[panigrahi]

I am new to headphone amps. I am more leaning towards portable amps in lower price range. I will be using this amp with my K701, HF-1, SR-80, HD-210. I like forward sound.

Is PA2V2 add a lot to sound quality for these headphones? Should I spend more for New Total Airhead. Is non-portable amps better in resolution than portable ones? Which one is best under $200?

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panigrahi I am new to headphone amps. I am more leaning towards portable amps in lower price range. I will be using this amp with my K701, HF-1, SR-80, HD-210. I like forward sound. Is PA2V2 add a lot to sound quality for these headphones? Should I spend more for New Total Airhead. Is non-portable amps better in resolution than portable ones? Which one is best under $200?

The PAV2 is a great match for the Grado's. You can get it and see how it pairs with the other cans you have, you should be able to pick up an used unit for about $50 including S&H.

Are there any HeadFiers close to you? How about attending a meet? Then you could try a few amps and make an informed decission. Good luck.

 

[panigrahi]

Thanks mrarroyo. I am in Wilmington, DE. How can I find HeadFiers close to my place?

 

[mrarroyo]

One option would be to look in the Meeting, parties, ... section. Or you could post an ad. Good luck.

 

[panigrahi]

Thanks. I will do that someday. I was thinking of order one today only. If anybody can suggest me and guide me in this regards, the help will be appreciated.

 

[mrarroyo]

You could also try the Practical Devices XM3 for $137 including S&H. I got one and I am very impressed, I think amps that sell for up to 3 times as much should be concerned.

Good luck.

 

[Michael Crespo]

I use a Rega EAR with both a Grado HF-1 and AKG 701 and like it very much. I think you can find these for under $200 used.

Michael

 

[rhythmdevils]

you could get a stripped down SuperMacro V3 used for 200

that would be my best guess. then you can opamp roll and find the best sound for the 2 of them...

its a great pairing for my HF1. But i suspect the K701 might wand a little extra power. something like the SDS-XLR maybe

 

[panigrahi]

I got busy in work so could not reply back to this thread. Thanks guys for your help. Special thanks to mrarroyo. I have Practical Devices XM3 now. After listening to this amp for 6/7 hrs, I was totally dissapointed and was going to return it. All of my headphones were sounding better unamped. Then I put the gain jumper and I let it run continuously for 2 days. Now its definitely better and I am keeping this amp.

I am currently using iAudio X5, iAudio CW300 as sources. Initially there was lots of distortion in all the frequency ranges. Now it sounds smooth and natural. The sound stage is bigger and better. I think this amp is forward sounding amp which suits my listening taste. I love grado sound. though Grados sound good with this amp, I somehow like Grados unamped.

 

[chesebert]

Get a used M3 or PPA
These will trump anything you can find in this price range.

 

[2426]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert Get a used M3 or PPA These will trump anything you can find in this price range.

x2

 

[Filburt]

If you want something inexpensive, you could try the PINT. I recommend the configuration that I've referred to as a 'hybrid' configuration. This configuration should be able to provide sufficient current, and it tames the 8397's aggression a bit while maintaining the impressive sonics (and improving upon them in some ways, though giving up other things). I built one PINT this way, and one with dual 8397, and I find that this configuration is probably more suited to headphones like Grados, though I could be wrong.

 

[panigrahi]

I am more confused than before. I was looking forward to a cheap portable amp. Please don't get me wrong, but from the begining I was not expecting the Grados' SQ to improve much after adding amp to my set up. Though I was expecting K701 to sound much better amped. Now I am considering a SR-71 (Trusting all the threads dedicated to SR-71 in this forum, I assume this one to be the best in portable segment). Even I was open for home/portable amp in $500 range, if the set-up going to put a broad smile on my face. Now it seems like I am back to square one.

Is there anyone with XM3 and other good amp give me a comparitive description, how much I am going to benefit by getting a better amp than XM3? In future I am planning to buy a reference quality home amp. Money spent on XM3 can add to a better amp now. Can anyone help me?

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panigrahi I am more confused than before. I was looking forward to a cheap portable amp. Please don't get me wrong, but from the begining I was not expecting the Grados' SQ to improve much after adding amp to my set up. Though I was expecting K701 to sound much better amped. Now I am considering a SR-71 (Trusting all the threads dedicated to SR-71 in this forum, I assume this one to be the best in portable segment). Even I was open for home/portable amp in $500 range, if the set-up going to put a broad smile on my face. Now it seems like I am back to square one. Is there anyone with XM3 and other good amp give me a comparitive description, how much I am going to benefit by getting a better amp than XM3? In future I am planning to buy a reference quality home amp. Money spent on XM3 can add to a better amp now. Can anyone help me?

Well, I like the SR-71 a lot, but I definitely like the PINT better. IMHO the aforementioned hybrid configuration will get some of the SR-71's smoothness but give greater musicality and resolution. Plus, a PINT is much cheaper. I'm really enjoying both of my PINTs with my freshly modified Panasonic SL-NP11 PCDP (from 1989).

 

[dhp]

I will second Filburt's suggestion. I wrote a review on the PINT not too long ago in the amplification section. Try searching for it. IT's an amazing amp for its price... at a performance level that $300 commercial amps can't attain, at a price a third of the cost, depending on whether you build it or you pay someone else to build it.