Azure
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2004
- Posts
- 4,449
- Likes
- 11
Okay, I've now decided that I'm going to spend $200 instead of $100 (Funny how that happens, huh?). I'm basically looking for an amp that will deliver great sound for something like the A500s and eventually HD600s/DT880s. It doesn't matter if it is portable or not. SIZE DOESN'T MATTER! Though I am primarily looking for something that can use batteries, I wouldn't mind if it couldn't if the quality was good enough. Input: Any, though RCA would be nice as I wouldn't need to get a Y-Cable for my Karma. So, what should I get?
Old Post:
I'm thinking about getting some new phones after my AT ones didn't give me the sound signature I was looking for, so now I'm thinking about Grados/Alessandros. The problem is that I hear that if I want something comparable to the A500s, I'll need an amp. My budget is maxed at ~$130 and I'm currently thinking one of the following:
Audio-Technica AT-HA2 - $69
Go-Vibe 3 - $89
Z-Audio Epsilon - $80
Z-Audio Mu - $110
JMT PIMETA - $125
Headroom Airhead - $149
The AT one looks VERY appealing, especially with its dual headphone jack (Great for A-Bing and listening to music together) and its professional look. I know that aesthetics don't mean everything, but it seems like all the other ones aren't going to perform well since they are in really cheap cases and seem to have BARELY anything in them. The only problem with this one is that it might be too low end because of the price. The next AT one is over $150, so that's a problem. Anybody know what op-amp it comes with?
The Go-Vibe 3 sounds promising, though it's not released yet. So I guess I'll need input based on the first and second editions. It looks good, but from the inside it looks very empty and seems very lacking. The problem I have with this amp is that YOU have to choose the op-amp yourself since he gives you both. I'm INCREDIBLY indecisive (As many of you already know), so this would only bring even more pain. And it would be a really long process too since I'd have to constantly turn it off, open it, switch op-amps, put it back together and then take a listen. Repeating this process numerous times will probably be very time consuming and will only cause more pain and stress.
The Z-Audio line is supposedly supposed to offer the top of the line sound without breaking the bank, but I have no idea as to how they compare to other amps. I just recently found them too and was completely unaware of them beforehand. Is this a new business or something? Where in the amp hierarchy are the Epsilon/Mu supposed to be?
The PIMETA is supposed to be pretty top of the line, right? But I hear that PIMETA's can be heavily modified and so the quality of each one differs. How close is the JMT PIMETA to a maxed out one? Are there any other PIMETA retailers? I'm also concerned with aesthetics with this one since it looks unbelievable cheap with that plastic blue case and it looks like there aren't many things in it.
The headroom airhead's pricetag makes it look powerful, but is it only so expensive because it is mass produced? What opamps does it use? Is it really worth this $150 pricetag? The dual output jacks is appealing like the AT amp but it is so expensive!
So, where do these amps rank in the amp hierarchy for use with the SR80/125 or the MS-1s? I'm mainly looking for sound, so I could care less about portability and battery consumption. How should I deal with the dual volume situation (Having to control both the volume on the player AND the amp. Should the amp volume be maxed all the time?)? And for interconnects, the one that comes with each amp should suffice, correct? If not, which one is recommended (No more than $20)? If you know any other amps that aren't on this list that would be perfect for me, please don't hesitate to post them! I look forward to your responses as I've been wanting to find an answer to this amp confusion for as long as I found out that headphone amps existed
Thanks for reading!
Old Post:
I'm thinking about getting some new phones after my AT ones didn't give me the sound signature I was looking for, so now I'm thinking about Grados/Alessandros. The problem is that I hear that if I want something comparable to the A500s, I'll need an amp. My budget is maxed at ~$130 and I'm currently thinking one of the following:
Audio-Technica AT-HA2 - $69
Go-Vibe 3 - $89
Z-Audio Epsilon - $80
Z-Audio Mu - $110
JMT PIMETA - $125
Headroom Airhead - $149
The AT one looks VERY appealing, especially with its dual headphone jack (Great for A-Bing and listening to music together) and its professional look. I know that aesthetics don't mean everything, but it seems like all the other ones aren't going to perform well since they are in really cheap cases and seem to have BARELY anything in them. The only problem with this one is that it might be too low end because of the price. The next AT one is over $150, so that's a problem. Anybody know what op-amp it comes with?
The Go-Vibe 3 sounds promising, though it's not released yet. So I guess I'll need input based on the first and second editions. It looks good, but from the inside it looks very empty and seems very lacking. The problem I have with this amp is that YOU have to choose the op-amp yourself since he gives you both. I'm INCREDIBLY indecisive (As many of you already know), so this would only bring even more pain. And it would be a really long process too since I'd have to constantly turn it off, open it, switch op-amps, put it back together and then take a listen. Repeating this process numerous times will probably be very time consuming and will only cause more pain and stress.
The Z-Audio line is supposedly supposed to offer the top of the line sound without breaking the bank, but I have no idea as to how they compare to other amps. I just recently found them too and was completely unaware of them beforehand. Is this a new business or something? Where in the amp hierarchy are the Epsilon/Mu supposed to be?
The PIMETA is supposed to be pretty top of the line, right? But I hear that PIMETA's can be heavily modified and so the quality of each one differs. How close is the JMT PIMETA to a maxed out one? Are there any other PIMETA retailers? I'm also concerned with aesthetics with this one since it looks unbelievable cheap with that plastic blue case and it looks like there aren't many things in it.
The headroom airhead's pricetag makes it look powerful, but is it only so expensive because it is mass produced? What opamps does it use? Is it really worth this $150 pricetag? The dual output jacks is appealing like the AT amp but it is so expensive!
So, where do these amps rank in the amp hierarchy for use with the SR80/125 or the MS-1s? I'm mainly looking for sound, so I could care less about portability and battery consumption. How should I deal with the dual volume situation (Having to control both the volume on the player AND the amp. Should the amp volume be maxed all the time?)? And for interconnects, the one that comes with each amp should suffice, correct? If not, which one is recommended (No more than $20)? If you know any other amps that aren't on this list that would be perfect for me, please don't hesitate to post them! I look forward to your responses as I've been wanting to find an answer to this amp confusion for as long as I found out that headphone amps existed
Thanks for reading!