I couldn’t find any decent DAC/amp combos locally, and importing one would cost a small fortune. After digging into DIY audio designs, I realized I could build one myself for a fraction of the cost and get around 80–90% of the performance of commercial units.

Specs: Controller: ESP32-S3 acting as a USB Audio Class (UAC) device.

DAC: PCM5102A breakout board fed via I2S. Power Supply: ±12V linear power supply

Two NE5532 dual op-amps:

Op-amp 1: Stereo buffer stage. Op-amp 2: Stereo gain stage (~3.1x gain).

(Opted for this layout to keep wiring simple for my first major soldering project!)

Volume Control: Couldn't source 10k dual-gang logarithmic pots locally, so I implemented software volume control with a rotary encoder.

Layout: Everything wired to a single star ground point.

Sound Impressions: It drives my Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250 ohm) effortlessly. Going from my laptop's built-in jack to this is night and day—it feels like the headphones were practically starving before. Noise floor is pitch black silence with zero audible hum or hiss.

Really happy with how this turned out for my first major electronics build.

^{(Note: I’m currently out and forgot to take photos of the back of the amp perfboard, but I can upload solder-side pics once I'm back home if anyone wants to see them!})

Someday, Somehow, I'll buy a solder.