Hello,
I've not been on here for a while due to starting a new career, moving to a new city, buying my own house and finally get a home cinema most people would be proud of.
I've just got myself a new 21.5" iMac i5 and now want to add a decent headphone rig.
I used to own some Sennheiser hd650's with a Graham Slee Solo and really liked them so this time I'd really like the hd800's.
I'm looking for a decent amp to power them now and either a separate DAC or built in one.
I've been having a look around and doing some reading and plan to demo a few myself but it'd be nice to have 3 or 4 to listen to instead of listening to 20 and getting confused.
I've currently short listed......
Chord Toucan - Looks very nice, just in budget with a built in DAC, however I've read its bright sounding.
Musical Fidelity m1 HPA - Looks ok, could add matching DAC for improved sound and both in budget. Seems to sound excellent
Graham Slee Solo Ultra Linear - Normal solo worked well with my HD650's, seem to partner with Sennheiser well??
Some sort of Valve/Tube amp - always fancied one of these, maybe achieve the sound I'm after. Might be a little fiddly??
I quite like a warm sound along the lines of the b&w 800 series / Arcam stuff so want a fairly warm, I'm going to have to have something that'll accept a USB input from my iMac although could possibly stretch to a cheapish DAC if I can find the right amp.
My favourite was the Toucan but after looking around the MF M1 seems to be one of the best out there at the moment for the price!
Thanks for your help and advice.
Mark
