Headphone Amplification

Very positive impressions from Stereophile. Go and read

Written in Sam Tellig's column in September 2008 issue of Stereophile. (The October issue just hit my mailbox so I'd say this is open to post now.) Musical Fidelity X-CAN V8 tube headphone amplifier...and line stage? If a local dealer has Musical Fidelity's new X-CAN V8 headphone amplifier ($550), by all means audition it. This is easy to do. All you need are your ears, the space between them (plenty in my case, according to David Janszen), and your headphones. There was never an X-CAN V4, V5, V6, or V7. The previous model was the V3. The implied improvement is as if the X-CAN has leapt five generations, from V3 to V8. It's easily the best X-CAN yet from Musical …

I suspect everyone it tired of Singlepower issues, but quick question if you don't mind. Any suggestions for eliminating hum from an Extreme Platinums preamp out? Have moved outlets, swapped variety of tubes, tested other preamps, used with headphone and speakers, to no avail. For a decent chuck of music I like the Singlepowers punch with the Emotiva RPA-2 and K1000s over other pres around the house (GS1 or Parasound P/SP 1500), but of course the slight hum is killing it. Headphone out has always been good, though the three inputs have never been able to be used simultaneously (all work, just not cables plugged into to any two at one time - goes very quiet even if only on…

Hey all, I was thinking of upgrading my 45 tubes for my custom made SET Headphone amp. Currently I have a simple ST shape pair (Rytheon or Sylvania, I don't recall). There are quite a few options, most of them are expensive and some are scary expensive (Like the EML stuff). The Old NOS ones: Blue arcturus 145 (probably around 300$ for a NOS pair), If you can find some. Baloon type 45s (245/345/etc...) NOS, around 250$ a pair for those rare units from 1930-1940, don't know any preferred manufacture. The New ones: EML 45- 400/500$ for a pair of Solid Plate/Mesh. EML 45 Ballon style speical Edition - 600$ a pair. Sophia Electric 45 - 250$-275$ for a new pair …

Folks, nubie here.......Been browsing the whole 20 over pages of portable amps in search of desktop amps for my future desktop rig. Have ordered HF-2 and looking to pair it with desktop amps. I listened mainly to pop (air supply, kylie, air supply, any stock, aitken, waterman arrangement), jazz (shakatak), adult contemporary(george benson, gloria estefan, everything but the girl, etc), smooth jazz (acoustic alchemy, peter white, jim brickman, etc), easy listening, slow rock (toto, journey), rock (poison). My collection is some 30% 320kbps, 25% lossless WMA and the rest 192 to 128 kbps (slowly will upgrade to lossless WMA by re-ripping my CD collection). I plan to list…

Hi, I want to find a headphone amp which have pre-amp funtion with balance input, any suggestion? What is the model name? thx

Anyone have any good combos they would like to recommend? Currently using Russian 6N6P as driver and Sylvania 6922 as output and a EZ80 in the power supply

I have some pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20989038@N04/sets/72157603216939944/ I ordered at RMAF2007 after a short audition. I currently have an SP MPX3 SE Slam, a MAD HD1, a McAlister Preamp/headphone amp (PL 12, I think). I don't think my hearing is good enough to really distinguish the important differences between the three, and I am also not sure I can put what I hear into words, but I will review the SBH after I get it broken in and used to it both as a headphone amp and a preamp. I have excessive gain with both my MPX3 and PL 12 preamp sections. The SBH will have lo and hi gain operation. It can also be operated as both a preamp and headphone amp…

Well a couple of evenings careful experimentation has resulted in no explosions, I'm still reluctant to leave the H2 connected continuously to the SRM-717 until longer term verification that nothing bad is happening to the headphone or the amp. There's not a huge amount of difference between direct drive from the 717 and the Pass Labs/TR-2 drive. I'd give the nod to the 717 overall though. A big nod once you look at the difference in price between an adapter cable and the TR-2 of course. I also plugged the H2 into the SRM-212, and at anything other than the total bottom of volume control there's a mass of distortion and scratching sound as the H2 tries to suck every…

I own a pair of Transcendent Sound Beasts and would like to power the H2+ with them. Will this work well without the TR2? Thanks in advance to anyone who might know.

So, uh yea. I really like my newly acquired m^3. Its the best amp that I had a chance to own. So uh yea, its a great amp. I like it I know this thread is :kitty: :kitty: :kitty: :kitty: :kitty:

website The short write-up in December's issue of Hi-Fi Choice says, "...by using CRT technology, these valves can be run at a lower power and offer significantly improved lifespans." That'd be the part that got my attention.

I was skimming some hi-fi magazine this weekend and I noticed the announcement of this product. Teddy Pardo is mostly known for his aftermarket power supplies for Naim products. Does anybody have experience with this amp or his other boxes? There's very little useful info on the product page (e.g., gain or power), and no reviews yet.

Courtesy of tkam, I managed to get my hands on the special PPX3 that the Toddler himself dreamed up. The amp is now mine. I loved this amp the last time we were down in Cinci. I thought about getting one for weeks back then but I already had a high voltage MPX3 and eventually sort of forgot about the amp. I dont know what prompted me to ask Mikhail about the amp. When I did, I found out that this amp is more like a mini-Maestro than a PPX3 SLAM. The power supply is fully regulated unlike the PPX3, the power supply used a number of Maestro techniques and the Maestro plitron .... and added the high voltage operation with 6BL7GTA's. In short, this amp kick…

...and Nate suggested a Starving Student. Wanted to get y'all's opinions on these two Millett's for sale on HF. Whiplash Millett SS for $130 Or Millett Hybrid for $150 the $150 looks like a good deal, but I don't know anything about the builder. Thoughts?

You guys are mean. You should also mention weather conditions. Yes, there was weather. No, I don't remember what it was. Here it is, for those of you even lazier than I.

I just received back from Cary Audio in North Carolina the Cary SLP-05 preamplifier. This is their top preamplifier and was purchased a couple of months ago to serve as my main preamp in my speaker-based system. I also wanted this to work as my home headphone amp when the wife and the neighbors want me to keep it quiet. The preamp is fully balanced and sports something unique in the high-end stereo preamp world, namely a true dedicated built-in headphone amp. The headphone amp section uses two 6SN7 tubes to power the headphones, while the preamp section runs off another six 6SN7 tubes, for a total of 8 tubes. The separate power supply uses 5AR4 tube rectification. You…

Anyone have any feelings they'd like to share about this conflict? http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=233352 Basically Headphonia completely ripped off Dr. Meier's design for the Porta Corda III. I don't get any joy out of portable amplification but it was an interesting thread to read through.

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apparently ray samuels has a new amp...a balanced one perhaps? any ideas?

Well, since I'm technically a MOT* I'll just post a pic: My impression is that it's orange. *MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOT MOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMOTMO…

The Menace is deserving of it's own thread I think (well 2nd thread actually). Built by our very own n_maher, I couldn't believe it when he put it up for sale, just happy I was lucky enough to get it. Amazing amp, stayed up far too late just listening last night and it looks like a repeat performance is on for tonight. hi-rez versions of the attached pics

So, I'll start. What's the deal with the 4 pin connection, and slew rates being improved? Is it by virtue simply of the 4-wire connection, or is it a byproduct of having the two transformers as well? Does it have the same virtues of a balanced setup as far as greater separation and less crosstalk? Please feel free to wax on to a non technical type, I'm here to learn. Do I need to consider a ZDT rather than a ZD if I have no plans to run speakers off the amp?

May I present to you the New Zana Duex. Get you wallets out. http://mail.google.com/mail/?view=att&disp=emb&attid=0.1&th=10cd67a0fc56d1d9

details -> scheme -> psu -> >Max output voltage: 280Vrms It doesn't seem like a very powerful thing. What do you think?