Headphone Amplification

Just up on InnerFidelity - Katz's Corner has a review of the KGSS Carbon and Dynalo Mk II built by Mjolnir Audio - well done, kevin and spritzer! He used an SR-007 Mk II with port mod and LCD-4 for the reviews.

I'm interested in a very small foot print of an amp. I like a warm colouration when I'm working. I will likely be using the RS-1's and the RA-1 will be far too lively. I would love something with tubes, but the EMP AE is too rich for my blood and well, out of production. THe RKV is very interesting but quite a bit larger. I will be using an iPod.

Has anyone built a high quality transformer / convertor to run Stax headphones out of the speaker terminals of a power amplifier? I know there has been some negatives about the Woo Wee. I am thinking is there a much higher quality option that can compete with the KG Stat amplifiers and that is safe i.e. won't damage the headphones or the power amplifier feeding the converter. Many years ago I used an SRD-7 which was ok, nothing great. Any information would be much appreciated.

Hi! Got a WA2. Use it with HD650 and T1. Any other WA2 owners out there?

CANOR-AUDIO.COM : Headphone tube amplifier SH1 : Tube amplifier & high end audio found this while following random integrated amp links. any thoughts? construction looks clean. worth the $550 they charge for it?

I know this is insane but I absolutely love the sound of my JH 13/16s powered by either my Fetastic or Zana but both are obviously noisy in this application. They both (noise aside) sound way better than the portable amps I have tried but wonder if there is a desktop option out there that is under $2k that would be silent with these but also sound fantastic. If the Fetastic was quiet it would be the best option as it sounds great with them and is balanced to boot but there is a hiss present at all volumes. Not a knock on the amp as I am using outside it's intended purpose.

Just ranting aimlessly. So I have a GCHA now. At first it sounded exhillirating; the amazing soundstage that is. But after listening to it for a while, my music just sounds so slim and uninspiring. I'm sort of a quiet listener, but it still sounds lean even when I turn up the volume. Maybe I'm just realizing the true nature of the K701 I'm using. (I also purchased the K701 recently and haven't tried it out of an amp other than the GCHA before.) Maybe I should have gone with a tube amplifier in the end after all despite having always thought I was a SS guy myself (high speed and punch). Female vocals are totally dry but I guess that is expected from a SS amp. However, I h…

HEADAMP GSX #001 (Alaska size pics) A few shots of the long awaited GSX in my rig, just opened the package,setup her up, and took some shots...for you people of course... Now if you don't mind my ears have a date with her and I am not wasting no more time! I know they are sloppy but I got an important Date now...byebye and enjoy

I'm new here. Just bought a Shure SE530 this week on impulse. Actually I was a little tired of the Etys during my last business trip. They are just a tad too bright and lean for my taste. Anyways, I was trying to plug the SE530 to my various amps at home last night and got a really loud buzz coming out of both sides when the volume was set at 0. Today, I tried it with my portable Headroom Airhead and samething happened again. I plugged the SE530 directly into my iAudio X5 and they sounded great. I checked Shure's website and in the FAQ section it says that it is not necessary, but OK to, plug these into a headphone amp. I did some search here, and others have use headp…

Didn't find an existing thread for this amp, so I thought I'd start one. I spent the last week listening to one I had on loan from TTVJ and compared it to the FET-A, also on loan. The following is sort of my "mini-review" of the P200 to share my impressions. Disclaimer: these impressions are based on 6 days of listening, far from ideal. Normally I would've liked to spend at least a week per headphone which is what I've done in the past, so even I might disagree with my own impressions later. My opinions varied a few times during listening in fact and without enough time to confirm what I heard via repeated listening, take these impressions with an extremely small grain…

I only have a rough daswing at present.

Has anyone here heard a Woo 3 with top of the line super duper exotic tubes? I'm just wondering how it would compare to something like a singlepower. It would be alot more convinient for me because of the size, but I don't want to lose out on SQ. By the same token, how about an Earmax?

I'm debating which amp I should get. Right now, I have a home based Pimeta. I would like something warmer though. Which of these amps should I get? I only use Grado headphones (sr225 and sr100) thanks

.. has competitors around ( sound wise ) as an all in one portable / laptop nice sound solution ? My concerns are mainly about SQ.. what Dac hide inside ? I just read Jude preliminary review on head-fi and it seems it's nice improvement(sq) over the previous bithead.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Enterprise-E-Lite-electrostatic-amp/1924356_32828582951.html?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.646370aboSblkp Anyone know anything about this amp? ?

Anyone have an amp they can send me to "evaluate" while I wait for colin to finish my M3? I just sold my supermacro, and am ampless...

I don't know if there is anybody that has heard both of these amps, but if you have, which one did you like better. And if you haven't but know a lot about tube amp design, which one is better designed / made? I'm looking for the best possible amp for both the K1000 and the HD800 and now that I am leaning towards a tube amp, these two seem to be the leading candidates. Unfortunately, I know nothing about tubes or tube amps. (p.s. let's put aside the fact that Eddie Current is also balanced since (a) it doesn't matter for the K1000 and ( while I may buy a balanced cable for the HD800, I likely won't be reterminating other headphones with hardwired cables.)

Two new amps have just been announced: https://stax.co.jp/products/srm-700t/ https://stax.co.jp/products/srm-700s/

Ok guys after plenty of surfing...i've decided "bang for buck" DIY is the way to go. Im looking for synergy with my T50RP. I got to hear Millet minimax that TomB brought at the 2010 meet and was very impressed. More research i find the Bottlehead Crack receiving accolades as well. Cut to the chase. Which and how intense would either build be for someone that walked by a soldering gun once? Trav

Hi guys. I just bought a Stax SRS-005 system which consists in a SRM-Xh amp and SR-003 earphones. After some time spent on thinking, I've decided to experiment some configurations. Basically, I'm looking for a better amp. I know the SRM-Xh is a vintage amp, and there should be better alternatives to use with the babystax. I'd like something that's an upgrade over the stock SRM-252 amp. I have been advised towards the SRM-313 as a good match, but I'd like to know if there are any others. I really want to exploit the best potential of the sr-003, especially since they tend to be dark, while higher models, like the Lambdas, tend to be very forward in the upper midrange, w…

For some reason which I can't explain, I wandered over to the Cavilli website today and saw that the Liquid Lightning 2T was selling for $2499.50. Original price was $4250. Wonder what's going on?

What are your opinions on the Corda Symphony? There's a thread on the other site where its been reported that coaxial input to the DAC causes the signal to drop out. This is caused by the SPDIF receiver chip resetting when new signal is present. (takes a few ms) Optical is fine tho. And the SPDIF receiver chip was upgraded from the Opera's to alleviate the problems with the Opera's clicking noise when no signal was present.

I'm looking for some advice on a new headphone rig for work. I currently have a 2004 vintage Total Bithead, 10-year old Grado SR-80s (with new pads), and a pair of Etymotic ER-4Ss. Output is from a Mac via USB, CDs not ripped files. I recently purchased a Slim Devices Transporter and Onkyo 9555 for home, and the quality of those two combined bury the Bithead with the Etys. (The Bithead has actually had issues from day one: background his and a slight channel imbalance which I never quite believed until I had something to compare it with. I'm also pretty sure it just deosn't have enough power for the Etys. It's always sounded pretty good with the Grados.) I'm looking for a…

Hi, I'v been a long time member on Head-Fi, and decided to check out this forum (for a number of reasons). After reading multiple threads here, it seems there are a lot knowledgeable people here concerning the AKG K1000. I have 2 K1000's, one is hooked up to a Unison Audio Unico, which I find a great combination. I'm looking for a cheap amp, to set next to my iMac, so I can use my other pair with my computer at night. I read multiple recommendations, Class-T Amps, old Marantz and Panasonics (PX950 etc.). I searched, but they were actually quite expensive now on ebay (650euro+ ). I have a bass-light pair, so a little more bass on the amp is appreciated, maybe a bi…

I have been a long time supporter of DIY tube amps. I want to try an SET headphone amp. What I am finding is you can buy a new WA6 for less than building a proper SET amp because the air gapped headphone OPT's cost so much. Is the WA6 a well designed amp, does anyone know the topology? I'm on the fence with this one, any feedback would be appreciated.