Quote: Probabl y the most important aspect of a headphone amp is no noise,  it is adding severe IMD and degredation to the sound even if you think it is masks by the volume of the music.  Perfect example of why headphone amps have regulated power supplies and are only suitable for the...

Quote:   But I'm a tube guy.   Love my HE-500's,  very intrigued by the HE-6's but a good tube amp that can power them seems impossible.  I have a Lyr stashed away and like it but its not the same as a full tube amp being a hybrid. 

Quote: Do you think the HE-6 is worth the headaches (hi powered amp) over the HE-500 ?

All I'm saying is an EL34 SET with good iron can be an absolutely top choice for a tube headphone amp.  This amp has a whole lot of potential.  I wouldn't say its a bottom feeder,  maybe with the tiny edcors and the 12ax7 but those things are upgradeable. I guess I'm not an OTL fan and my bias...

Quote:   No I understand what you are saying has nothing to do with the HE-6,  not all electraprint transformers for 300b's are like those undersized 5k:16 50ma in the BA.  ElectraPrint can make a good transformer for a 300B/2A3 amp you just get what you pay for.  You were saying Jack's...

Quote:   This is fantastic.  My only concerns are sceleratus's comments that there is some noise.  What makes a great headphone amp is a simple test.   Play music on your most sensitive/efficient headphones about as loud as you like.   Then play a "silence" tack which is basically...

Quote:   You can't expect bottom budget SE output transformers to beat an OTL like the Crack,  with good iron you could have a really nice SE amp that far exceeds the Crack.  Just something to consider if went this far.

Quote:   How much power is this estimated at,  could it handle 5W the HE-6's ?

Quote:   The best AudioGD's are actually those with their diamond output and those have about 40dB' of NFB.  The other ones actually have feedback too, current feedback. So they measure better than a true open loop analog stage.   As far as the MSB module DAC's I don't see how you...

Quote:   Unfortunately the HE-6 has been measured at a very low 77db/mW,  you can do the math but I don't think that leaves much headroom? I have seen no claims of any EC amp power into 50 ohms or any other DHT headphone amp for that matter..   The only SET that claims it can power...

Quote:   Main benefit I see is the ability to power HE-6's,  now that's just one headphone out of a thousands but the dam things have all us SET guys scratching our heads.

Parallel won't lower hiss ,  only series but that opens up other issues.

Does this amp have a black background?  Any buzz or hum with sensitive phones like Grados?  Did you have to use dropping resistors on the OPT secondary ?

Quote:     Its doesn't measure that great I guess because of the true discrete output stage with no feedback.  The USB input works but shows a 10k hz spike (could be my measurement technique.)  But sound wise it is better than the Audio-GD's (I never thought I would say that.)  The...

Quote: It's not an inefficiency, it is a flaw.  One of the few advantages that headphones have over speakers is the low amplification requirements.  Needing a hook up to a 100W "pioneer" receiver is no longer high end,  it is circuit city stuff, or 25 year old sears stuff.  A 100W speaker...

I finally finished building mine from the OEM boards, saved some money and prefer it much over the AudioGD Ref7.1,  this has the Si570 clock and fifo along with an excellent oversampling algorithm.  The I/V stage is fairly unique,  its a discrete no global feedback common base BJT design, ...

Quote:   These are fantastic headphones that don't make the mistake of a distant presentation,  Grado like but with bass and without the distortion.  They are much more neutral than the HE-LE's which had a bright upper midrange that shined like a flashlight.  These HE-500s are neutral...

Quote: The company that made the jfets went under, finding matched pairs is difficult.   I was just saying if you like 70s itegrated amps the VSSA is a good project of the same vain with a modern layout and devices.   But for me I think I will stick with HE-500's,  The was one review I...

The biggest plus for this amp in my opinion is that NOS tubes are available.    The 300b and px4 amps can't say that.  I will take a wild guess here that a $300 pair of NOS 2A3's sound better than any of the new production 2A3 tubes,  am I right ?

I would assume the next TOTL hifiman will have a bit better sensitivity than the HE-6,  requiring 50W plus speaker amplification is a bit of an inconvenience to say the least,  in my mind it comes across as a bit of a design flaw (just a personal thought.). So  I guess I am sticking with my...

Can anyone recommend a cinema are similar transformer for the input of this to take a balanced connection (my DAC has balanced out and is quite a distance from the amp.)

Has anyone tried the http://www.audionotekits.com/he6headamp.html ,  first alll tube amp desined for the HE6.  Plus it has an transformer that has been optimized for 50 ohm's and high efficiency.

he HE-6's don't require as much current as you think,  the hifiman adapter just dumps current  the ground,  its voltage that's needed and why high power SS amps are popular.   5W into 50 ohms is 20+Vp-p which is  equivilant to a solid 35 watts into 8 ohms (most solid state amps are over-rated). ...

PCM1704,  I don't think the package has ever changed, I bought these last year

Any positives with SET amps like the 300B BA, the TTVJ 37A, The Pinnacle, the WA5, with w.out preampetc?   From reading the reviews it sounds like the only tube amp to satisfy were McIntosh P-P.   I am surprised no hum issues with McIntosh, very surprised as it has AC heat.   But there is...