Headphone amp?

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Ron The Mon
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Alive and Kikkin'

Post by Ron The Mon »

lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-10 10:24 What you are asking for, is a new Kikkin. Right? This time without remote control.

I think such a frighteningly good product as a volume control driving a power amp would interest very few people.
[above quoted words rearranged by Ron The Mon because it's how he read it.]

Fredrik,
Would a "Kikkin+" cost more or less than a Giella headphone amp? Why not do like the Boazu and add several inputs with no switching. You invented that design well after the Kikkin was a retired product. I am not interested in a headphone amp at all. Removing the headphone jack would open space for a few more RCA input jacks and removing the switching probably improve sound quality as a preamp.

Regarding the "amp" section of the Giella, how loud is it? Decades ago, I had a Japanese receiver in my guitar den. I took a 1/4" amp cord and connected the headphone output of the receiver to a Marshall 4X12 speaker cabinet and was surprised how loud it was (it was one channel mono as it wasn't a stereo cable). "Loud" isn't the proper adjective though. The volume was adequate and the sound quite good.

Can the Giella drive speakers?

I have never read of you using hyperbole. To read "frighteningly good" by you has perked my eyes and ears.

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Last edited by Ron The Mon on 2020-10-10 19:10, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by Discodave »

lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-09 23:25
matthias wrote: 2020-10-09 19:10 Will the HP output and the line output work both at the same time or are the outputs switched?
The volume OUT is switched. That means, when you plug a headphone into the jack, any amp and loudspeakers connected to OUT will go quiet.

I have assembled, tuned and listened to the first production Giella today, number 001. And I am very, very, VERY pleased.

My previous reference was the prototype called Giella+. In the development process there was also a less expensive version, about 65% the cost of Giella+, which I thought was OK, but once I decided to push it to level 2, the benefits were so great that the original Giella design was abandoned. When I did the final layout of the board in August, I decided to optimize it for power delivery rather than regard it as mainly a preamp. And the result that I finally experienced today was really interesting.

Listening to Giella 001 through headphones is even better than I thought it would be - more powerful and with a sublime control and timing that the prototype doesn't quite have. Very addictive. I have so far not listened to any headphone amp that is anywhere near that sense of timing and musicality. I am so much looking forward to YOUR impressions of it!

The line out feature, however, was a bit better on the "Giella+" prototype. That one was frighteningly good as a volume control driving a power amp, but a little less capable of driving headphones directly. I figured it would be a compromise that I could tilt either way, and I decided to tilt it in favor of driving headphones. It turned out to work exactly as I had expected.

This is very exciting news. I am expecting my 1st child in the next few months and foresee headphone listening to be my primary source of musical pleasure for the foreseeable future lol. So have been thinking about a decent standalone headphone amp. The one on the Kisto is actually very good but lacks the power to drive all speakers.
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by Discodave »

*Drive all headphones
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by Lego »

Discodave wrote: 2020-10-11 14:43 This is very exciting news. I am expecting my 1st child in the next few months and foresee headphone listening to be my primary source of musical pleasure for the foreseeable future lol. So have been thinking about a decent standalone headphone amp. The one on the Kisto is actually very good but lacks the power to drive all speakers.
Congratulations Discodave but in my experience the sound of music is the last thing to keep a baby awake,or is it to crowd out the noise.....
I know that tune
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by OscarH »

Lego wrote: 2020-10-12 15:43 Congratulations Discodave but in my experience the sound of music is the last thing to keep a baby awake,or is it to crowd out the noise.....
Ssssch, don’t get between a man and a perfectly good excuse to buy some new gear..

That said (and approaching going off topic),I’m afraid I’m not at all a potential buyer of the Giella as I really only use headphones on the go. At home music is a family affair.
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by Discodave »

Haha cheers guys! Probably to drown out the noise!!

We have invested in those BabyBuds that attach to mum's tummy. Baby is being fed a regular diet of soothing tunes; Maria Callas, Pet Sounds, etc.

I'm expecting results..
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Headphone Amp Market

Post by Ron The Mon »

OscarH wrote: 2020-10-12 15:52 I’m afraid I’m not at all a potential buyer of the Giella as I really only use headphones on the go. At home music is a family affair.
Oscar,
Neither am I, and agree [Except, it may sound really good just as a pre-amp]. However, I will make a prediction that a year from now, the number one selling Lejonklou product by a long-shot will be the Giella. Headphone (and headphone amp) sales are at an all time high. Lejonklou products are just now starting to get recognized in the "press". It's going to snowball.

High-end headphone users are fanatical. I suspect the Giella will blow away all competitors on the market regardless of price. It will be a game changer. Fredrik Lejonklou has said on this thread:
lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-09 23:25 I have assembled, tuned and listened to the first production Giella today, number 001. And I am very, very, VERY pleased.
lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-08 23:02 Giella can also be used as a pre amp [and] is actually crazy good,...
lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-09 23:25 The line out feature,... was a bit better on the "Giella+" prototype. That one was frighteningly good as a volume control driving a power amp,...
(bold and italics mine)
I have read Fredriks descriptions of Sagatun, Tundra, and Entity and later heard them. He always has honest appraisals. I expect Giella to be outrageously good. As I mentioned in a post above, Fredrik isn't known for hyperbole.


To Fredrik,
You may be aware Tom O'Keefe has a relationship with Head-Fi. They have had at least one meet-up at Overture Audio. You may not be aware Jude Mansilla, the founder of Head-Fi, lives in the Detroit area. He often works with manufacturers giving advice and opinions. I hired Jude back in the late-'80s and he worked at Absolute Sound, the same place Tom worked prior to me. I got Jude into vinyl, LP12s, and Tune-Dem. He is honest, loves music, and fanatical like you. There is an interestingly funny story behind me hiring him; he owes me a small favor. Cash that favor in for me.

Send him your first production Giella. Then go buy the biggest rake you can find.

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Re: Alive and Kikkin'

Post by lejonklou »

Ron The Mon wrote: 2020-10-10 18:19 Would a "Kikkin+" cost more or less than a Giella headphone amp? Why not do like the Boazu and add several inputs with no switching. You invented that design well after the Kikkin was a retired product. I am not interested in a headphone amp at all. Removing the headphone jack would open space for a few more RCA input jacks and removing the switching probably improve sound quality as a preamp.
I don't know about the cost, but you have a point. The product you're suggesting has in fact already been made. I called it Trikkin - A Kikkin with three stereo inputs and one stereo output.

Trikkin wasn't released because I doubted it would sell. Today I could probably make it better, but I still have my doubts whether it would sell.
Ron The Mon wrote: 2020-10-10 18:19 Regarding the "amp" section of the Giella, how loud is it? Decades ago, I had a Japanese receiver in my guitar den. I took a 1/4" amp cord and connected the headphone output of the receiver to a Marshall 4X12 speaker cabinet and was surprised how loud it was (it was one channel mono as it wasn't a stereo cable). "Loud" isn't the proper adjective though. The volume was adequate and the sound quite good.

Can the Giella drive speakers?
Yes it can! And for a while I thought that's a fun way of demonstrating it at a show. I just *happen* to have an adapter in my pocket which turns the 1/4" jack into two female banana pairs. And I say "Maybe we should try Giella into these speakers?"

There is, however, one problem: Heat. If you let Giella drive a pair of speakers, the circuit board gets warm. There is no heat sink inside, as when Giella drives a pair of headphones, it hardly gets lukewarm from playing so loud you can't wear the headphones. But speakers are something else... They eat current and things heat up. So the answer is: Yes it can - for a little while.
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by lejonklou »

Discodave wrote: 2020-10-12 15:57 Haha cheers guys! Probably to drown out the noise!!

We have invested in those BabyBuds that attach to mum's tummy. Baby is being fed a regular diet of soothing tunes; Maria Callas, Pet Sounds, etc.

I'm expecting results..
Exciting times, Discodave!

I have never heard of BabyBuds. Sounds a bit scary to me! Does Baby let Mother know when the music isn't to his/her liking?
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Re: Alive and Kikkin'

Post by Ron The Mon »

lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-12 18:52 I just *happen* to have an adapter in my pocket which turns the 1/4" jack into two female banana pairs. And I say "Maybe we should try Giella into these speakers?"
Fredrik,
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Re: Alive and Kikkin'

Post by tpetsch »

I don't know about the cost, but you have a point. The product you're suggesting has in fact already been made. I called it Trikkin - A Kikkin with three stereo inputs and one stereo output.

Trikkin wasn't released because I doubted it would sell. Today I could probably make it better, but I still have my doubts whether it would sell.
I guess I'm one of the few that find this interesting if it would play well slotted into with my vintage Linn / Naim system. This with a remote volume control even more so.
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Alive and Frikkin'

Post by Ron The Mon »

lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-12 18:52 The product you're suggesting has in fact already been made. I called it Trikkin - A Kikkin with three stereo inputs and one stereo output.
Fredrik,
How about a four inputs, frighteningly good pre-amp? The Lejonklou Frikkin. They would fly off the shelves.

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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by lejonklou »

Frikkin! Ha ha!

Actually, during the same period as Trikkin, there was a dual-input Kikkin in the works.

Di... No, I didn't call it that! I called it Akratcheak.


EDIT: Had to remove the picture because of possible copyright issues.
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by Discodave »

lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-12 18:58
Discodave wrote: 2020-10-12 15:57 Haha cheers guys! Probably to drown out the noise!!

We have invested in those BabyBuds that attach to mum's tummy. Baby is being fed a regular diet of soothing tunes; Maria Callas, Pet Sounds, etc.

I'm expecting results..
Exciting times, Discodave!

I have never heard of BabyBuds. Sounds a bit scary to me! Does Baby let Mother know when the music isn't to his/her liking?
Ha, baby kicks a bit harder!
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by teatime »

lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-08 23:02 Thank you for your patience!
Shall we interpret the lack of a more formal announcement as Giella still being some ways off? Do you expect to have it shipping this year? I have to admit to being quite excited! :)
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by lejonklou »

teatime wrote: 2020-10-12 22:59
lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-08 23:02 Thank you for your patience!
Shall we interpret the lack of a more formal announcement as Giella still being some ways off? Do you expect to have it shipping this year? I have to admit to being quite excited! :)
No, it was a comment to Stephan, who said he'd been waiting for more than 10 years!

Assembly is starting this week by Mitac in Bro, Sweden. I just re-checked the assembly manual and emailed it. They've already completed the circuit boards. And today I brought them a new soldering station that is being used exclusively for the manual soldering on my products.

Next week I hope to get the packaging. Need to write a manual. When the first batch arrives, they will need some testing. The volume knobs are a bit special and are being made right now. By my mother!

Then we ship! November?
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by teatime »

lejonklou wrote: 2020-10-12 23:20 Then we ship!
Good to hear! I hope to see pictures of the front at some point! :D
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by maffe »

“Giella” good name on a headphone amp!
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by matthias »

maffe wrote: 2020-10-14 17:28 “Giella” good name on a headphone amp!
Yes
https://giella.com/

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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by lejonklou »

Giella means "language" in Sami languages.
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by ThomasOK »

matthias wrote: 2020-10-14 19:10
maffe wrote: 2020-10-14 17:28 “Giella” good name on a headphone amp!
Yes
https://giella.com/

Matt
Fredrik was unaware of that Giella. I sent him a photo of their logo and said if his volume control was shaped anything like that he could be in trouble.
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Re: Headphone Amp Market

Post by ThomasOK »

Ron The Mon wrote: 2020-10-12 18:08 To Fredrik,
You may be aware Tom O'Keefe has a relationship with Head-Fi. They have had at least one meet-up at Overture Audio. You may not be aware Jude Mansilla, the founder of Head-Fi, lives in the Detroit area. He often works with manufacturers giving advice and opinions. I hired Jude back in the late-'80s and he worked at Absolute Sound, the same place Tom worked prior to me. I got Jude into vinyl, LP12s, and Tune-Dem. He is honest, loves music, and fanatical like you. There is an interestingly funny story behind me hiring him; he owes me a small favor. Cash that favor in for me.

Send him your first production Giella. Then go buy the biggest rake you can find.

Ron The Mon
Jude has been in my plans ever since I knew Fredrik would be making a headphone amp. No need to cash your favor in, I'm sure he will be quite interested.
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by donuk »

Hi discodave
Many years ago when the Sony Walkman was first out my wife taped earphones to herself for many hours when expecting our daughter.
Mainly Vivaldi and Beatles.
Martha turned out to play many instruments and be very musical.

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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by Discodave »

Ha great stuff Donuk, I will reply properly when I get a chance. Many thanks for your input!
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Re: Headphone amp?

Post by teatime »

If, like me, you don't frequent social media, or enter this forum through the lejonklou.com main page (who does?), you might not have noticed there is now a picture of the front of Giella in the news section (https://www.lejonklou.com/news/)

It's been up for more than a week, but I just happened upon it now.
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