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Author Topic: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?  (Read 11714 times)

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marc0789

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good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« on: July 07, 2009, 10:11:19 AM »
no need for digital input, just care about the sound. thanks!

Offline javertim

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2009, 10:16:56 AM »
The Little Dot amps are awesome.  I've been running the Little Dot I+ (which runs @ $120 on eBay) with my AKG K601 headphones and it's been great.  I am, however, about to upgrade to a $1000 HeadRoom Desktop Amp, but I'm trying to decide on whether to sell the Little Dot. ... It's so compact and works great! :-)

Offline bhtoque

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2009, 12:17:51 PM »
no need for digital input, just care about the sound. thanks!

I've been running a Creek OBH-11 for over a year now and it sounds great into my AKG 701's. I listened to a lot of other amps in that price range (mostly 1 or 2 bills higher) and it holds it's own, if not sounding better to my ears.

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Offline tedyun

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2009, 08:07:57 PM »
What kind of headphones do you use, how portable do you need it, and what is your budget?


no need for digital input, just care about the sound. thanks!
Mics: B&K 4011, Schoeps MK5 (Nbobs, Naiant PFA), Busman BSC-1 (K11/K21/K31/K41 caps), Church CA-14 (o, c), Church CAFS, Core Sound Binaurals
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ADC: Mytek 192 ADC, Oade Mod SBM-1
Rec: Oade Supermod PMD-661, Tascam DR60D, M-Audio MicroTrack II, Korg MR-1 (32GB SSD mod); Sony PCM-M10, Edirol R09HR; iRiver HP-120
Photo: Canon 5D3, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8, Canon EF 35mm f1.4L Canon EF 24-70 f2.8L MkI, Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS MkI, Canon EF 50 mm f1.4, Canon EF 50 f1.2L, Canon EF 300 f/4L IS, Canon EF 100-400 f4-5.6L IS MkI
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marc0789

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2009, 11:52:28 PM »
What kind of headphones do you use, how portable do you need it, and what is your budget?


no need for digital input, just care about the sound. thanks!

sorry, should have been more specific. Senn 555's, and hoping for $200 or so?

thanks guys.

Offline Tim

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2009, 11:58:11 PM »
glad to see you hanging around here again old man
I’ve had a few weird experiences and a few close brushes with total weirdness of one sort or another, but nothing that’s really freaked me out or made me feel too awful about it. - Jerry Garcia

Offline tedyun

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2009, 01:26:30 AM »
I think sub $200, you're looking at a portable. The best bang for your buck in this category is probably the mini3. This is an open design, and you can get one built:

http://www.rockhopperaudio.com/Rockhopper_Audio/News_Prebuilt/Entries/2009/6/14_Black_Mini3_amp_for_sale.html

I think you should contact him about pairing it up with your headphones. He can probably adjust the gain to match (Senn's are high impedance?)

Meier Audio makes very good amps too, and the Corda XXS is just under $200:

http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/

At just a little over $200 is the Minibox-E+

http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=15

I had the Minibox-E, and it was excellent.

Here is a good site to go to to read about various headphone amps: www.head-fi.org

They have a good For Sale section, and you can probably pick up a good amp for <$200

Edit: Just thought of a couple more:

These guys make nothing but quality stuff. The P3 is at $200, but for shipping it goes just above your budget. I had their D1 and the sound was amazing.

http://www.ibasso.com/en/products/show.asp?ID=41

If you only use it as a portable occasionally, this is supposed to be amazing. Short battery life, and a little more than what you're looking to spend, but the reviews are very good:

http://www.portaphile.com/ordering.html


What kind of headphones do you use, how portable do you need it, and what is your budget?


no need for digital input, just care about the sound. thanks!

sorry, should have been more specific. Senn 555's, and hoping for $200 or so?

thanks guys.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2009, 09:12:12 AM by tedyun »
Mics: B&K 4011, Schoeps MK5 (Nbobs, Naiant PFA), Busman BSC-1 (K11/K21/K31/K41 caps), Church CA-14 (o, c), Church CAFS, Core Sound Binaurals
Pre: EAA PSP-2,  Lunatec V3, Nbox-Platinum, Church CA-9200
ADC: Mytek 192 ADC, Oade Mod SBM-1
Rec: Oade Supermod PMD-661, Tascam DR60D, M-Audio MicroTrack II, Korg MR-1 (32GB SSD mod); Sony PCM-M10, Edirol R09HR; iRiver HP-120
Photo: Canon 5D3, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8, Canon EF 35mm f1.4L Canon EF 24-70 f2.8L MkI, Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS MkI, Canon EF 50 mm f1.4, Canon EF 50 f1.2L, Canon EF 300 f/4L IS, Canon EF 100-400 f4-5.6L IS MkI
Video: Canon HF100

marc0789

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2009, 09:04:49 PM »
thanks a ton, Tedy, really appreciate the info! Leaning towards the Corda, I think-like that long 9v battery life.

Offline dean

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2009, 01:29:10 AM »
glad to see you hanging around here again old man
Light weight: Sound Pro AT 831 or MBHO's > tinybox > D7 or Samson PM4's > Denecke PS-2 > D7
Slutty weight:  [MBHO MBP 603A + (KA100LK/KA200N/KA500HN)] and/or [AKG C 414 b xls (omni/sub-card/card/hyp/8)]  > Hi Ho Silver xlr's/other xlr's > Oade T & W Mod R-4 or UA-5 (BM2p+ mod.) or JB3 or D7

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marc0789

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2009, 09:59:52 AM »

Offline Chilly Brioschi

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2009, 07:08:49 PM »
Little know factoid, the headphone amp from the Benchmark DAC-1 is available as a separate component, but you must do some construction work!




specs:

Input   Stereo 200 kΩ Balanced Inputs
Input Clip   +26.5 dBu with ±15 volt supplies
Output   Stereo, for use with 1/4" Tip/Ring/Sleeve plugs only, other panel connectors may be wired to the amplifier by way of on-board output connectors
Output Z   "0 Ω"
Output Clip   Dependant upon power voltage and load [+20 dBu @ ±15V and 60 Ω load]
Load Z   30 . or higher
Output Level   Up to +20 dBu into 60 Ω [dependent upon power source]
Output Control   Dual log taper response
Gain Range   Off to +20 dB
Bandwidth   0.1 Hz to 300 kHz minimum
THD+N   0.0003% typical at headphone inputs - under load!
Noise Floor   Better than -75 dBu at maximum gain
Power   (Bipolar) ± 9 to ± 18 volts, maximum peak current needed = 1.1 Amp at maximum peak output into 30 Ω
Peak Output   7.5 watts [±18 volt supplies. 30 Ω load]
Max Avg Out   1.35 watts [-8 dB peak to average ratio]
Amplifier Board   length behind panel = 3.760", width = 1.335", mounting hole diameter = 0.437" [7/16"]
Gain Ctrl Board   length behind panel = 1.025", width = 1.335", mounting hole diameter = 0.275" [J drill or 9/32 (0.281)], shaft length = 0.385", shaft diameter. = 0.235" [16-star spline]
Spacing   Minimum spacing between Gain Control Board mounting hole and 1/4" jack = 7.5" Minimum spacing between Amplifier Board and Gain Control Board = 0.75" [both boards mounted vertically], Maximum panel thickness = 0.1". Knob diameter = 0.75", length = 0.75"
Knob   Volume control knob included

My notes:
If you give it good, very clean +/- 15vdc and a well-shielded box, it will drive a pair of Senn 600's into uber-happyland
« Last Edit: August 07, 2009, 07:18:34 PM by 6o6 »
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Offline Lil Kim Jong-Il

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2009, 12:50:34 PM »
If you don't care about portable, you can get an XCAN2 for less than 200 and have money remaining for tubes to roll.  If you like diy mods, there are sites that describe all kinds of updates from very simple to extensive.
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Offline jmz93

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #12 on: August 20, 2009, 05:07:41 AM »
Just got an email from Sound Professionals about this new portable. Mostly I want to listen to my iPod with Grado SR80's, driving them properly. Do you guys think this will do the trick?
Going straight into the iPod the bass really disappears. Imaging and highs are still good.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/FIIO-E5

Offline George

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2009, 08:38:42 AM »
Just got an email from Sound Professionals about this new portable. Mostly I want to listen to my iPod with Grado SR80's, driving them properly. Do you guys think this will do the trick?
Going straight into the iPod the bass really disappears. Imaging and highs are still good.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/FIIO-E5


Nope.  You need a line out.  If you run a headphone amp via a headphone out you're basically just boosting the signal of your existing headphone out. 
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Offline Lil Kim Jong-Il

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Re: good, cheap headphone amp recommendations?
« Reply #14 on: August 20, 2009, 09:29:14 PM »
Just got an email from Sound Professionals about this new portable. Mostly I want to listen to my iPod with Grado SR80's, driving them properly. Do you guys think this will do the trick?
Going straight into the iPod the bass really disappears. Imaging and highs are still good.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/FIIO-E5


Nope.  You need a line out.  If you run a headphone amp via a headphone out you're basically just boosting the signal of your existing headphone out. 

If the ipod output has plenty of bass to little ear buds, then it's likely that he just needs more gain to drive the grados.  There isn't inherently anything wrong with boosting the phones out.  You'll just get a louder version of whatever it sends.
The first rule of amateur neurosurgery club is .... I forget.

 

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