[emi88]

Hello, thank you for all the inputs.
I think I agree with the suggestion of higher level headphones, at this point I'm intrigued by the Audeze LCD 3. I also found a used pair of LCD X here in Italy, at a good price, but maybe I'm not in the position to cheap out.
Regarding amplifiers, I saw the Pathos! I'm tempted, but there's also the Bryston BHA-1: it's only a little bit more expensive, and it offers XLR outputs. I read in many places that balanced outputs are quite beneficial with certain headphones, Audeze included. True...?
Thank you!
Emiliano
P.S.: My budget is moderately flexible, I could stretch to 3200, 3300 Dollars...

 

[Thenewguy007]

Hello, thank you for all the inputs.

I think I agree with the suggestion of higher level headphones, at this point I'm intrigued by the Audeze LCD 3. I also found a used pair of LCD X here in Italy, at a good price, but maybe I'm not in the position to cheap out.

Regarding amplifiers, I saw the Pathos! I'm tempted, but there's also the Bryston BHA-1: it's only a little bit more expensive, and it offers XLR outputs. I read in many places that balanced outputs are quite beneficial with certain headphones, Audeze included. True...?
Thank you!
Emiliano
P.S.: My budget is moderately flexible, I could stretch to 3200, 3300 Dollars...

The Bryston is good, but you would need a balanced DAC & balanced cables to get it to work. Other wise, if you use it with RCA interconnects, you would only be using half of the amp's power.
For your budget, you could get a

Two of the best reviews high end tube amps paised on these forums are
Eddie Current Zana Deux Super ( $2389)
http://www.eddiecurrent.com/ZD.html

DNA-Stratus-2A3 ($2700)
http://www.dnaudio.com/DNA-Stratus-2A3-headphone-amplifier.html

For high end Solid State Amps in that price range, the Headamp GS-X MkII & the Violectric V281 are considered tops.

 

[Vigrith]

For your budget, you could get a

Two of the best reviews high end tube amps paised on these forums are

 

 
Regarding amplifiers, I saw the Pathos! I'm tempted, but there's also the Bryston BHA-1: it's only a little bit more expensive, and it offers XLR outputs. I read in many places that balanced outputs are quite beneficial with certain headphones, Audeze included. True...?

 
Careful when it comes to pricing though, Emiliano said he resides in Italy which would skyrocket the prices of amps such as the ZDS and the Stratus (of course one could try and somehow dodge customs and VAT but in my experience that's not realistic). For example if I were to import a Zana into Portugal I'd have to pay an extra 550€ (or $600) in import tax and whilst this may not be a deal breaker for some people, it would land pretty much exactly on the $3000 he is willing to spend - for both the amp as well as the headphones. The Stratus well, that's further out of reach.
 
Regarding the Bryston you'll also have to pay imports, the Pathos is literally crafted in Italy, not only would you dodge anything import related you would also save a relevant amount in shipping costs.
 
That coupled with the fact the Aurium is exceptional I honestly would not even consider the Bryston regardless of balanced vs SE. I don't want to influence you too heavily but I really think the Pathos is your absolute best option when it comes to price/performance ratio and all things considered.
 
Here is a detailed review by Skylab which may help you further, Skylab is someone whom I have a lot of respect for and Innerfidelity is, in my opinion, the one website you can always rely on.

 

[drarthurwells]

  Hello, thank you for all the inputs.
I think I agree with the suggestion of higher level headphones, at this point I'm intrigued by the Audeze LCD 3. I also found a used pair of LCD X here in Italy, at a good price, but maybe I'm not in the position to cheap out.
Regarding amplifiers, I saw the Pathos! I'm tempted, but there's also the Bryston BHA-1: it's only a little bit more expensive, and it offers XLR outputs. I read in many places that balanced outputs are quite beneficial with certain headphones, Audeze included. True...?
Thank you!
Emiliano
P.S.: My budget is moderately flexible, I could stretch to 3200, 3300 Dollars...

Be careful of buying a used Audeze. They made improvement last November so make sure it is made since then.
 
All tube amps suck - rich musical sound but inaccurate. They sound nice in low budget systems where low resolution amps mask the defects in the system.
 
All solid state amps suck - detailed, high resolution and accurate, sound but with a lean tone body and when the amp designer tries to add some richness to the tone body it reduces accuracy and resolution.
 
Best headphone amp design is the hybrid - tube pre-amp and solid state. Audeze and HiFiMan know this.
 
Get a Bada PH12 (about $600 USD from cattylink.com) and ask them to ship with 3 Chinese Shugang 6SN7 tubes instead of the Russian (Electro Harmonix) tubes it comes with. Then use two Chinese Shugang 6SN7 in the back and one Sylvania Jan 6SN7 W GT (be sure it is the W model) in the rear. Most accurate sound you will hear for under $2000 and holds its own to any headphone amp at any price, if used with a top planar headphone (the higher the impedance the better) and a top source and good silver cables.
 
Bada PH12 is a great amp but must use right tubes - never found any Russian tube (like the Electro Harmonix) in 6SN7 that was any good at all - coloration and distortion in all of them. Bada must be used with care in one regard - you must never take a tube out of it before the amp has been turned off and kept off for 18 hours or more. Otherwise you might short out a mosfet (costs less than $10 for a new one though).

 

[emi88]

Hello guys,

Things ended up nicely.
On Saturday, I was pretty much convinced to buy the Audeze LCD-3 and a Pathos Aurium. So, with the help of my friend Giacomo who suggested me a very good shop, I took the trip and received some good advice. I sat, testing the setup I wanted, and the store owner suggested that I tried the Synthesis Roma DC41 phono amp as well. The difference between the two amps was clear and the Pathos wasn't a match for the Synthesis, which was in a different price league anyway.
In the end, I'd been given a very good offer and I came home with my new LCD-3 and Synthesis amp.

This setup brings me a lot closer to that hi-fi experience; it's now clear that the HiFiMan He560 could not get me anywhere near this. I didn't think there was such a difference between an "already good" headphone and a higher end one, but now I see (I hear).
My source is currently a PC with Foobar and some lossless/hi-res files, a Teac UD-501 DAC, and these new toys. The Roma DC41 amp sports a DAC as well, which should be of decent quality; as soon as the break-in period is over and I'm familiar enough with the sound of the system, I'll start comparing it to the Teac.

Thank you all for your opinions and for pointing me towards the right direction.

All the best,

Emiliano