Don''t want to try a bunch of entry level amps.. would like a solid amp in the 500-700 range.

Can you tell us what headphones you have, and what genres you enjoy listening to? Do you want tubes or solid state? Do you need a compact amp, or do you have plenty of desk/rack space to spare?

We need you to narrow down the possibilities, otherwise we're just going to throw random suggestions at you.

Type of headphones?

Solid state vs tube?

Balanced or not?

Burson HD 160 699USD Shipped

Corda Conceto 710USD shippped

Unless you are going 600 ohms, or need balanced, these are excellent choices right in your price range.

FA

Among solid state amps, maybe Burson HA-160 and Graham Slee SRG II..??

i would say either the concerto from meier audio, or the Roc from audio GD would both be pretty good amps in that price range FWIR

Something from Woo Audio or the Meier Audio Concerto (FYI, the Concerto is a well regarded pairing for the Beyerdynamic T1, which is a 600 ohm headphone).

I saw a nice used GS-1 get perilously close to $700 on here once.

I'm using the Graham Slee SRG II. I would say that it's fantastic for the HD650 and Beyer DT770 (250 Ohms)

I think it would be a good idea to tell us about the kind of things you listen to and the headphones you are considering.

The good news is that you realise that a good amplifier is important for good headphones. Very often in these forums I see people using budget amps with good headphones and it really is a waste.

I think that hi fi should be hi fi, i.e. transparent and neutral, not adding anything to the sound. Many of the amplifiers around today are too euphonic imho.

The advantage with transparent/neutral is that these amplifiers let you hear the music, which is what they are supposed to do, they aren't fattening it up all the time or applying some other distortion all the time.

The other thing I feel is essential personally is cross-feed. This can be in the amplifier or elsewhere in the chain. If you are using a computer as your source you can have a cross-feed program. It is good to search for cross-feed in these forums. I mention this because I use it all the time.

I really can't recommend a specific amplifier because I have not heard them for long enough to write anything, I am just putting forward the case for a transparent amp.

I will say that I am very happy with my Meier-Audio StageDAC which is a DAC of course. Meier-Audio also make amplifiers and it could be that their Concerto is a very good one. Meier-Audio include cross-feed and it is the cross-feed on their DAC which has converted me to this.

Here is the link for the Concerto:

http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/concerto.htm

Here is the link for Meier-Audio main page:

http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/

used M3 for <$500

You can't be a tradesman without being an apprentice.You need to own and use at least one ,so called entry level amp before you have a yardstick to measure other more expensive amps with.If nothing else this will tell you how much pixie dust they have sprinkled on it to justify their prices.All i am saying is,,a £100 amp can be more fun and exciting than a £400 f.o.t.m amp.Try a Little Dot 1+ and then something by Graham Slee.For example.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallace 

You can't be a tradesman without being an apprentice.You need to own and use at least one ,so called entry level amp before you have a yardstick to measure other more expensive amps with.If nothing else this will tell you how much pixie dust they have sprinkled on it to justify their prices.All i am saying is,,a £100 amp can be more fun and exciting than a £400 f.o.t.m amp.Try a Little Dot 1+ and then something by Graham Slee.For example.

You can most certainly buy a more expensive amp without buying a cheaper one first.  Some amps are clearly bad values, but to say you have to spend the money and go cheaper first is just wrong. The more accurate way to say it is, it might be a good idea to hear one before buying something more expensive. And yes, I've heard and owned many cheap and expensive amps.