Headphone Amps

[fergus]

Tony, PM sent.

[Fran]

Yes - the superlux are very close to the AKG. Apparently they actually make the basics for AKG, who then assemble in switzerland. So you imagine....

But and its a big BUT, they still need an amp or they will sound lean - and thats exactly what you ahve picked up on. The sennheisers are much easier to drive, but then cost much more. jkeny and I think davidmc have pairs of the superlux 668b - I haven't heard them yet (well only for a minute).

Others to consider: secondhand senn HD600 and HD595, also are good cans. I think though you will be into an amp maybe too.... and the little dot fare is generally excellent bang for buck. I only sold mine on, because I already had a few amps, and would be much more likely to build one rather than buy one.

Fran

[tony]

Ok Fran I like the way you sum it up because you have captured what I am thinking in a few sentences. Easy optionfor me seems to be senns and an amp which I recognise I definitely need. I have ancient yamaha headphones which I reckon were very good in their day.They sounded fabulous on my old pioneer system from the eigthies but really tinny and poor on my cyrus supposely super duper all singing dancing amp with a dedicated headphone button. I can turn the cyrus up to 3/4 power and it is still is only barely driving the headphones.

Harder route is the diy amp and a cute pair of headphones that deliver close to the expensive headphone experience at a budget price.
What is involved in the diy amp route?. Is it just assembling components or soldering and messing with power supplies/electronics etc? I can do alarms and wiring but I aint no engineer.
I like the idea of a DAC but only for listening to decent music quality from the PC in a study, on a reasonably decent hifi I expect to at least have to press the cd eject button for the next album.

Is a meier with a cheap built in dac going to deliver enough quality from my main system and reasonably good from the pc to be acceptable? If so I go with that or maybe the little dot if I like it and maybe pick somebodys! brain for a self made dac or buy a reasonably cheap good one for pc use.

I like the meier canate because of its looks. Vain really but I think it looks a chunky nice piece of kit. They are selling the last few off at €390. Its a lot for an amp and dac but with senn HD650's it seems the easy option.

PS Regardless I would still take a chance on the superlux's at their price level .If they were even half decent you couldnt go wrong at that price.

[Fran]

Tony, feel free to call over to have a listen/look at what I have.....

To be honest, even in DIY, best bang for buck is probably the little dot stuff. I would say something like a little dot MK3 would be ideal. Best seller to go to is on ebay,

http://myworld.ebay.com/davidzhezhe

He is an authorised seller of that stuff and has a great rep. He doesn't have anything for sale right now, but email him, he normally responds very quickly and is dead sound.

Jan Meier also has a great rep - but would be a bit dearer.. but the stuff is made by him in Germany. I have also heard good things about the lehmann amps (not quite sure which model) but the money is starting to mount up there.

Important factor: whats the budget?


Fran

[tony]

Thanks a lot Fran. I hope to check out the little dot next week with frederick. I mailed David and there is a wait time due to the volume of orders for dots at the moment. I am in no rush and want to check out various options before deciding.

The budget is important. In my mind its 5-600 absolute max if getting new gear for phones and amp, but the accountant has a figure of €50.

[Fran]

but the accountant has a figure of €50

LOL, hearing ya bro!!


That kind of spend should get you something very nice. I think you should also consider 2nd hand stax stuff


Fran

[tony]

I was a bit shocked at how old your stax units are, but still curious to hear them but not sure if they will do it for me. I think finding a bargain in that arena will also be challenging.