Saw mcbride with Edgar Meyer in old synagogue in wash dc this fall. Amazing

Have you thought about bel canto?

The amp is just not very good with the he 6. Harsh, not musical, has you looking for the off switch.

Yeah, but that is hardly high end on the speaker side. Hell the speaker amp that your headphone amp is based on is $20k and a pre that does justice to it might be another 10.

Absolutely right. But of course headphone money is chump change compared to speaker money.

what budget? There is a little synthesis tube amp that may have enough. http://www.synthesis.co.it/pdf/prime/Flame.pdf There is a used one on Canuck audio mart. These also is a bit more powerful option from them but pretty pricey

what sounds good to you is what matters, not whether it checks certain audiophile boxes.

Thanks. I get it, It is hard to get the richness out of.a solid state amp, particularly at the m2's price. I have three amps with tubes in them (with three tube preamps) and they are all more able on the attack than the m2 without sacrificing decay. Two of the amps cost much more, so I expect to...

^^ "That takes me back to the First Watt line of amps. He made an amp just for your flavor - what ever it is. M2, J2, F1J, F2J, F3. F5, F6 - the SIT 2. A lot to choose from, but one that fits your preference for sure. All while having the technical prowess of any TOTL amp out there." They are...

Similar story. In my set up, I have two amps connected to the preamp. For speakers I turn on the 2a3 monoblocks, about 12 watts per channel. For he-6, I turn on the 150 watt blue circle amp. The volume on the pre has to be much higher for the headphones. Some of it may be the difference in gain...

Problem is that once you get used to it it is hard to go back.

Mark at Reno is great and great to talk to about the differences in the amps. They do not all sound the same.

I was looking at a used canary CD player but there is not much out there in terms of user feedback. If you find anything helpful please post.

Click on the person's name, select block member.

Agree on the Sfax. I only have he-6. If I were more convinced by the energizers I think I would have tried the 007.

Why stop there?

If you like the overall tone of the lcd-2 then the he-6 might sound a bit bright to you even on the right amp.

Given your amp and headphones, a good source would be more than a few percent improvement. Good components downstream can never recover what is lost upstream.

I have heard it with audeze. I am not a fan of their headphones generally but the sound was stunning with the viva. I am hoping that they have it again at the Capitol audio fest and hopefully with the he1000.

If this were about looks, I think the viva probably prevails http://www.head-fi.org/g/i/1164918/a/899574/viva-egoista-845-set-tube-amplifier-10k-headphone-masterpiece/sort/display_order/

lots of discussion in:   http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones

You still have the viva to try it on?

I hope not. I and others make decisions based on what we read here and on other forum sites because often it is not possible to demo stuff. You have to sort through the various views somehow.

Cannot agree on the point about selling. What people do is pretty revealing as were some of the additional comments that followed.

not sure i saw anyone drawing conclusions about tube v ss anywhere here (except maybe your last sentence).  also not sure saw anyone flaming for or against the EC 445.  own three amps with tubes and i personally think they work well with the he6 (although the set needs more juice for some types...