Solid state that can feed 3~5 watts into a low impedance headphone? - Page 2

oh and did i mention liamstrain is gagging over it.....he just cant afford it.
 

 

Why do you need 3-5 watts into 50 ohms?

H E 6
 

 

The OP mentioned a HE-500 not a HE-6

The only amps I know of that meet the criteria are the Dynahi and B22, which are both DIY. Not sure if parts for the Dynahi are still available though, someone else would have to confirm.

 

The only other way to go would be an integrated amp for speakers - there are plenty of options in the <$500 range, like the Audioengine N22 and Virtue Audio One.2/Two.2 for example. (Haven't heard them, just pointing them out.)

:D Mortgage and baby bills come first. I'm gagging over it because I frankly didn't expect that high an output from a combo dac/amp - much less at that price point. 

 

Ahh, I see. Thanks for the response. The Bifrost+Lyr was on my short-list, but in the end I prefer solid state sound as well. 

 

And I'm just being dramatic about the looks of the Audio-GD. It's a bit generic looking (imho), but it seems to be a great value in terms of price/performance ratio (from the reviews). I actually just emailed Sai with some questions/requests and will probably put in my order by the end of the week. Anyway, check out the NFB-10 thread in the Source forum, and you'll see a few (very favorable) comparisons to the Lyr, so you can get a sense of what you're getting into. Either way, good luck with your search. 
 

 

How about one of those $30 Sonic Impact T-Amps? Cheap and you can experiment with it without worry.

Though I'd forego headphone amps and start looking at low-power solid state speaker amps. Maybe something from First Watt or Pass Labs. Nelson pass has some nicely refined solid state circuits. Most of them have been cloned, with permission and encouragement, so you can assemble one.

Just curious, what are the power requirements of a HE6?

new board version of the dynahi in balanced configuration is now available.

And so are the parts.

 

But this is a great deal on a sweet sounding amp, all you need to do

is add a preamp, or some other kind of volume control, and a headphone

connector.

 

http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm

ive seen reccomended 6 - 8 watts in 50ohms at places.
 

But everone says more than that will benefit it more.

 

According to InnerFidelity datasheets:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/headphone-data-sheet-downloads

 

HE-500 is 47 ohms, 0.310 V rms or 2.04 mW to reach 90 dB SPL (@ 1 kHz).

HE-6 is 53 ohms, 1.018 V rms or 19.69 mW to reach 90 dB SPL (@ 1 kHz).

 

So...depend on how loud you want to listen obviously.  Assuming 110 dB, you need 10.18 V rms or 1.959 W into 53 ohms with the HE-6, which is rather severe.  3-5W for HE-6, sure.  That's 3.1 V rms or 204 mW with the HE-500, manageable on more amps.  I really don't see why you would need 3-5W here...?

 

Now there's no guarantee that all amps will meet their rated spec, or will not be borderline oscillating or highly distorted at some of the very high output levels listed.  But I think that's a start.

its not about how loud they are able to drive the headphones though...

 

 

There's no practical reason I can see why one needs 3 to 5 watts for the HE-500. Fang specifically recommends against using his HE Adapter box with them. However, if the OP wants that much power for his HE-500s, that's certainly his prerogative.

 

The V200 doesn't quite get there, but it's closer than many.

 

 

I think it is.  Firstly you need to be able to output the necessary power.  Secondly the performance at that power level must be good in some sense, having the characteristics that you think makes the headphones sound good.

 

 

I agree that it's his prerogative, but I think it's worth repeating that 3-5W is unnecessary, such that he doesn't needlessly restrict his search to only amplifiers that can supply that much power into roughly 50 ohms.  There may be better or cheaper alternatives that cannot reach 3-5W but may make him happy with his HE-500s.

lol, ur second point is what i was saying....