Tangentsoft.net Chu Moy Headphone Amplifier

drasnordrasnor Starship OperatorHawthorne, CA Icrontian
edited June 2010 in Hardware
Enough people in IRC were interested in the board layout I used to make UPSLynx's CMoy pocket headphone amp in an Altoids can that I decided to make this thread instead of just PM'ing everyone involved. The attached .pdf contains the parts layout and trace cut pattern for building a CMoy using the Tangentsoft.net schematic modified to include a buffered virtual ground instead of the crappy stock resistor divider.

This layout is for use with standard 0.1" stripboard which you can get from any decent electronics shop. I used Velleman 3164 but realistically anything that looks like this on the bottom will work. If you have access to RadioShack 276-150 protoboard then Tangetsoft.net has a layout on their site for that board that's easier to make. I'm hoarding my 276-150 for more complicated projects though since RadioShack doesn't sell it anymore.

I used a bandsaw with a fine-toothed metal-cutting blade to separate a 17x9 hole segment of stripboard from the larger piece and a Dremel tool with the 108 engraving tip to sever the traces. I used a belt sander to smooth out the board edges. There are other ways to do it as well.

I used polarized connectors between my jacks, pot, batteries, LED, and the board. The headers look just like the fan headers on your motherboard and I think it's an AMP part but I don't recall. Check your favorite electronics distributor or solder the wiring directly to the board. Bug Lynx to post some pics of the inside of that amp if you want to see chassis layout. I built mine for a single 9V battery but two 9V batteries in series is also typical. Post with questions/feedback.
cmoy.pdf 374.3K
midga

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited June 2010
    Thanks, Dras!
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited June 2010
    I've made a couple of the cmoyBB amplifiers from here. Any comments on how they would perform relative to what you've made?
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited June 2010
    shwaip wrote:
    I've made a couple of the cmoyBB amplifiers from here. Any comments on how they would perform relative to what you've made?
    It'll be different. Looking at the pictures it seems like they're using a first-order low-pass filter for bass boost which works fine given some time and effort is spent on tuning the filter. Since you're buying it as a kit he's probably already done that for you. Personally I think you should do your bass boost at your source rather than in your amplifier because you'll never be able to turn it off in the amp. Other than that, a CMoy circuit is a CMoy circuit. Most of what you're going to get is going to come from component quality and build quality. The CMoy circuit is pretty robust and has a lot of tolerance built in but as usual building on top of a well-designed manufactured PCB is going to be easier and less prone to EMI than building on stripboard.

    All that said, I paired all of my signal lines with a ground line and my oscilloscope indicates I have good EMI rejection and no ringing in the amp as I built it. $10 worth of parts compared to $30 and it works fine.
    midga
  • lungzinolungzino
    Where's the attached .pdf of the stripboard layout? Thanks.
  • midgamidga "There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi (> ^.(> O_o)> Icrontian
    @lungzino click the thing that looks like a picture that didn't load. It's that.
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