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Need some Head-Fi help here. Looking for a SS amp between $500 and $1000 for various Cans

post #1 of 14
8/20/10 at 12:48pm
Thread Starter 

Like the title says. Looking for a mid range SS amp for my various headphones. What I have:

 

Sen HD580's

Terminator V4's (DT770's)

Sen HD595 modded for gaming w/ mic

Shure se530's (not really needing an amp)

 

Im looking at the Burson 160 and the Gilmore GS-1 (read a lot of reviews), but wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything out there. What are the pros and cons of both? My sorces are PC and Ipod via Flac and AAC files. An intergraded DAC's are ok, my PC has optical out.

 

I listen to almost all kinds of music except most Opera and new Country. Other then that everything else is fair game

 

Metal, Punk, Rock, Indie, Industrial, Classical, Jazz, Vocal...

 

Any suggestions??

 

Thanks in advance.

 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SE530PTH Sound Isolating Earphones with Push-To-Hear Control
Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones
Sennheiser HD 595 Headphones
post #2 of 14
8/20/10 at 1:09pm
Thread Starter 
Ps. Crosswalk is nice, but not all necessary.
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post #3 of 14
8/20/10 at 1:37pm

Do you mean "crossfeed"?  And have you looked at the Concerto?  They sound like pretty solid SS amps from what I've read, but I haven't had the opportunity to try one yet.

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post #4 of 14
8/20/10 at 1:42pm

If you can find or wait for a used beta 22 in the fs forum, I would go for that in that price range. Probably 750 to 900 I have seen them selling for.

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post #5 of 14
8/20/10 at 4:06pm

You can get a good amp for less than your budget. I have the gilmore lite and it drives the 580s very well. It cost me $250 used. I never heard the Sheer Audio HA-006 or Schiit Asgard but they are both under $300. Might want to consider a DAC as well, with $1000 budget you can certainly afford both.

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post #6 of 14
8/20/10 at 5:25pm

meir concerto,  fantastic amp for the miney,

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post #7 of 14
8/20/10 at 5:56pm

Soundcard/iPod and mid level cans... don't go nuts on the amp.  I'd probably look at getting a DAC/Amp combo.

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post #8 of 14
8/21/10 at 11:03am
Thread Starter 

Well,
I think the reason I was looking in that price range, and possibly making it a DAC / Amp combo is that Im looking into possibly adding a high end headphone (HD800/T1/Audeze) in the near future.

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post #9 of 14
8/21/10 at 11:33am

You may also want to consider the PS Audio GCHA. It is now only $500, was $1000, half price. It is discontiued now, but they are still readily available. I just got mine from AudioAdvisor.com with Free Shipping.  

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post #10 of 14
8/21/10 at 11:48am

I'd look into a Gilmore Lite/Dynalo or the M^3.  Either would do great things with your headphones and you'd have some cash left over.  Maybe you could use it to buy a nice DAC or turntable.  Don't think you'll get more value by spending at the upper end of your budget.

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post #11 of 14
8/21/10 at 11:48am

LCD-2 and T1 does superbly out of the Goldpoint Headphone Pro and Violectric V200. I ever so slightly preferr the V200 for the T1. LCD-2 toss a coin.

 

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post #12 of 14
8/21/10 at 2:31pm
Thread Starter 

What about a DAC1? Do those turn up very often used? Im starting to like the idea of the DAC/amp and using the optical out for my flac files...?

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post #13 of 14
8/21/10 at 2:59pm

Well it was very popular before the Audio GD era. Shouldn´t be hard to find impressions on it doing a search. Lavry DA11 is another combo that also was hot.

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post #14 of 14
8/21/10 at 4:18pm

Benchmark DAC1 is always up for sale used somewhere, that's an easy grab.  Its also one of those products that everyone has heard.  Meier, HeadAmp, RSA and HeadRoom also have dac/amp combos.  Those I've never heard though.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Shure SE530PTH Sound Isolating Earphones with Push-To-Hear Control
Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones
Sennheiser HD 595 Headphones
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › Need some Head-Fi help here. Looking for a SS amp between $500 and $1000 for various Cans