Headphone Amplification

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/4233707-post19.html I've seen this for nth time, how true is this statement?

Hello everyone, I'm thinking about buying an electrostatic amp and I'm leaning towards the KGSS because of my general dislike of tubes and the fact that when you change the tubes you can change the sound etc. I prefer to have such things under control (barring damage, SS is the same now as it is in a year). That said if the BHSE is only uses the tubes for the high voltage swing capabilities and is entirely transparent then maybe that's a better bet. On paper it has a lot more voltage swing etc. At least initially I will be using the Koss ESP950s but I figure I'll end up with O2s as well. They'll all have to go though my correction process and then I'll see if el…

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?

The page on the new Ultra DAC would appear to establish that a companion amp is also on the way. Can anyone with better eyes than me make out what the leftmost switch is labeled? If it's indeed "Rear Outputs", I'm going to do a little happy dance!

Hi all, I am hoping you can get me back on the right track in the world of Stax. A while ago I bought from Japan an SRD-7 mk2, a SRM-T1S, a Lambda SR Pro and a Lambda SR Signature Pro headset. The SRD-7 was bought just as an experiment, I did not really expect much from it. Besides I had read that the SRM-T1S should be better. However, from day one I have felt that the SRD7 mk2, coupled to a Pioneer M-22 power amp and a Pioneer C-21 preamp sounds much fuller/dynamic/better lower end compared to the SRM-T1S. The SRM-T1S seems flat or lifeless in comparison. I was sure there was something wrong with it, it is an old amp after all. I tried biasing to no effect. …

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

Greetings all! a newbee here I have an econo phono/valve amp that I picked up years ago second-hand and have no clue where it was purchased or manufactured. It appears to have Chinese writing on it and it also does have "GUANGHENG TM300 - TM400AB" on the transformer cover. The transformer is fried and I'm not sure if it's worth repairing but I would do so if I can find one and it's a reasonable cost. Here's a couple of pics and thanks for your time.

Folks, friend of mine is looking to upgrade his rig. He's toying with the idea of Cavalli amp. I tried to talk him out from it since it looks to me that this folks is way to greedy in charging his work lately. $6500 for an SS balanced amp with whatever mumbo jumbo parts inside is simply too much IMHO. So now he's torn between Eddie Current or Headamp or Cavalli. Everyone knows Justin work, but I'm just curious about the repo of EC and Cavalli in your eyes. Which one you'd prefer to have?

We’re launching a new company – Eksonic – along with our new amplifier called Aeras. Launching an audio company is something I’ve had in the back of my head for many years and I’m proud to be able to bring a passion to market. I've been building my own version of the DIY T2 for quite some time now and have long hoped to capture the spirit of the beast in a smaller single chassis design that's more accessible to many. We think we've accomplished that with the Aeras. Aeras is the result of endless hours of circuit design and analysis, brainstorming and many iterations of prototyping and testing. Our initial users have had great things to say about…

First of all. Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. I've read many thread about the differences between the Woo Audio 3 and the Little Dot MKIV SE . I'm pretty new to the world of high fidelity audio equipment. About 3 years ago I bought a pair of Sennheiser 202's and later that year I upgraded to HD555's. I greatly enjoyed the 555's and started researching the next step up the chain. About a year ago I finally saved up enough money to purchase the HD650's and a Little Dot MKIV SE . I love my amp, but recently I've been itching to upgrade to something better and that's why I come to you. I'm currently using a Little Dot MKIV SE with the …

.. 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.

I want to connect the output on my soundcard to one of the AMP800's inputs, but I don't know the best way to do this. The output on my soundcard is 3.5mm stereo, the Behringer AMP800 has two 6.3mm inputs for the left and right channels. I've been getting conflicting information, one of my friends suggests this--- 1/8 in. Stereo to Dual 1/4 in. Mono Cable http://www.zzounds.com/item--HOSCMP15 . My other friend says this cable would not work, as it would give two mono signals, not a left channel and a right channel. Thanks for any help on this.

Looks like a very potent candidate, but, alas, the only source of info is a sole thread on SBAF. Hopefully through this fora, more insights and opinions will be gathered from this product. I've mostly heard positive feedback from the EC products, save for some quality/longevity issues with the original Zana Deux.

Well I have an AT W10LTD, W10VTG (soon), and AKG K280 on the way, and I'm gonna need a more versatile amp to drive them. I was thinking of something like a PPX3, but I'd like to see what all you old AT (and AKG) fans have to say.

Wow, a few minutes at this site is like a slap in the face after spending a lot of time at head-fi. Apparently I own the ultimate "hella shitty" amp, the PA2V2. I always thought of this as a temporary solution, necessitated by my purchase of an ALO dock connector (also apparently crap), and for $60, why not? It seems that there is some consensus here that portable amps are kind of silly, and do nothing to improve SQ, esp. if your source is a DAP. As my source will be either a laptop or iPod (maybe iMod?) for the foreseeable future, and I need my gear to be portable (out-of-the-reach-of-children portable, room to room and home to office portable, not walking around…

So I need to send in my Balanced Desktop for a minor repair. I am very tempted to have them install a stepper while it's in the shop. Yea or Nay?

Anyone else notice this? hmmm.... ALO Double M3 amp - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

So, I have owned the Moth 300B for years and have never once experienced what is happening right now. I was playing speakers through it earlier just fine, and was putting records on shelves, etc., so not being too critical. Wanted to switch to K1000s out the back so switched the speaker cables for the pigtail and went out on the porch. In order to adjust volume on the lousy recording I was listening to, I went into the room again and was thinking that the K1000s were really loud through the window and 10 feet away. But even after unplugging them from the pigtail, music played on quite audibly... So for some reason, this straight up power amp with now speakers attac…

Here's an interesting new pro headphone amplifier, hand made in Serbia: BoZo Electronics - Sparrow It has very good specs !!! For the amplifier gurus here, a question: how does it compare with the beta22? Pics:

Hi Guys I run a KGSShv that take about an hour to warm up and sound 100% performance. Because of that I tend to leave it on all the time unless I am going away for a few days. My question, is it ok to do that and leave the headphones plugged in, or is it best to power down? The headphones would i guess get a 580v bias but no music signal during this time.

OK I've gotten off the binge & purge wagon, and have settled in with 840c/Almarro/K1000 as my main rig (and Earmax AE for other phones like HD650). Now my main system is pretty much perfect (to me) except for one annoying thing: 840c is fixed out RCA to the Almarro integrated amp. Even with low 5wpc output of the amp and the K1000, I can only use the volume knob up to about 9 o'clock before it's too loud (maybe a bit more for classical/opera). That is, very limited range of volume knob. I wish the 840c had some kind of variable out option, then I could optimize so the amp volume can turn to, say, 10-12 o'clock. Is there some device, like a passive line attenuato…

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!!!

I am trying to wrap my mind around what must go into a solid-state amp to explain a $4250 sticker price. I understand that chassis costs are often one of the largest expenses, but I look at that chassis and it seems many DIY amps on here are more impressive in that regard. It's certainly far short of the RSA A10, looks-wise. Unless there is a few ounces of platinum inside, this seems pretty outrageous. Or am I missing something?

From RSA's site: Another amp/dac combo for your portable applications. So many of these are available now. I rather save my hearing for my home/work rig.