huskerflush
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2013
- Posts
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- 0
Good Morning!
I have been a long time lurker and have done a lot of research on this topic, but I figured I would actually create an account and post to get some insight into a new purchase. Let me ask the question first and then provide the details:
I am looking to buy a desktop headphone amp to use with my iMac, iPad and potentially my record player. My headphones that I use the most right now are a reliable pair of Grado SR60s, a more recent pair of Shure SRH840 and my most used pair which is the Shure SE535. I anticipate buying Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 or something in that range in the next 12 months or so, but I will always have an iem of some sort as I prefer the isolation at times. Would you recommend the Pan Am, the Woo Audio WA7 or something else? I am looking at the $1000 and under range, though I may be tempted into the Fosgate Signature Headphone amp if the bump is worth it. I am looking for something that will last me for years to come, not a stepping stone to something different later.
Details:
My wife and I are rapidly approaching the birth of our first child, and I am compacting my office to make space. Right now I typically listen to music half the time on a pair of PSB bookshelf speakers and half the time through headphones, but I am guessing my speaker utilization is about to drop significantly. My music spans all genres, though I tend to listen to mostly modern alternative or college rock (Radiohead, Phantogram, Iron and Wine, etc) as well as quite a bit of old and new hiphop. In addition, I have been delving into loseless/highdef audio tracks, particularly classic rock, jazz and blues.
After looking through reviews and reading others impressions, it seemed the Pan Am made the most sense (the idea of tube rolling is appealing since I don't plan on upgrading for some time), but it seems they don't play nicely with iems very well and that is a killer for me. I love my Shures, and am considering getting some Westome or JH Audio headphones in the future, so I want something that will handle those just as well as whatever fullsize cans I have.
Most of the listening will be via USB from the Mac (Would also love recommendations on audio player upgrades here, I am leaning towards Audirvana), but would like to play my vinyl and iPad through it as well. I am open to getting a solid DAC and small tube amplifier, but an all in one solution is appealing (particularly as I could always simply upgrade to an external DAC later if I wanted to).
This is probably more than you wanted to know, but before I spend $1000 on a new amp, I figured I would ask the experts. I realize there is no perfect solution, but I want something that will handle a lot of different headsets with the least amount of problems. Future headphone purchases can be adapted to whatever the amp works best with, but I want to be able to enjoy what I have now as well.
Thank You!
I have been a long time lurker and have done a lot of research on this topic, but I figured I would actually create an account and post to get some insight into a new purchase. Let me ask the question first and then provide the details:
I am looking to buy a desktop headphone amp to use with my iMac, iPad and potentially my record player. My headphones that I use the most right now are a reliable pair of Grado SR60s, a more recent pair of Shure SRH840 and my most used pair which is the Shure SE535. I anticipate buying Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 or something in that range in the next 12 months or so, but I will always have an iem of some sort as I prefer the isolation at times. Would you recommend the Pan Am, the Woo Audio WA7 or something else? I am looking at the $1000 and under range, though I may be tempted into the Fosgate Signature Headphone amp if the bump is worth it. I am looking for something that will last me for years to come, not a stepping stone to something different later.
Details:
My wife and I are rapidly approaching the birth of our first child, and I am compacting my office to make space. Right now I typically listen to music half the time on a pair of PSB bookshelf speakers and half the time through headphones, but I am guessing my speaker utilization is about to drop significantly. My music spans all genres, though I tend to listen to mostly modern alternative or college rock (Radiohead, Phantogram, Iron and Wine, etc) as well as quite a bit of old and new hiphop. In addition, I have been delving into loseless/highdef audio tracks, particularly classic rock, jazz and blues.
After looking through reviews and reading others impressions, it seemed the Pan Am made the most sense (the idea of tube rolling is appealing since I don't plan on upgrading for some time), but it seems they don't play nicely with iems very well and that is a killer for me. I love my Shures, and am considering getting some Westome or JH Audio headphones in the future, so I want something that will handle those just as well as whatever fullsize cans I have.
Most of the listening will be via USB from the Mac (Would also love recommendations on audio player upgrades here, I am leaning towards Audirvana), but would like to play my vinyl and iPad through it as well. I am open to getting a solid DAC and small tube amplifier, but an all in one solution is appealing (particularly as I could always simply upgrade to an external DAC later if I wanted to).
This is probably more than you wanted to know, but before I spend $1000 on a new amp, I figured I would ask the experts. I realize there is no perfect solution, but I want something that will handle a lot of different headsets with the least amount of problems. Future headphone purchases can be adapted to whatever the amp works best with, but I want to be able to enjoy what I have now as well.
Thank You!
