There have of course been numerous designs for headphone amplifiers before this one, either more or less successful and simpler or more elaborate. The design presented in this article is straightforward, sounds quite good and can be built using well-established components.
Specifications (output load: 33 Ω, supply voltage: ±9 V)
• Input impedance (without P1) 10 kΩ
• Bandwidth 3.4 Hz – 2.4 MHz
• THD + Noise (1 kHz, 1 mW/33 Ω) 0.005 % (B = 22 kHz)
• THD + Noise (20 Hz - 20 kHz, 1 mW/33 Ω) 0.01 % (B = 80 kHz)
• Signal to noise ratio (ref. 1 mW/33 Ω) 89 dB (B = 22 kHz) 92 dBA
• Max. voltage (into 33 Ω) 3.3 V (THD+N = 0.1 %)
• Max. input voltage 0.57 V (with P1 set to maximum volume)
• Current consumption 19 mA