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Amp purchase dilemma

post #1 of 5
9/19/11 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 

After reading tons of reviews, feedback, etc., I'm having a hard time deciding on the right amp to go with.  My setup is PC (Windows 7) --> uDac2 --> Senn HD595.  Typical music is hard rock/progressive metal, with mixes of female vocals, orchestral, and jazz.  If I had to categorize it: 70% progressive metal/rock, 15% female vocals, 10% jazz, 5% orchestral. 

 

My needs are an amp that will deliver on the impact, bass fullness (to help the lacking presence in the 595's), grunge to the midrange (guitars), and clean, resolute highs.  Eventually I plan to get a set of the Audeze LCD-2's and an improved DAC, but I am in immediate need of an amp.  Budget is between $400 and $600 preferrably.

 

So far the choices that have given me hell are the Schiit Lyr and the Burson Audio HA-160.  Given my budget, would it be worthwhile to save for the Burson?  Should I stick with a solid-state amp vs. tube based on my musical preferences? 

 

Please feel free to offer any/all insight or opinions, including other options.

 

Thanks!

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 595 Headphones
NuForce Icon uDAC-2 (Black) USB DAC (24bit/96kHz) and Headphone Amplifier
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post #2 of 5
9/19/11 at 10:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeyWaj10 View Post

After reading tons of reviews, feedback, etc., I'm having a hard time deciding on the right amp to go with.  My setup is PC (Windows 7) --> uDac2 --> Senn HD595.  Typical music is hard rock/progressive metal, with mixes of female vocals, orchestral, and jazz.  If I had to categorize it: 70% progressive metal/rock, 15% female vocals, 10% jazz, 5% orchestral. 

 

My needs are an amp that will deliver on the impact, bass fullness (to help the lacking presence in the 595's), grunge to the midrange (guitars), and clean, resolute highs.  Eventually I plan to get a set of the Audeze LCD-2's and an improved DAC, but I am in immediate need of an amp.  Budget is between $400 and $600 preferrably.

 

So far the choices that have given me hell are the Schiit Lyr and the Burson Audio HA-160.  Given my budget, would it be worthwhile to save for the Burson?  Should I stick with a solid-state amp vs. tube based on my musical preferences? 

 

Please feel free to offer any/all insight or opinions, including other options.

 

Thanks!



neither , go Audio GD NFB-10SE (bargain price promo release)  will be a noticeable step up for the DAC and a powerfull amp) .

 

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB-10.1/NFB10.1EN.htm

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post #3 of 5
9/20/11 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 

Any additional thoughts, opinions, suggestions?

 

Thanks all

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post #4 of 5
9/20/11 at 8:47pm

Beautiful girl and dog.

 

Don't sweat it. Just a good modest amp with lots of good reviews and popular is really all you need in life. 

 

Be lost in the music brotha. Enjoy the fine finer things in life. That's more important. 

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post #5 of 5
11/4/11 at 11:52am

What up Waj, found this thread and just wanted to say I'm in (nearly) the exact same boat.  Prog-metal is def #1 on my listening list followed closely by female vocals (and sometimes a combo...Krysta from iwrestledabearonce has clean sections that rustle my jimmies).  Also looking for a high-quality amp to push my D5000's.  I've heard wonders of how well the 160 pairs with the 5000s, so if that's the route you decided to go, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it even if you have it pushing a different set of cans.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 595 Headphones
NuForce Icon uDAC-2 (Black) USB DAC (24bit/96kHz) and Headphone Amplifier
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