Headphone Amplifier Brig® FAQs

[Augustica.com]

1. Do you use genuine parts in the headphone amplifier Brig®?

Yes, all parts are genuine. We source all parts for headphone amplifier Brig® from Mouser Electronics Inc. and DigiKey Corporation.

2. What are the dimensions of Brig® PCB?

Brig's PCB has the dimensions of 94 by 132 millimeters.

3. Does Brig® have a built in power supply or do I need to buy a power supply separately?

Yes, Brig® does have a built in power supply. Brig® uses topology of the power supply Janus®, albeit Brig's power supply is a fixed voltage power supply that provides +/-12 Volt. And no, you do not need to buy a separate power supply.

4. Is the cost + shipment the final price?

Yes, the the cost + shipment is the final price of delivery of the kit to you.

5. Can you reduce cost of shipment and use cheaper postal service?

No, we cannot reduce cost of shipment. We ship via Canada Post and FedEx with a tracking number to ensure that you will receive the kit intact.

6. Would the Brig® be happy with an Audeze LCD3 headphone impedance purely resistive 45 ohms?

Brig® was not tested with Audeze LCD3. Brig® was tested with Grado PS1000 with impedance 32 Ohm and Sennheiser 650 with impedance 300 Ohm. Brig® was happy with both headphones.

7. I will be building Brig® for a customer. Is there a trade discount?

No, there is no trade discount. Brig® uses the best parts one can get without employing boutique resistors and capacitors which would increase the cost of the kit at least ten fold. There is however a quantity discount. If you buy 5 to 10 Brig® amplifiers, you will get 10 percent discount. If you buy 11 to 15 Brig® amplifiers, you will get 15 percent discount. If you buy 16 to 20 Brig® amplifiers, you will get 20 percent discount.

8. Must the board go in a metal box or will perspex/acrylic be alright?

Finished Brig® board could be placed in either metal case or perspex case keeping in mind, of course, that proper isolation must be provided to ensure that the high voltages of the kit do not represent danger for those who will use Brig®.

9. I am on the market to build a quality headphone amplifier for myself. I'm just having a little difficulty deciding which amp to choose from.

We offer three amplifier kits - Brig®, Corvette®, and Frigate®. All three of them were designed without any compromise, all three of them use audiophile grade parts, and all three of them will provide a very high quality of sound.

Brig® - If you do not want to deal with tubes and high voltages associated with them, you should go with Brig®. Brig® is a transistor based headphone amplifier and uses +/- 12 VDC to operate. When we say "this may be the only headphone amp you ever need," we really mean it. Brig® will drive almost any headphone out there, including hard-to-drive planar magnetic headphones. It is also very quiet and could be used with most earbuds and in-ear monitors (IEMs.)

Choose Brig® for:

- Most bang for the buck
- Most headphones, from IEMs to planars

Corvette® and Frigate® - If you do not mind working with high voltages and want an amplifier with "tube sound", you have two choices - Corvette® and Frigate®. Now we get into tubes, and the old arguments about whether tubes sound better or not. We will not get into those arguments. What we will say is that tubes sound different. Some people like tubes, and some people do not. Corvette® and Frigate® are using the same parts but Corvette® has one tube per channel (6922) and Frigate® has two (6922 and 6H30Pi) tubes per channel. Corvette® has a smaller footprint because it has one tube per channel, and also, Corvette's power supply is housed on the same PCB. Frigate®, on the other hand, has a bigger footprint because it has two tubes per channel and Frigate's power supply is housed on a separate PCB. Additionally, Frigate's power supply has a separate filament voltage bus for the right and left channels. Corvette® is a great entry-level tube amp that delivers a very high quality of sound. Corvette® works very well with high-impedance headphones, but do not expect it to be able handle hard-to-drive headphones, or to be ideal with IEMs.

Choose Corvette® for:

- Tube sound
- The ability to change sound by switching tubes (tube rolling)
- High-impedance headphones like the Beyerdynamic 250 and 600 Ohm models, and Sennheiser 300 and 600 Ohm models

Frigate® adds additional quality due to presence of 6H30Pi tubes that are highly regarded for their linearity and quality of sound. Also, Frigate® is designed to drive a wide range of headphones from 30 Ohm Grado to 300 Ohm Sennheiser. Frigate® is a great high end tube amp that works very well with low and high-impedance headphones. If you want an amplifier with the best sound quality - go with Frigate and you will not be disappointed.

Choose Frigate® for:

- Tube sound
- The ability to change sound by switching tubes (tube rolling)
- Low-impedance headphones like the Grado 30 Ohm headphones and high-impedance headphones like the Beyerdynamic 250 and 600 Ohm models, and Sennheiser 300 Ohm models

10. Also confused about transformers and transformerless kits, it's about 100$ difference, I'm assuming this makes a big difference too? Do you need transformers to run the kit?

Yes, you need transformers to run Brig®, Corvette®, and Frigate®. Brig® by default comes with a transformer. With Corvette® and Frigate®, we provide our customers with choice to purchase them with transformers or without transformers. The transformers, as well as power supplies and voltage they produce, either make it or brake it when it comes to audio amplification. That is the reason why we are using separate filament and power transformers in Corvette® and Frigate®. We are using Canadian made (Hammond Manufacturing) toroidal transformers. We offer kits with transformers and kits without transformers because we are leaving the final choice to our customers which may already have transformers in stock. However, we strongly encourage to use our transformers which have been tested with our kits and with which our amplifiers are delivering a very high quality of sound. Do not skimp on right transformers - the difference in $100 will soon be forgotten and the quality of sound delivered by your amplifier will provide joy and pleasure for years to come.