I know some of you have known about this for a while, but I figured I'd start a thread on this as I have one amp and another inbound.


First, a word about Doug.  He is seriously awesome.  I've followed his comments on DIY and headphone amp theory for a while now, and he's one of a handful of users who I would consider the perfect mix of helpful, knowledgable, and down-to-earth. 


I felt it was finally time to test out what all the articles and theories have come to, so I ordered two of his amps, the Black Diamond and DSHA-1.


First one just came in, obligatory terrible cell phone shots:


The Black Diamond





More Pictures


This is technically still a project.  But so was the Manhattan Project and that was pretty successful.


What's so cool about this amp?  Well, it is the only headphone amp I know of (Ari may have also experimented with this) that uses transformers for voltage gain rather than tubes or transistors (solid state.)  [Steve Eddy seems to be working on something similar but his facebook page where he updates the project has gone radio silent recently.] 


I bought this amp for a few reasons. 
1) To hear what Doug could do with this novel approach
2) Because the transparent acrylic/blue LED look was really doing it for me and will be perfect for an office rig
3) To gatecrash all the HD800 threads musing over tube vs SS and say "Transformers, Baby!"  And then gloat in transferred superiority, knowing I am truly special because my gear is unique.


So the concept is cool, and Doug elaborates on the plusses of going transformer, along with the setbacks in using it for amplification and how he sidestepped those issues in his articles on the amp's development.


I plugged the HP-1's straight into the Black Diamond, mainly because it's my favorite dynamic right now but also because it shows if an amp is noisy and because Doug's amps are purported to be good with Grados. 


I haven't tested it with other headphones yet as I just got it, but this amp is really good.  It's throwing an expansive soundstage (not DHT high frequency heater good though) and is the quietest desktop amp I've ever heard. This amp is so quiet that with the volume all the way up I can't even hear the music. I'm going to plug in some CIEMs and see if there's any noise or hiss there.  It seems slightly less punchy than most PRAT-y solid state amps, leaning more "tube" in that sense, but its not syrupy or ploddy by any means.  I have a feeling that (like other ECP amps are rated) it may be underpowered with less efficient headphones, but Doug is very much into the quality of the amplification, especially (from what I've seen) the first milliwatt that goes into the headphones and that has made all the difference.


Nits to pick are all to do with my unit being a prototype.  The shaft sticks a bit when turning the volume, and the pot doesn't offer as much play as I'm used to (RK50, EC's P&G).  I switched to controlling volume at the source, so its all good. 


I hope Doug makes this part of his line, as it is a really concept that seems fully realized (at least from what I've heard so far.)


Doug's amps seem almost criminally underexposed.  Like, if public exposure is a crime for a normal person, Doug should be fined for not exposing himself to the public enough. When he shows off his junk, its actually jewels.  In this case, a beautiful Black Diamond.


I could go into an exposition as to why PCP ECP may the best thing you've never tried, but suffice it to say I think its lack of hype is a disservice to the maker (as he's probably not selling many of these) but more importantly to the general public, as I think a lot of people would be really happy with these amps if they got to try them.


Up next (at some point if I remember and don't get bored posting rather than listening) is the DSHA-1 at some point.