it along to a local headphone meet. Had a chance to listen to it with a variety of headphones (as well as others listening to it). The sound is excellent, was able to drive low impedence cans without a problem (e.g., Sony CD3K, Grado RS325, Audio-Technica W1000, etc).
This is an excellent amp that sounds much better than the price might otherwise indicate.
Bruce
