[geoxile]

I'm looking for an amp that can also act as an effective volume controller from near-silence to as much as my ears can take.

 

[zazex]

Depending on the sensitivity and impedance of your headphones,
the JDS C5 is a good bet (tho' it comes a wee bit more than 150)
But well worth it, IMHO

 

[Music Alchemist]

I don't recall the Schiit Magni 2 Uber having any channel imbalance at low volume, plus it has a gain switch.

 

[geoxile]

  I don't recall the Schiit Magni 2 Uber having any channel imbalance at low volume, plus it has a gain switch.

They say on their site their small amps do, including the magni.
 

  Depending on the sensitivity and impedance of your headphones,
the JDS C5 is a good bet (tho' it comes a wee bit more than 150)
But well worth it, IMHO

For the time being I'll be using them with AD700s and JVC HA-FX700s

 

[Music Alchemist]

  They say on their site their small amps do, including the magni.

 
Although their site does say that, I do not remember ever experiencing channel imbalance at low volumes I would listen to with either the Magni 2 Uber or Fulla. If it does have channel imbalance at the lowest possible non-silent volume, I don't see why this would be an issue, since you would never listen at such a low volume either way.

 

[geoxile]

   
Although their site does say that, I do not remember ever experiencing channel imbalance at low volumes I would listen to with either the Magni 2 Uber or Fulla. If it does have channel imbalance at the lowest possible non-silent volume, I don't see why this would be an issue, since you would never listen at such a low volume either way.

That's certainly true but my understanding is the AD700 and HA-FX700 are both fairly sensitive and I'd have to turn it down quite a bit since I'm setting my Windows and sound card volume to 100%, because I'm trying to test a noise/static problem with my sound card.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  That's certainly true but my understanding is the AD700 and HA-FX700 are both fairly sensitive and I'd have to turn it down quite a bit since I'm setting my Windows and sound card volume to 100%, because I'm trying to test a noise/static problem with my sound card.

 
Flip the gain switch to low gain if it's a problem...but I've used all sorts of sensitive headphones with the M2U with no issues.

 

[zazex]

 
They say on their site their small amps do, including the magni.
 

For the time being I'll be using them with AD700s and JVC HA-FX700s

 
Sorry! Updated info >
 
Went to check the JDS site just now to see if the price of the amp
had gone up, whatever...and I see it's discontinued in favor of
the new C5D (which includes a DAC but for a bit more money).
 
Looked around a bit and the C5 is pretty much sold out everywhere;
there are a few third party sellers on Amazon at about $200.
 
The digital volume control was designed in part to eliminate, as
much as reasonably possible, channel imbalance - especially
at low volumes.  And in my experience it works very well.
 
Had I known it was being discontinued, I would have bought
a second as a backup.  Oh well.
 
Apologies.

 

[geoxile]

   
Flip the gain switch to low gain if it's a problem...but I've used all sorts of sensitive headphones with the M2U with no issues.

I see, have you tried the C5 as well? Any idea how they might compare? The C5 is quite a bit smaller and it's battery powered, which isn't bad but common sense suggests to me a larger amp with a proper power supply might be better.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I see, have you tried the C5 as well? Any idea how they might compare? The C5 is quite a bit smaller and it's battery powered, which isn't bad but common sense suggests to me a larger amp with a proper power supply might be better.

 
I haven't. If you don't need something portable, it's generally better to go with a desktop amp, especially if you plan on upgrading your headphones.

 

[kn19h7]

Channel imbalance near max attenuation is an inherent "feature" of conventional potentiometers, so maybe that's what you want to avoid.
 
With that in mind, portable stuffs like JDS C5(D) and Leckerton products are indeed valid options. As those employed digitally controlled chip solution for volume control.
 
Desktop amps for your requirement would probably be out of your range though. The cheapest ones I could think of are Arcam rHead, Audio-gd(s)..