Graham Slee Novo Discrete Headphone Amplifier

Novo Discrete Solid-State Headphone Amplifier, by Graham Slee.

Because the budget Novo headphone amplifier has a delightfully lively sound, What Hi-Fi? gave it a best headphone amplifier award three years in a row - this is a proper little hi-fi amplifier for headphones.

Novo is supplied with an outboard basic power supply which automatically adjusts to your electricity supply voltage, but it can be upgraded later on by swapping to the PSU1 power supply.

Discrete? Surely we meant to say discreet?

The Novo is both: Discreetly small - a definite miniature in a world full of behemoths; and it's discrete because that's the circuitry it uses - discrete transistors.

Discrete transistors? Yes, you heard right! Most budget headphone amplifiers let an op-amp do all the work. Graham Slee wanted to show that they are capable of more than that.

The result is a very capable headphone amplifier, so capable that headphone manufacturer Shure bought some and Sennheiser featured it in a promotional video driving their flagship headphone.

You may never have heard of the Novo headphone amplifier before today, but now you have. It's definitely worth your consideration if you're after a budget headphone amp.

Features

• Desktop stereo solid-state headphone amplifier.
• Discrete transistors used, instead of op-amps.
• Budget price, hi-fi sound.
• Daisy-chained input / output sockets.
• Supplied with basic power supply, upgradable with PSU1 power supply.

Specifications

• Headphone Impedance Range: 16 - 600 Ohms (preferred), 8 - 2,000 Ohms (acceptable).
• Power Output (rms, both channels fully driven): 32 Ohms, 27 mW/channel / 600 Ohms, 23 mW/channel
• Distortion (THD + N, ref 1 kHz): 0.02 %
• Frequency Response (-3 dB): 32 Ohms load, 27 Hz - 35 kHz / 600 Ohms load, 10 Hz - 39 kHz
• Output Noise (20 Hz - 20 kHz, CCIR quasi-peak): -84 dB
• Input Sensitivity (for specified power output): 32 Ohms, 250 mV rms / 600 Ohms, 775 mV rms
• Channel Balance: Better than 1 dB
• Crosstalk (Left - Right): -57 dB
• Crosstalk (Input - Input): -68 dB
• Mute: Signal off mute, non-shorting
• Output Stage: Bipolar class AB
• Supply Voltage: 24 V DC
• Size (WxHxD): 107 x 50 x 125 mm (inc. controls).

Included

• 1 x Novo Headphone Amplifier.
• 1 x Power Supply.

More Information

• Novo Headphone Amplifier, by Graham Slee