[PhDJ]

Hi everyone, Newbie alarm - go easy on me please!
 
I am taking my first steps towards audiophile bliss and have just invested in an Audio Technica ATH-W1000X, which I am hoping will arrive in a week or so. As I mainly listen to (Jazz and Fusion) music on my computer I would like to buy a valve headphone amp to go with this. I already have a Hotaudio DAC (destroyer I think it's called).
 
As I have spent most of my budget on the cans I'd like to keep the price of the amp down - ideally to about US$200 but certainly no more than $300. As a beginner, which amp would you recommend for these phones? The Little Dots seem to get good reviews and I will be in Hong Kong soon so could save on the shipping cost, but which model? Would the I be good enough for someone starting out like me? The II, III, IVSE? Or another brand?
 
Any recommendations - especially for these headphones - would be most appreciated!

 

[jc9394]

LD amps does not do well with low impedance headphones like AT, you may want to look at Woo Audio 6 or similar.  To be honest, your W1000x does not really need an amp, even ipod headphone out sounds really nice but it does scale well with amp. 
 
I don't have much time with W1000x but a lot with AD2000 and W5000, WA6 drives them really well.

 

[Mad Max]

A used M-Stage will be about $200 or a little more.

 

[tk3]

With that budget and other requirements, I'd look into a DIY hybrid like the Millet Minimax amp and similar.

 

[PhDJ]

Quote:

A used M-Stage will be about $200 or a little more.

Do you mean a Matrix M-Stage such as this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matrix-M-stage-Headphone-Amplifier-Amp-LATEST-VERSION-/330447737570?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf03852e2
 
 
 

 

[PhDJ]

Quote:

With that budget and other requirements, I'd look into a DIY hybrid like the Millet Minimax amp and similar.

Thanks tk3, but being completely new to this I would rate my DIY skills at about minus 5, so I'm not sure if that would be a good idea!

 

[PhDJ]

Thanks for that - the Woo Audio 6 sure looks nice but at $620 it's double my budget! (http://www.wooaudio.com/products/)
Any other recommendations for my low impedance W1000x?
 
Quote:

LD amps does not do well with low impedance headphones like AT, you may want to look at Woo Audio 6 or similar.  To be honest, your W1000x does not really need an amp, even ipod headphone out sounds really nice but it does scale well with amp. 
 
I don't have much time with W1000x but a lot with AD2000 and W5000, WA6 drives them really well.

 

 

[jc9394]

Get a used Gilmore lite, now the used price seems to be in the low $300 range.

 

[PhDJ]

Quote:

Get a used Gilmore lite, now the used price seems to be in the low $300 range.

Been looking around everywhere but can't seem to find one (I'm in the UK)...

 

[PhDJ]

Any other alternatives?