[bmichels]

this should offer enough power for, the HE-6  !?  

 

 

[cskippy]

Might be a little overkill lol!

 

[ohhgourami]

The iFi Pro iCan will absolutely drive the HE-6 with authority. The Wells Milo does a terrific job as well. I'd say those two are a cut above all the other headphone amps I've tried it with (with HE-6, specifically).

 
Wells Milo? Seriously? I almost barfed at their booth.

 

[cskippy]

Well people are pairing them with Audio-GD DACs so...you know...lol.

 

[jelt2359]

  I just bought a Rega Brio-R for my HE-6. When I recieve it, I will post my impressions. It's an integrated with a relatively small footprint: 22cm wide and 32cm deep (and 8cm high).
 


(Edit: added photo)

Let us know. Good thinking. Speaker amps in the same price range are generally better options than the Headfi ones!

 

[Hansotek]

Wells Milo? Seriously? I almost barfed at their booth.

Still have whack taste, I see. Word.

 

[jelt2359]

Still have whack taste, I see. Word.

I heard the Wells Milo at Canjam. It actually has quite an agreeable colouration. The DAVE was feeding it, so I then used the DAVE's headphone out to AB. It took me Just a few minutes of comparison after that to completely give up on the Milo. The resolution was significantly worse, with loss of micro-detailed and an overly smooth sound. An amp that goes for pleasing colouration over significant steps backwards in technical ability is a loss in my book.

If your dac/preamp has the proper output impedance to hear its sound directly, I urge you to compare that vs your Milo. You may be surprised at how much you're losing.

 

[Hansotek]

I heard the Wells Milo at Canjam. It actually has quite an agreeable colouration. The DAVE was feeding it, so I then used the DAVE's headphone out to AB. It took me Just a few minutes of comparison after that to completely give up on the Milo. The resolution was significantly worse, with loss of micro-detailed and an overly smooth sound. An amp that goes for pleasing colouration over significant steps backwards in technical ability is a loss in my book.

If your dac/preamp has the proper output impedance to hear its sound directly, I urge you to compare that vs your Milo. You may be surprised at how much you're losing.

Comparing a $13,000 DAVE to a $1,700 amp? Yeah, I think you're probably losing something.

 

[Articnoise]

I heard the Wells Milo at Canjam. It actually has quite an agreeable colouration. The DAVE was feeding it, so I then used the DAVE's headphone out to AB. It took me Just a few minutes of comparison after that to completely give up on the Milo. The resolution was significantly worse, with loss of micro-detailed and an overly smooth sound. An amp that goes for pleasing colouration over significant steps backwards in technical ability is a loss in my book.

If your dac/preamp has the proper output impedance to hear its sound directly, I urge you to compare that vs your Milo. You may be surprised at how much you're losing.

 

Did you really do the compare with a HE6 at Canjam?

 

[jelt2359]

No, I think it was the LCD4. I run a large variety of amps out of my Chord Dave, including my current favourite the First Watt F7. It's not normal to lose *that* much technical detail. I really wouldn't call the Milo a "terrific" option. But then again the one asking the question wanted it to be small and cheap, with sufficient power, which I have no answer for either!

 

[Hansotek]

No, I think it was the LCD4. I run a large variety of amps out of my Chord Dave, including my current favourite the First Watt F7. It's not normal to lose *that* much technical detail. I really wouldn't call the Milo a "terrific" option. But then again the one asking the question wanted it to be small and cheap, with sufficient power, which I have no answer for either!

I think you should maybe spend a little more time with it, as I think your comments are pretty far off base. Based on my experience, it sounds like there was something else going on with that setup. Specific comments about "coloration" and "that much detail" are red flags to me that something is off. I've heard dozens - probably hundreds of amps (and the DAVE on several occasions), and clearly there is something fundamentally off here.

 

[jelt2359]

I think you should maybe spend a little more time with it, as I think your comments are pretty far off base. Based on my experience, it sounds like there was something else going on with that setup. Specific comments about "coloration" and "that much detail" are red flags to me that something is off. I've heard dozens - probably hundreds of amps (and the DAVE on several occasions), and clearly there is something fundamentally off here.

 
That makes both of us. I too have heard dozens and probably hundreds of amps, although I'm not sure why other amps would be relevant to this conversation. How is it controversial that some amps just go for colouration and are just not that detailed? Unless you're saying you've never heard that despite auditioning hundreds of amps, in which case you and I probably fall into very different camps in terms of experiences.
 
Anyhow this example was very revealing to me as I own a DAVE myself so I know how it sounds relative to being driven by good external amps. I listen to the EC Studio at home, and have dedicated speaker amps like the First Watt F7, a Hegel H20, and an Ear Yoshino V12 for use with the HE6. Amps like these don't give up much anywhere close to as much detail as the Milo; when paired with the DAVE. Looking at your gear, I used to own a DAC-19 too. Maybe you can try your Milos on a more resolving DAC to see if you hear the same. Unfortunately you can't do like I did, and compare the outputs of the DAC-19 directly with those from the Milo.
 
PS, I'm not against colouration by any means, I own two great OTL amps myself and this is exactly what they do.

 

[Moochibond]

May I have your thoughts on this budget amp: 
 
Dayton Audio APA 150 http://www.daytonaudio.com/index.php/apa150-150w-power-amplifier.html
 
Would this (reportedly 50W into 8 Ohm) amp be adequate to drive HE 6?
 
Many thanks,
 
M

 

[Hansotek]

That makes both of us. I too have heard dozens and probably hundreds of amps, although I'm not sure why other amps would be relevant to this conversation. How is it controversial that some amps just go for colouration and are just not that detailed? Unless you're saying you've never heard that despite auditioning hundreds of amps, in which case you and I probably fall into very different camps in terms of experiences.

Anyhow this example was very revealing to me as I own a DAVE myself so I know how it sounds relative to being driven by good external amps. I listen to the EC Studio at home, and have dedicated speaker amps like the First Watt F7, a Hegel H20, and an Ear Yoshino V12 for use with the HE6. Amps like these don't give up much anywhere close to as much detail as the Milo; when paired with the DAVE. Looking at your gear, I used to own a DAC-19 too. Maybe you can try your Milos on a more resolving DAC to see if you hear the same. Unfortunately you can't do like I did, and compare the outputs of the DAC-19 directly with those from the Milo.

PS, I'm not against colouration by any means, I own two great OTL amps myself and this is exactly what they do.

That makes both of us. I too have heard dozens and probably hundreds of amps, although I'm not sure why other amps would be relevant to this conversation. How is it controversial that some amps just go for colouration and are just not that detailed? Unless you're saying you've never heard that despite auditioning hundreds of amps, in which case you and I probably fall into very different camps in terms of experiences.

Anyhow this example was very revealing to me as I own a DAVE myself so I know how it sounds relative to being driven by good external amps. I listen to the EC Studio at home, and have dedicated speaker amps like the First Watt F7, a Hegel H20, and an Ear Yoshino V12 for use with the HE6. Amps like these don't give up much anywhere close to as much detail as the Milo; when paired with the DAVE. Looking at your gear, I used to own a DAC-19 too. Maybe you can try your Milos on a more resolving DAC to see if you hear the same. Unfortunately you can't do like I did, and compare the outputs of the DAC-19 directly with those from the Milo.

PS, I'm not against colouration by any means, I own two great OTL amps myself and this is exactly what they do.

Clearly we're at an impasse here, because I do not think the Milo is colored. In your defense, I haven't hear it with the LCD-4... nor have you heard it with my gear, which is to say this conversation has surpassed the point of usefulness. I think we could probably continue to go around in circles on this forever, so I'll save you the trouble and show myself out of it. I'm sure your $20,000 systems is better than my humble $2,500 kit.

 

[jarnopp]

Hi, what amps can you recommend me, that have a "regular" headphone amp size.

Speaker amps or very big headphone amps like the master 9 are just too big for my desk and I am not very happy with my current solution, where the speaker amp sits on the floor.

Currently the cheapest amp, where I know from personal experience, that it has enough power, is the ifi iCAN Pro. 

Has anyone a cheaper recommendation? (I tried the ifi iCAN SE and it is just way behind speaker amps in terms of sound quality)

I know many here will disagree, but I find the Cavalli Liquid Carbon to do a fine job with the HE-6 (balanced, on high gain, and driven from a quality source like the Chord Mojo outputting at least 2V, preferably 3V). The LC supposedly outputs 2.8W continuous, but mist of my listening is with the volume between 9-11 o'clock. At $800 or less, it might be worth a listen. To my ears, the LC stands up to a quality speaker amp like the Odyssey Stratos (Extreme Glass Ceiling edition).