WHAMMY Completion Kit

The Kit went together well. The only issue that tripped me up was Neutrik headphone jack. I didn't realize it was different than what the schematic showed. Of course I ended up wiring the wrong side of the jack. Then it took time of chasing signals. It was only when I plugged in and unwired 3.5mm to 1/4in adaptor that I noticed contacts moving. My stupidity.. 😳

Other than that it all worked on the 1st shot, sounds fantastic and was a fun project. I'm embarrassed to mention my screw up... Oh well, live and learn.
The pick shows the mistake ...

I always felt that solid state amps lacked the soundstage, presence and timbre that you can get from a good tube amp. I was wrong. My Whammy is *almost* as good as my OTL tube amp, and I mean it's very close. Building it was a fun experience and not that hard, even for a novice like me.

Building and finishing the case was much harder the building the electronics. Easy to build for even a novice like mem using the standard bill of materials. Worked first time with no noise at all, even at full volume. Upgraded the op-amp already, with impressive results. Drives my Audeze LCD-X very well. I am really very happy with my decision to build this and the sound quality of the final result. The case it not too bad either!

Just wanted to add some thoughts regarding WHAMMY as a PreAmp for F6 (powers Troels Gravesen's Discovery 861 DIY loudspeakers which are awesome) and some upgrades which have been made (Jantzen Audio Silver-Z caps and Sparkos Labs SS3602 Dual Opamp). It has been used for ~1,5 years as a headphone amp and I was very happy to listen to it (all stock components, AD823ANZ opamp). But as a preamp it was also very good, best I have ever heard. Plenty of details, pleasant to listen. Upgrading C1 and C5 to Jantzen Audio Silver-Z provided some additional clarity on highs, but SS3602 pushed it to another level. Everything has improved: much more precision on lows, bass guitar sounds much more clear, separated; punchier drums; vocals much more separated, articulated and pleasant; highs were good before, but with SS3602 become even more airy, so precise. Lower distortion gives an ability to listen louder with no fatigue. I expected some improvement, but SS3602 provided much more than I thought. Obviously, your experience may vary due to the different speakers, amp. But still, I highly recommend to try SS3602! Keep in mind that you'll have to provide some space by drawing back C3, C4, C9.

I don't think that Silver-Z caps alone give a big difference compared to 5$ foil caps, but 40$ for 2 is not as much. Also worth trying.

The PCB from DIY audiostore is well designed and of good quality. The layout is exactly according to the published schematic. I just have one suggestion: the decoupling caps are between the pot and the opamp. In my builds I put them directly at the input. Otherwise the pot will probably generate a scratching noise if there is DC at the input. For the next order of PCB‘s in my opinion it is worth thinking about changing the layout.
I added the Khadas Tone Board DAC to my build. So I have an excellent DAC/headamp in a small chassis.

This is the second Whammy I have constructed the first having been enjoyed by me for quite a while, this time I decided to "up the game" a little by adding a Burson Audio discrete opamp in place of the usual suspects. The quality of the circuit boards never fails to impress, heavy plating, high quality printing and a very good finish. Construction was without drama and all worked first time, though for the purpose of initial testing I used a generic "cheap" opamp when everything checked out OK then this was replaced with a Burson Audio V6 Classic. Amazing, no other word for it. The audio quality just goes to show the basic design is very good indeed, I am sure it performs as well if not better than anything "off the shelf" both in its own price braket and at a considerably more expensive level. As time goes on I am sure it will continue to improve as things "Burn in" .
This is a great project for anyone to tackle, you won't be dissapointed with the results I am sure, it is easily achieveable with modertate skill level and some patience.