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School me on headphone amps

post #1 of 5
2/9/12 at 4:53pm
Thread Starter 

Okay, i know i can get a lot of generalized information by doing some hard searching here in the forums, and i'm not looking to buy right now, but i know absolutely nothing about hi-fi amplification.

 

I can get a hundred different recommendations about "what amp to get for $xxx" and "what amp for xxx cans" but i don't know what to really look for.

 

I know a fair amount about electronics; i've built guitar amps, guitars and pedals, but hi-fi equipment is out of my territory

 

As a P.S., i will be looking for a good headphone amp this summer to take to college with me and right now i have a Fiio E17 on pre-order for a portable amp and DAC in the meantime, and that's what prompted this generalized question.

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post #2 of 5
2/9/12 at 6:38pm
I'd say you first identify your budget and your intended cans. Optimally, you'll find a setup that can balance out your headphones to match your own preferences. At the same time, you really need to consider your intended source. I'm assuming you want to use your computer, so you should probably look for separate DACs as well or integrated DAC/amps that support high-res (typically 24/96 or 24/192) over USB, especially if your computer does not support S/PDIF coax/optical outputs. Ultimately, setups are about synergy. You can spend $10,000 on a setup and have it be unlistenable because every component in your chain accentuates something unpleasant. Typically, high-impedance headphones are better matched to tube amps while low-impedance or high-sensitivity headphones are better matched to solid-state amps.
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post #3 of 5
2/9/12 at 7:03pm
Thread Starter 

Hmm, it varies as much as, say, guitar amps then as far as each amp suiting someone differently. I guess i expected it to be a little more general since hi-fi rigs, to me, always seemed about getting the most true-to-recording sound. Shouldn't have been so naive rolleyes.gif

 

Being a musician, the budget is relative to the quality of the amp. I'd rather save and get something better than settle. My intended rig will be my PC, which has an HT Omega Striker with S/PDIF (as well as coax) out into an E17 as a DAC. The E17 could be temporary, as i'm not opposed to having entirely separate rigs. This would feed HD650s.

 

It's too bad that i'm out of luck in being able to tell the "right" amp by recognizing specs and stats alone, what a shame. 

 

As a side note, the Schiit Lyr is looking really nice and not super huge. This setup has to fit in a dorm-sized area, albeit a rather large one by most standards.

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post #4 of 5
2/10/12 at 7:04am
It's kinda like that--with guitar and bass amps, they're part of the instrument. In effect, you've been building sources for the sound you want--and the final sound is what's ultimately heard. In HiFi, detail or accuracy typically goes hand in hand with harshness. A lot of people use tube HiFi amps because they do distort the sound in a pleasant way--a little warmer, a little smoother.

As for specs, you can have a hundred different amps with near identical output specs that all sound or perform differently. The components have a major impact, as does the amps' topologies. All other things equal, the topologies contribute significantly to the final product's sound signature. For example, it's McIntosh's proprietary transformer windings and their circuit design that can deliver a great sound quality while still giving you PowerGuard--which traditionally would noticeably decrease the sound quality. Unprotected amps would sound better but there'd be a risk of damage if you've got either an overheated component or clipping.
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post #5 of 5
2/10/12 at 11:59am
Thread Starter 

So then i suppose that this becomes one of those issues when it's almost necessary to post a "Which Amp" thread in order to compile a short list of what you should check out, and then narrow it down and decide from there.

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