[SerbyHT]

Hello,

I plan on getting the Sens HD 595, and stick them in an Audigy 2 Zs, and play anything from 170kbps mpc to 800+ flac. I was wondering if someone might know how could I get the best amp for them in a 150$ price range? I was hoping on cheap, since these cans are easy to drive at 50 ohms, or so I've read. I don't care for looks, or if it's portable.
A little extra, I live in East Europe, (220v outlet), but I will be spending 2 or 3 months working in the U.S., so, if there's a chance I can get something better/cheaper, I'll take it!
Thanks

 

[mathchris]

I was using a pair of Sens HD 595 today, they're fabulous. I don't have an answer for you but I'm currently looking into buying a Little Dot II for myself. I've read some good reviews on its value & it's in your price range. I'm looking for more opinions before I buy.
http://www.little-tube.com/forum/for...asp?TID=9&PN=1

 

[Uncle Erik]

The least expensive I've seen is this:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=370680

The CoolerMaster Musketeer III runs about $50 USD shipped. The nice thing is that it uses a 5.25" bay in your computer, so if you have a standard PC, you can use it without worrying about the power supply. I have one of these, and it's alright.

As an amp... well, it is an amp. The 12AU7 is a good tube. You're not going to get great sound out of it, but you will get good sound. A better tube and upgrading the caps to Orange Drops or WIMA would probably help.

But if you want in cheap, this is the cheapest way to do it. Besides, I really like having a vacuum tube as a part of my dual Opteron box!

 

[Graz]

How about a newly revised 2006 Total Airhead for $149?
http://www.headphone.com/products/he...al-airhead.php

Peace,

Graz

 

[SerbyHT]

Thanks for the hints: I've already analised the Airhead, and, besides it's power converter sold for 20 $, I still need to buy a 220v/110v converter. This gets over some 180$, and the FIrestone Beyond Cute , with everything it needs is 170$ + 30 shipping tax. I really think the Beyond Cute is above the Airhead. just that they both go to 200$. Now, if I think of spending the 200$ for the Beyond Cute, (an amp rivaling some Creeks, I understand) then I could pump up some cash for the Senns HD 650. (they can be found at 250$) But, I'm not sure i'd want to go so far, then pair em with a sound card. Especially at my level of "audio experience".

The CoolerMAster looks retro and nice, it's true, but i want to go with a dedicated amp, this looks like a fine-loking modd I can add to my case. (which I've already discretley modded)

The Little Dot 2 seems to be a good ideea, but , some things worry me: It's a tube amp, I'm not sure how many hours they are garanteed to work.. ANyone?

And, their site www.little-tube.com does not work. I hve no idea where you can get one, if you need to buy dedicated power for it, or if they only come in a group order..... Any ideeas bout this one?

 

[Graz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerbyHT Thanks for the hints: I've already analised the Airhead, and, besides it's power converter sold for 20 $, I still need to buy a 220v/110v converter. This gets over some 180$, and the FIrestone Beyond Cute , with everything it needs is 170$ + 30 shipping tax. I really think the Beyond Cute is above the Airhead. just that they both go to 200$. Now, if I think of spending the 200$ for the Beyond Cute, (an amp rivaling some Creeks, I understand) then I could pump up some cash for the Senns HD 650. (they can be found at 250$) But, I'm not sure i'd want to go so far, then pair em with a sound card. Especially at my level of "audio experience". The CoolerMAster looks retro and nice, it's true, but i want to go with a dedicated amp, this looks like a fine-loking modd I can add to my case. (which I've already discretley modded) The Little Dot 2 seems to be a good ideea, but , some things worry me: It's a tube amp, I'm not sure how many hours they are garanteed to work.. ANyone? And, their site www.little-tube.com does not work. I hve no idea where you can get one, if you need to buy dedicated power for it, or if they only come in a group order..... Any ideeas bout this one?

I'm not trying to pimp the Airhead...the others you mention are certainly viable options at a small stretch beyond your original budget...but you don't absolutely need the AC adapter for the Airhead right away...it gets pretty decent battery life, and you can go that route for a while until you decide to get a wall wart. Also, a quote from the HeadRoom site:

"To the left rear of the Total AirHead is its power plug; it’ll take anything from 5 to 12 VDC center pin positive, both regulated and unregulated supplies are optionally available."

I interpret this to mean that any 5 to 12VDC center pin positive AC adapter, either regulated or unregulated, will work provided you match the right jack size. I'm guessing you can pick something like this up at any local electronics shop near your home for a fraction of the $20 asking price on HeadRoom.

Peace,

Graz

 

[Graz]

Try here:

http://www.little-tube.com/forum/for...D=9&PN=1&TPN=1

www.little-tube.com works on my end as well...

Peace,

Graz

 

[mathchris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik The CoolerMaster Musketeer III runs about $50 USD shipped. The nice thing is that it uses a 5.25" bay in your computer...

This thing looks so fly. I would love to put one of these in all my computers but I feel very strongly that the inside of a computer is no place for analog audio. It's too noisy, I would guess putting this in an external USB or FW drive enclosure would produce better sound.

The Little-tube website loads slow, it's not even a real website, they just set up a forum. You buy their products thru email or eBay. They offer tube replacement kits & different country power supplies.

I'm realizing I'm a little confused as to what the Audigy 2 Z is. Your're using this as your DAC, correct? Is that a breakout box on it (I Googled it)? Maybe putting the breakout box in an external USB or FW drive case will give you a better audio signal than an amp (If you're working in this budget). I think if it's doing the D to A conversion inside of a computer you will hear the computer noise once you have a pair of Sennheisers with an amp hooked up to it.

 

[SerbyHT]

Yeah, pimping the Airhead!

nice one. I'm pretty skeptical about wireless audio, or thing running of batteries. (yup , all "appliances" running on batteries ) I'm not going to buy an amp that will stay on my desktop and then power it with batteries. So, I'll stil need to buy some power converters and supplys for it.

The Audigy is the soundcard I'm going to use to pump audio signal in the amp.

Maye there's something wrong with my IPs, because I can't acces little-tube! I'll try from another comp
Still, I'm a little worried about tube amps lasting for 4000-5000 hours. I thik I'd need something with a larger lifespan.
Geez, is it always this hard?

 

[cclragnarok]

I find the 2006 Total Bithead (through USB) to work quite well with the HD595. I would recommend selling the audigy and getting the Bithead. I haven't heard that many other amps though.

It's strange, because I like the Bithead better than the Echo Indigo DJ with the HD595, and I prefer the Echo Indigo DJ to the Bithead with the HD580. It's all about synergy I guess.

 

[SerbyHT]

Could do, but I stil need the Creative for what it was meant: EAX and positioning in games. I wanted to supplement its average audio q with a dedicated amp.

 

[cclragnarok]

Maybe you can find a used 2006 Total Bithead on eBay or Head-Fi. At least the power adapter won't be a problem.

Other (more experienced) people might have better suggestions, but IMO Bithead+HD595 is a good combination.

My rankings:
Bithead + HD595 > Echo Indigo DJ + HD580 >>> the other two combinations.

 

[minimus]

If you can stretch your amp budget to $210, I would highly recommend the Original Master amp ($200 + $10 shipping.) It is not a portable, comes with a power supply (no batteries to deal with), and sounds awesome with Sennheiser headphones -- it was "sounded" using the HD650, I believe. It got great reviews at the National Meet by head-fiers with much more expensive setups. At the National Meet, I thought it sounded considerably better than more expensive portable amps. Coupled with a $250 pair of HD650s, you will be in for audio bliss for $450 -- not a bad deal. You can look up the amp at aaa-audio.com, if you are interested.

 

[SerbyHT]

, ooor, I could slave away for AKG's 1000 + a 5.500$ amp, huh?

I had the Hd 650 for 250-300$ and a 200$ amp (initialy the Firestone Beyond Cute, now, seems I'll have to check reviews for the Original) plans, but, I feared I couldn't exploit them enough. If I get this setup, it will be used with stock cables, and a computer soundcard, and Foobar playing mostly mpc's, and a few flacs. I fear the 450$ combo might be a bit overkill, and that's why I said 350 $ head + amp = enough.
HOWEVER, if there are reasons the 450$ setup is not an overkill, I'll seriously consider saving more cash. I hope that by July to be in Washington.
Up until then, I'm still checking the Little Dot 2.

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerbyHT Yeah, pimping the Airhead! nice one. I'm pretty skeptical about wireless audio, or thing running of batteries. (yup , all "appliances" running on batteries ) I'm not going to buy an amp that will stay on my desktop and then power it with batteries.

You do realise that a battery is one of the best DC sources on the planet? Do you also realise that when all those audio engineers sit there painstakingly designing AC power supplies, they are trying to create something that is as good as a battery?