Relentlessly refining audio projects, finding new ways to push sound quality further—one carefully crafted circuit at a time.
BuildAudioAmps is a hands-on journey into DIY audio, driven by passion, precision, and the pursuit of sonic excellence. Since 2014, more than 100 amplifier and audio projects have been developed, tested, and shared here—each one bridging engineering rigor with real-world listening.
Every project begins with curiosity and is refined through countless iterations. BuildAudioAmps offers a reliable starting point for DIYers, providing designs that have been built, tested, and optimized through hands-on experimentation. Many enthusiasts have already showcased remarkable builds inspired by these prototypes.
This site is more than circuit building—it’s about refinement, iteration, and the evolution of amplifier project design. From legacy RIAA preamplifiers to modern power amplifier innovations, each design is guided by precision, experimentation, and an uncompromising commitment to listening excellence.
The BuildAudioAmps legacy site continues to live on through the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, preserving amplifier projects, technical insights, and experiments that have sparked curiosity and collaboration across the audio community.
Resilience drives us forward. Our dedication to high-fidelity audio and circuit refinement has inspired and educated many. With gratitude, we thank all who have supported BuildAudioAmps throughout the years.
Philips Golden Ears training program—is an audio evaluation challenge designed to sharpen perception beyond the measurable. Bronze, Silver, and finally Golden. Each level demanded not just hearing, but listening: to phase shifts, harmonic textures, spatial cues, and the emotional fingerprint of sound all the way to the elite “Golden Ears” tier. Only 3,124 people reached that level out of tens of thousands.
In 2015, I completed the Philips Golden Ears program. This badge isn’t just a credential—it’s a ritual. It informs how I voice amplifiers, how I choose circuits to build and its components, how I test with vinyl LPs and CDs of Steely Dan, Dire Straits, Jack Johnson, and others. It’s why I coined terms like pseudo-VAS and annotate schematics with musical references.
My Golden Ears certification validates a trained ability to perceive subtle sonic nuances. This skill has been systematically integrated into amplifier development, documentation clarity, and both objective testing and subjective musical stress evaluations. Thanks to Golden Ears, the result is an audio amplifier project that achieves not only reliable performance but demonstrable musicality.
Golden Ears is the reason my circuits don’t merely function—they sing!
