[Pharmaboy]

What amp are you currently using? I've heard the EL-8's are relatively easy to drive. And until recently, I owned the TH-X00 mahoganies and know how easy they are to drive (but they do well with a high qualityk not overly bright SS amp). .Point being that your current 'phones may not be tough to drive, but future ones may well be.
 
I read every review I could find for the Audeze Deckard (which still interests me a lot), and it was routinely described as a strong, sllightly warm SS headphone amp. If I'm not mistaken, there's a thread on Head-Fi.org in which various members experienced w/this unit speculate that the HP amp section outclasses the built-in DAC. That hardly disqualifies it for me...I have an end-game DAC & don't need it for that, but the HP amp + preamp capability could really be useful to me.
 
So IMO, the real questions you should consider here are:
 
1 - Is the HP amp section of the Audeze Deckard an improvement over whatever you're currently using?
2 - And could its preamp capability be of any use to you (ie, use the volume-controlled RCA outputs to drive powered speakers or something equivalent)?

 

[Jprod]

Thanks for the reply. I don't have a headphone amp in that area of my house. I have a marantz tt15s1 into a Graham slee accession amp that has dual outputs. One output goes into the parasound p5/a21 amp that powers my ascend acoustics Sierra towers. The other output will go to a dedicated headphone amp for night listening when I cannot listen to my towers
In my home office I have a gen 1 wa7 /wa7tp

 

[Pharmaboy]

OK--situation is clearer. So in that part of the house, you could use a dedicated HP amp, now or later; it could be the Audeze Deckard (used strictly as an amp), or something else. No idea of your budget or space constraints, if any. Clearly you like tube amps, but maybe not in that part of the house. Then there's the usual SE vs balanced concern (a future concern).
 
If you're looking at the Deckard, you're thinking SS, at least for the moment. Staying with that thought, there are some excellent, compact units that sound good and don't cost a ton. I've heard great things about the Violectric line, pretty much top to bottom. My personal best/favorite HP amp is the Lake People G109A (available new for under $500). Because the tech-specs are partly in German, it's a hard to compare apples-to-apples w/the Deckard...but I suspect the units' amp sections are roughly comparable power-wise. 
 
I love the expansive, slightly warm sound of the Lake People unit--it just sounded right from the 1st moment I powered it up. This is not a bright, fatiguing SS amp; it's flexible and self-effacing, allowing the headphone's basic sound signature to be heard. Plus it has a high-quality stepped volume pot with plenty of steps.

 

[harpo1]

The dac in the Deckard is actually really good.  No it doesn't play DSD but other than that it's an extremely capably dac.  Overall the Deckard is a great value.  The overall sound is slightly on the warm side.

 

[Jprod]

Budget is 1500 or less. I believe in the law of diminishing returns as you go up the price ladder. I'm ok with 80-90% of performance for 50% percent less cost for example. I would like to stay away from overly bright sounding as I am sensitive to sibilance. I went with tubes in my office becuase of that perceived warmth and because every other piece of gear in my home is solid state. I have been eyeing the wa6 also for use with the turntable.

 

[Pharmaboy]

RE: "I would like to stay away from overly bright sounding as I am sensitive to sibilance." This has proven rather difficult in selecting a quality headphone amp, just as it was years ago in selecting audiophile speakers, preamps, amps, etc. I've found that many people value brightness in audio equipment. They consistently use certain words & phrases to describe the qualities they value ("accuracy," "faithful to sources," a component that "doesn't editorialize," etc).
 
This seems to boil down to some listeners valuing audio reproduction that emphasizes the midrange on up, whereas I value audio reproduced as I hear it in the unamplified concert hall--wide, nuanced midrange; plenty of lower mids/upper bass; treble filled with natural detail & decay (ie, bows on strings of violin; subtle overtone structures) yet not sibilant or peaky; bass that can be felt in the chest.
 
These divergent views of ideal audio reproduction  extend to headphones, where certain cans with great capabilities in the treble (ie, Sennheiser 800) are highly prized by some, but avoided by others.
 
I've learned the hard way to read "between the lines" in formal or informal reviews of headphone amps & headphones, since I've purchased at least 1 pricey example of each that proved very bright, despite others failing to describe them as such. Of course, this is strictly my problem--no one else's. I have to be careful, because when I purchase headphones or a HP amp whose top end hurts my ears, I have to sell it (possibly at a loss) and move on.

 

[wordfool]

Reviving this thread to further explore the similarities between the Matrix M-Stage HPA-3U and the Deckard -- or more precisely the newer M-Stage HPA-3U+ that has an upgraded DAC (XMOS/Cirrus CS4398). I'm curious if anyone has been able to listen to both side by side. 

 

[Jonfairway]

Would love to help there but alas I am not familiar with the Matrix amplifier....  have however been enjoying the quality of the Deckard now for months and have not felt the need to upgrade which is a first for me !!!
 
I am guessing they are both similar due to the info on the net about both builds ...  and therefore good value...   
 
I do know it blows away my Beyer A1 in terms of dynamics and detail, can drive any headphone I have... and makes a great partner to the LCD 3 and LCD 2...    gets a little hot when its been on all day... but thats Class A  for you....  Crisp, Fast, Detailed, Natural...  an all round winner... not into spending £2000 for a small improvement...  and it makes a damn good pre amp too when connected to a decent power amplifier and some speakers

 

[Terumo]

I am looking into buying this amp, but there doesn't seem to be allot of impressions paired with an hd650. And there aren't really alternatives in my country.
Would this amp make a good pairing? I am currently using a Marantz sr5009 and a micca origen+ with my 650's on pc.
In dire need of an upgrade! Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Jazz1]

I'm wondering how the Deckard is going to compare to the Schiit Jotunheim (with DAC)?

 

[raoultrifan]

Hi, interested question, hope someone having access to boths DACs/combos will be able to reply.
 
Meanwhile, having a look only at the specs and the internal circuitry, Jotunheim is way above the Deckard; it's in a totally different league because we're comparing here a fully balanced dual-DAC with a single-ended one. Jotunheim has also a fully balanced headmap and its also more powerful than the Deckard (though, in single ended usage is about on pair). Also, most of the reviews I've read about the Deckard stated that its internal amp is above the internal DAC, so if I would need to choose between the 2 equipments I would choose Schiit in no time, but I might be too subjective here.
 
Hope someone able to really listen to both of these combos will get here and reply more objectively.
 
Regards, 
Raul.

 

[Jazz1]

  Hi, interested question, hope someone having access to boths DACs/combos will be able to reply.
 
Meanwhile, having a look only at the specs and the internal circuitry, Jotunheim is way above the Deckard; it's in a totally different league because we're comparing here a fully balanced dual-DAC with a single-ended one. Jotunheim has also a fully balanced headmap and its also more powerful than the Deckard (though, in single ended usage is about on pair). Also, most of the reviews I've read about the Deckard stated that its internal amp is above the internal DAC, so if I would need to choose between the 2 equipments I would choose Schiit in no time, but I might be too subjective here.
 
Hope someone able to really listen to both of these combos will get here and reply more objectively.
 
Regards, 
Raul.

Follow-up question. Would the Deckard (I wonder) be anymore magic with my LCD2's over the Jot?

 

[TWerk]

I am so impressed with the low end of the Deckard. Dang, this this just has total tight control over the bass.
 
Very defined, tight, hard hitting and impactful and punchy on the right headphones.
 
I've never heard my Ultrasone Pro 900's sound better. My DT1770's do great too.
 
This is probably why people say the TH900's pair so well with this amp, it's just a great amp in the bass department.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Nice! "It's all about the bass" (after all)
 
How does the Audeze sound in the upper midrange & treble?

 

[Dkoukou]

  Nice! "It's all about the bass" (after all)
 
How does the Audeze sound in the upper midrange & treble?

Non-fatiguing. Smooth yet clear, no sibilance at all. Complements the LCD series sound signature very well.