Headphone Amplification

Would there any electrical issues with using my old-chassis SDS as a preamp in my speaker rig? As I splurged on the speakers and power amp, I'm not immediately going to have the funds for a high quality dedicated preamp. The SDS doesn't have RCA outputs, so I've been using a 1/4" -> RCA Y cable from the headphone output. My current SS monoblocks have an input impedance of 33K, the new tube monos I have on the way will be 100K. Would the output impedance of the SDS be a concern for preamp duties? I've got the 5687 output tubes in my SDS; can I assume those will be better than the 6sn7 for preamp use as well? I have briefly tried this (lesson learned - keep volume at …

Has anyone seen this headphone amp: http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AURAUD I couldn't find the website for the manufacturer, and Head-Fi has very little information.

I've been intrigued by this unit for some time and figure it would be a nice office source/amp and perhaps serve as a backup should something happen to part of my main rig. I know the dac is well respected, but how does it do as a headphone amp? How do the 650s sound straight out of the XLR outs on it? The other option I'm considering is Justins new mighty might but that's several months off. Guess I could wait, but patience is not my strong suit. Btw, what do the Mini DAC's go for on the used market these days? Rarely see on on 'Gon, but they do turn up occasionally. If anyone has extensive time with the apogee, I'd appreciate your thoughts and comparisons to other amps/…

So give me the scoop. I love the Dynahi sound, but I've never heard the Dynalo. I read an old thread over at *website named censored by moderation team*, and it stated that roughly the -lo is intended for lower impedance phones, while the -hi is intended for higher impedance phones, but that really both low and high impedance phones seem to perform fantastically out of both. My Dynahi is just as kickass with my HD650 as my HP2. Has anyone ever done any lo/hi shootouts, or can make any general comments on their general sound signatures? Thanks for your time!

I'm not going to bother with captions... no need.

Of course it is an arbitrary and ultimately an unimportant question, but it is something I was thinking about today. When do you consider an amp "high end"? I seem to have a pretty firm grasp on what makes a source or a pair of cans high end, but the amplification thing always eludes me. I know when I see the insane Singlepowers like the SDS or Maestro, or a custom job like tkam's, I think that is high end. But what else is out there, really? And then this makes me think, does the law of diminishing returns kick in faster with an amp then a source? Past the $2000 mark, where is there really to go in ampland?

Sold, alas.

I know these are both DIY amps and they all have different sounds depending on how theyre built, but I'm looking for a warmish SS amp with a good amount of bass for my 225s that delivers enough current to open the phones up. I'm trying to spend as little as possible (under $300 but hopefully around $200) and usually DIY beats commercial amps in terms of bang per buck. So which amp should I get?

Hey Kevin: how is this amp progressing? Last I read you had build a proto and seemed happy with it. Was that last board layout tested? I'd like to give a hand testing if needed.

Just because my turntable only has one headphone out, this prevents me from having to pull cables every time I want to listen to a different amp. Does a preamp actually do anything to a signal, or is it just a fancy switchbox? This has always confused me.

I swore that I would never buy a portable amp, but the Zen Vision M's headphone output just doesn't supply enough current for the D5000s. So guess where my first paycheck on the job went? To an used AE-2 in Virginia. But at least I've heard the AE-2 with the D5000s and the combo sounded very nice, a very groovy type of sound. I'll probably sell the AE-2 once the summer is over though.

Sure, there's the original Xana, but realistically, there are no commercially-available, high-end transformer-coupled tube headphone amps, which is a shame, because all the OTL headphone amps I've heard are not especially good at driving low-impedance loads, at least not as well as similarly-priced SS/hybrid amps that I've also heard. Why is this the case? Is it harder to do a good transformer-coupled tube headphone amp right? Do the parts cost more?

Ahoy mateys! Paging jpak & hirsch, and anyone else who cares to chime in. Looks like I've got a touch of the microfonick in the left channel. Don't notice it at all when music is playing, but when I plug in the cans I can hear it, and after the cans are plugged in, I can tap the volume knob and hear it. No worries though, gave me an excuse to crack open the SHA and see what was going on inside. First, off topic, this amp is dusty as hell, boy. What is a safe way to get rid of this dust? Just some standard compressed air (pc duster)? But on topic, the tubes that were in there were some JAN Phillips 6922s, which sounded fine, but of course I'd like to experi…

This is something I've been thinking about for quite some time now, why is it that some headphones are automatically assumed to require super-expensive over the top amps while others aren't? The examples I'm specifically thinking of are the Senn 580/6x0 and AKG K701 along with Grados like the RS-1. As most of you have likely heard by now, everyone "knows" that the Senns & AKG "need" the best amp money can buy, and if the sound isn't quite right it's always the fault of the amp because it's not good enough. I've also noticed that scores if not hundreds of people own $1000+ amps for the above headphones. On the other side of the coin we have (John) Grados, everyon…

hi. Okay, here is the low-down, I'm borrowing the F1 from Humanflyz. I connect the F1 to my ZD as a pre and then the K1000. However, I get a hum. where is it coming from? Well, i switch sources... that's not it. I turn the volume all the way up on the ZD and it's still the same (meaning it doesn't originate with the ZD). The only other option is that the F1 is the cause. Since i didn't hear it at Mike's, i'm sure I must have caused it. the issue here is whether the problem is caused at the "power" source (since i'm connecting it to a general 5 outlet power strip) or the PC (since it's just a standard computer Power cord). The other option is that i may be gett…

My contribution to the madness...just finished yesterday: Take one of these: Put one of these on it: Build this: and this: plug them in and.... viola! Eventually I'll get the two ground channel boards for the single-ended capabilities, but for now it's balanced heaven.

Just showed up today: stepped attenuator, four inputs, high/low gain switch First impressions: this thing is HUGE, and pretty heavy (18 lbs maybe). Usually when I see something online, it ends up being smaller in person. I honestly expected the Dynahi to be about the size of a PPX3 chassis, and its actually as wide as the Melos and a bit taller! I had a brief scare when I was trying to hook it up. The labels on the source selection knob on the front don't match up to the plugs on the back, so for a while I wasn't getting any sound. Now I have the ICs running into the DAC inputs, but my source selection knob is on tuner. Actually, the inputs on the back are l…

I'm looking for a balanced SS amp for a second rig and have turned my attention to this line. I've not paid much attention to Rudi's offerings in the past but have been peeking at his website of late. Any users(past or present) of his gear care to give me some thoughts/impressions? Build quality looks good on the surface, but I've been down that road before. It's nice to have the cosmetic appeal, but I'm really concerned about the inner workings and performance. Appreciate any feedback.

Hi everyone, I'm about to enter the world of tubes. My Acoustic Zen's arrived, and I'm going to be powering them with one of these http://www.gini.com/index.php?id=250. I heard the combo at a local dealer and really fell in love with it. Can someone explain me the difference between 'triode' operation and 'ultralinear' operation, and also recommend some really great tubes. I'm a complete newbie in this field so go easy!

Warm? Neutral? Edgy? How does it drive cans like the Senns and 701s? Guess it's pretty clear that I'm looking for a space saving SS amp for a bedroom setup. Not an easy task IMO. Anyone got experience/thoughts on this one?

Anyone here heard both? Thoughts?

So I've had about a week of listening time with TTVJ's loaner Corda Opera, and tonight some people came over to hear it as well. Basically we were pretty disappointed by it: it just did not have enough power plain and simple. I tried both the HD650s and the K701s, and the Opera had trouble driving them to levels that I consider acceptable. For some of my harder hitting music, I had to use up the entire range on the volume pot on high gain to get enough dynamic swing out of the K701s (of course the K701s are dynamic to begin with). It's a little bit better with the HD650s, but the sound just reminds me of every other mid-fi SS gear I've heard: which is to say, nothing …

What do you think about a $3000 woo amp? http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wa5.html Anyone at the meet listen to it?

I can't stop laughing... this is the silliest amp I have ever seen.

I've read some rather interesting comments over the past year or so regarding the DarkVoice. Is it something like the Ming Da and Bada offerings (relatively not so good in my opinion but some are quite vocal about it), or is it actually pretty good? Would anyone take it over a PPX3 SLAM? What about the Dodge amp some other people (you know who) are pushing?