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Old amplifier died - time for an upgrade. Suggestions?

post #1 of 4
2/25/11 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 

 

Background: So the headphone jack on my Sony amp died (it was from a cheap HTIB I bought 3 years ago.  It obviously wasn’t the best solution, but it worked at the time).  The jack was getting loose, but it’s a constant hiss now.  The speaker outputs work fine, though.  So I think it’s a good time for an upgrade.  I have a budget of around $300.

 

My current system is as follows: X-Fi Xtrememusic (mixture of FLAC and MP3) -> optical cable -> Sony amp -> Grado SR-225s/ bookshelf speakers.  I use the headphones about 90% of the time.

 

Solution 1:  Buy a new integrated amp to replace the Sony (I can get a new Harman Kardon 3390 for $215 from Amazon).  I would use the headphone jack until I upgraded to a headphone amp.  This would be a good upgrade path if I decide to get a turntable, CD transport, or DAC. 

 

Solution 2:  Buy a separate headphone amp since I use my Grados 90% of the time.  The speaker outputs still work on the Sony so I could keep using that for the bookshelfs.  I would need a way of outputting from my computer to both the headphone amp and the Sony, though.

 

Are there any things I missed?  Or any other ways to go about this?  Thanks in advance.

 

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post #2 of 4
2/28/11 at 7:38am

You may want to go Computer > Sony > HP amp > HPs. Maybe if there is a pass-through RCA output on the amp, you could connect that to the input on the HP amp? 

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post #3 of 4
3/1/11 at 6:48pm

if ur speakers are fine just get a headamp/preamp/dac like the hdp or agd fun or something along those lines 
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by festivus528 View Post

 

Background: So the headphone jack on my Sony amp died (it was from a cheap HTIB I bought 3 years ago.  It obviously wasn’t the best solution, but it worked at the time).  The jack was getting loose, but it’s a constant hiss now.  The speaker outputs work fine, though.  So I think it’s a good time for an upgrade.  I have a budget of around $300.

 

My current system is as follows: X-Fi Xtrememusic (mixture of FLAC and MP3) -> optical cable -> Sony amp -> Grado SR-225s/ bookshelf speakers.  I use the headphones about 90% of the time.

 

Solution 1:  Buy a new integrated amp to replace the Sony (I can get a new Harman Kardon 3390 for $215 from Amazon).  I would use the headphone jack until I upgraded to a headphone amp.  This would be a good upgrade path if I decide to get a turntable, CD transport, or DAC. 

 

Solution 2:  Buy a separate headphone amp since I use my Grados 90% of the time.  The speaker outputs still work on the Sony so I could keep using that for the bookshelfs.  I would need a way of outputting from my computer to both the headphone amp and the Sony, though.

 

Are there any things I missed?  Or any other ways to go about this?  Thanks in advance.

 



 

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post #4 of 4
3/3/11 at 2:00pm

UDAC and Little Dot I+

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