[frisiviti]

A month ago I asked for recommendations for a headphone amp and ended up almost purchasing a Woo3 for my Dt990/250. To make a long story short I decided to buy a dedicated source first and got myself a Marantz CC4001 (5 CD changer), but is essentially the same as the oft-mentioned CD5001, although it has better THD and SNR specs from Marantz's own website. I figured the slightly better price on this refurbished unit and 5 disc capacity made this the better choice also.

Turns out I was partially correct only, because the headphone jack in this unit sounded only average to me. I am guessing the CD5001 has the better headphone jack with the buffer circuit

Anyway, I am now trying to figure out what to add next. As nice as a Woo3 is, I can't justify the price right now (plus shipping and brokerage fees to Canada makes it very expensive). Some people here have recommended a vintage Marantz stereo amp, the 1060B from the 70s for less than $100. How well would it pair with my CDP in terms of sound quality? Is this intermediate purchase worth the trouble (I might buy a dedicated headphone amp down the road), or should I consider other options?

 

[scootermafia]

Just go straight for the headphone amplifier. It's what you're really missing. You don't even really need to worry about a DAC for now, the DAC in the Marantz is probably not too bad. No CD player is going to properly drive your headphones, especially some nice Beyers like what you have. It is important to have a good source, but it's going to disappoint until you add some sort of headphone amplifier. It doesn't have to be too expensive at the outset, but the better you start out with, the longer you stave off 'upgrade-itis'.

For $250, the Audio-GD compass is coming out next month. It features an optical and coax DAC so you can use your Marantz as a transport and have the Compass do the decoding, and it also features a USB DAC. The head amp section should be a fairly solid discrete design.
Or for $225 shipped, you can get a nice Meier Arietta solid state.
For $300, the hybrid Head Direct EF-1 can be had.
For $300 shipped, you can get a Darkvoice 336SE, which has most of the sound of the Woo for a lot less, if not equal sound.
For ~$200 you can get a Little Dot tube amp of some sort.

I don't see a 70s amp of any sort that is not meant to drive headphones specifically as being anything but a waste of space and money. For $200 you can get a fairly nice headphone amp, and it can always be moved in the for sale forum if you need to pursue something pricier.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

What about one of the nice Little Dot amps? That would be a good place to start if you're looking for the best bang for your buck, after all with a Woo you're paying for New York wages and not with a LD.

As far as Marantz is concerned I used to own a 2238 that had pretty good synergy with my Grados. Not so much with HD650's though. The best part about Marantz receivers is that not only do you get a decent headphone section you also get a proper AM/FM receiver and a phono stage, not bad for <$200 imo.