Pro-Ject boxes?

Hi

I have a Pro-Ject Head Box II.

This I use as a second headphone amplifier when a good friend of mine comes around with similar music interests to me. We sit listening wearing headphones I think it looks quite funny actually.

But, back the the Pro-Ject Head Box II.

I've been meaning to do a review or something for ages of this amplifier. The problem I have is that I haven't tried the other amps at a similar price. Also, my main headphone amp, the Sugden HeadMaster is really superb so it rather overshadows the Head Box II.

I think the Head Box II is very good for the money. I can sit and enjoy music with it. It is certainly well behaved and drives my AKG 702s and Sennheiser HD 540 Ref Golds without any problem.

I think that the Head Box II is a good honest performer. It is free from coloration and has an even tonal balance. The resolution is not in the same league as my Sugden HeadMaster, but I would hardly expect that.

There are many "high end" headphone amplifiers with "sound signatures" (nice word for appalling coloration) etc which imho are inferior to the honest Head Box II.

The Head Box II will not appeal to people who actually want their amplifier to distort and colour the sound (you will see this request worded in many different ways at these forums). It is neutral and lets you listen to the music.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 

Hmm... neutral. By neutral, is it analytical at the same time? I have DT880 headphones and they're already dry and analytical enough, so I'd like some warmness to my amps.

If you want an amplifier to distort the sound then don't get the Head Box II.

I think the Head Box II is neutral. Imho it is absolutely right in this regard.

I think that it is a bit rolled off in the highest frequencies but at that price I think that would be normal.

It is not "warm" and personally I am very pleased about this.

So, if you can get a chance to listen to the Head Box II then of course you should.

However I do have an additional comment.

I don't know anything about the Beyerdynamic DT880-32 but I've just done an Internet search and I see they are quite expensive.

You write that they are "dry" and analytical, well I have never heard them, but my experience of very good transducers used with mediocre amplification is that the result is very often "dry" and "analytical".

I think that it might well be that simply getting a much better amplifier which is giving the Beyerdynamic headphones the levels of detail they would like might cure this "dry" and "analytical" thing.

Very often at head-fi I see people using very expensive headphones with mediocre amplifiers, but this will not work well.

They report a "dry" and "analytical" sound and so they buy a warm sounding amplifier ending up with what I think is something worse than what they had before, now they have low detail covered up with a euphonic soup.

I think that rather than go down this "warm amp" thing, it is very much better just to get an amplifier which is actually very good. By that I mean one that will give the Beyerdynamics the detail I suspect they would love to have.

The best way to get a good amp on a budget is second-hand.

I tend to steer away from amps that are described as "warm", "lifelike", "organic" etc.

Get an amplifier which honestly increases the amplitude of its input without effects

Good pure class A solid state amps are very well worth looking at. Musical Fidelity is one company that has produced these at an affordable level but there are many others.