Headphone Amplification

Hi tube gurus... so I'm www surfing for various "preamp" tubes and running into the usual trendy-hot flavors telefunken, mullard, brimar, amperex...etc. Some as much as $100-160 each from various NOS and used sellers. And then I see EVERYWHERE, an underlying seemingly abundant surplus of GE tubes going for a fraction of that, like $6-7 each. In general, then just how bad are GE tubes?... are they really "that" bad that people are literally giving them away? What have been your experiences with them and what amp, source or preamp are/were you using them in? thanks!!

I've got two bad 6sn7s. What do you personally do with your tubes once they go badly microphonic? Do you just throw them away? Is it worth it to try to open the tube up so maybe I can check out the insides, as an educational experiment?

http://www.angela.com/ http://www.thetubestore.com I'm looking to try out more tubes for my amp and the first thing i want to know is who should i buy them from.

I'm just wondering how big the worldwide market for portable headphone amps is. In october I bought my first - a Tomahawk, and it's serial # 697. With reading the various hifi websites, I'd guess that the Tomahawk has at least 30-40% of the market, or it did until the Pico / Predator came out. I live in London and have never seen anyone else with a portable amp, despite the fact that millions of commuters use portable audio. I've actually seen more Ultimate Ears 10-pros (1) than headphone amps! Of course this is hardly empirical; I've never met anyone else with Etymotic phones and I know they are relatively popular. By that very rough estimate, there would be 2000 - 30…

I opened this thread yesterday: http://www.head-case.org/forums/headphone-amplification/7635-can-someone-provide-information-about.html I see that it has been closed. I am wondering what was wrong with it. I checked wikipedia before opening it, read basic differences about the two designs, I also mentioned one in the thread myself. Was it wrong to ask about the suitability of one over the other when used with high impedance headphones requiring a nice synergy with amps (HD800s)? I really found it strange that the thread has been closed. And for the reference to google, well that was a nice touch, I did not know search engines existed. Thanks. Don't you think I woul…

After talking with somebody fairly extensively about the topology and circuitry of the amp, seems it's like a PPAv2 (or any other PPL amp), but slightly tweaked. What's the consensus around here for one? Is it worth the asking price over a PPAv2? What are the sonic differences between the two? I've heard a Lisa, but not the PPAv2...just wondering if it's worth supporting the DIY community or supporting somebody who doesn't really hold back his designs to the DIY community. http://www.esnips.com/doc/837045c1-25a0-4004-b933-7b9f9c842bc0/LISA-III-New-Front-Panel-019 I like how slender the new Lisa is, as it's not TOO bothersome to carry around. Carrying around that …

I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but I just noticed the Balanced Home amp is discontinued. So is the Millett Desktop Hybrid and both Max amps. The Balanced Home was my favorite "all-in-wonder" solution for DAC/amp/preamp. It covered all the bases and did so pretty well. I suggested it to a friend of mine in the antique business (who ended up going with speakers, the cretin.) The Max products were never in my price range, but their existence amused me. Anyone know what HeadRoom has in the works to replace these models? Maybe Tyll can get off Daisy long enough to enlighten us.

Last I heard he was in the early testing phase. Did things get worked out and are these now available in the GS-X?

All I remember was seeing a MOT thread in Head-Fi several months back. It looks like it's been released, but I can't seem to find anything about it. So I take it no one has heard this anything anywhere?

Arrived on Thursday, I got it on Friday: I've had a couple of days to listen to it, and it really is a superb HD650 amp. Reminds me of the first time I fell for the HD650 with the PPX3 Slam. Impossible to say which is better since I haven't owned the PPX3 for over a year. The bass is in total control and reaches lower then I recall it ever reaching (I have actually turned around a couple times to make sure my 22Ls weren't on). The amp makes the HD650 do all those lovely audiophile things, like create a nice space around guitar plucks and the like. Also does a damn fine job of recreating electric guitar crunch. This amp has certainly made rediscovering my HD650s…

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?

So, I've been impatiently waiting for the new TooleAudio balanced amp to come out, and am wondering when everyone thinks it will be done...

Long time lurker, first time poster... I've managed to assemble the following rig, however, since I haven't been able to attend any meets, my purchases have been based solely on other's opinions. My current setup is MF a3.24 -> Opera analog -> RS-1s/HD650s What would be the most cost effective way to upgrade? I'm happy with my current cans, so an amp upgrade is probably in order. Would a se b22 be a significant step up?

I'm about to buy a pair of 6bx7gt's for my old skool toaster MPX3. First of all, will it's psu even be able to handle them? Second, what are some good ones? I'm probably gonna buy them matched from tubeworld.com, if there's a better dealer that takes paypal tell me! Would you recommend the "O" or "D" getter halo tubes? And what brands? They seem to recommend the GE branded amperex and RCA tubes, but then again they're selling them...

I own Grado SR 225 and i'm thinking about buying a great for the price headphone amp. I'm looking at the qinpu A3 amp but would like to know if theres anything better if i would pay a little bit more? What about something vintage thats not expensive would i get better quality and warmer sound? I'm listening to Beatles, Guitr related stuff (Satriani,Andy Timmons) Blues,Rock... Thanks!!!

My mother in law wants headphone amp recommendations to incorporate into her speaker rig, and, having never had the opportunity to A/B different head amps (one of these days I must travel to a meet...), I'd like to hear what advice head-casers suggest I give her. Present Gear CD transport: Esoteric P-10 DAC: Esoteric D-10 Headphones: currently HD555s, but likely to upgrade to HD600s or HD650s. I'd like to keep things solid state because I visit frequently with a toddler (plus one more on the way), and her stereo rack is within his reach. I'm not a fan of her speaker rig's sound, but I suspect that's likely due to speaker placement more than anything else (spe…

Okay, maybe not, but can anyone who's familiar with the Extreme topography suggest a reasonably affordable tube combination for a fast, neutral presentation? Stock or with ECC adapter? Any help would be greatly appreciated. The Extreme Plat may not end up working with the HD800s, but I want to give it a shot as it works well with my other phones.

FS: RSA P-51 Mustang - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio pictures say it all. i mean hot pink...really? question 2 - who the hell makes that case?

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?

So, this is coming out in a week. As I'm busy trying to learn about such things, I'm curious as to why someone would choose to build a Class D portable amp, or if it's such a good idea, why, with the explosion of portables, hasn't it been done more (I think Headroom has a Class D desktop, but I don't know of others)? http://www.i-qube.nl/index.php?id=18 EDIT: I'm thinking mainly in terms of sound.

Why do some amps have two volume controls? My HeadAmp KGSS has two volume knobs. I always set them at the same setting. I would prefer one knob and not have to set the volume twice or use both hands at once. They are stepped attenuators so it isn't too difficult to do so, but one knob would still be more convenient. Is there a reason for this?

I know it runs them hot, is that the entirety of the reason, or is there more to it than that? Also, is it hard on the power tube, the rectifier, or both? Anyone know Pete Millet? Anyone want to ask him for me (diplomatically, of course)? Any good current production tubes for them?

This is something I've been wondering about for a week or two. Why can't I find a class AB design by Kevin Gilmore ? Am I missing something. I know the difference between A and AB, but am still interested as to why. Is switching so bad that one of the best engineers stay away from it all together or is it simpler than that: "Why AB when you can A" PS: I am a n00b so please be gentle :) Oneminde

Hi guys. First of all, I'm not trolling! Just curious. I've noticed several threads here that contain a lot of "anger?" towards Ray. I skimmed some of them, but haven't been able to glean anything very meaninful, except about someone's table getting slightly singed by one of his amps, a rumor about a house fire caused by one of his amps, a lot of angry back and forth personal insults, which model of Terminator is superior, etc. Another thing that I find curious is that Ray seems to enjoy a "celebrity" status on Head-Fi, but not here. So why the discrepancy? I'm curious mainly because I've been eyeing one of his amps, and just want to have all relevant information a…