[Caesar2010]

I am looking for recommendations for the best possible amp I can get that will take up the least amount of space (height doesn't matter).  I really liked the Woo 5's at Can Jam, but the things are just too damn big.  I already have a HUGE 2 channel rig, and a "big" headphone amp will not work.   I need to be able to move the amp into/ out of a large drawer or closet for late listening sessions.
 
My sonic preference is for the amp to sound like "live music".  In addition to the Woo 5, an amp I really like is Naim Headline.  Another one is the Manley Shrimp.  An amp I really hate is the Lehman Black cube.  I own and LOVE the Beyer T1.  I find the HD800 completely BOOORRRIIINGG!!!
 
Source is Ayre c5-xe MP.
 
Thanks!

 

[jenneth]

EAR HP4 maybe? It's around 10" x 12" x 4.5" (W/D/H). It's a very nice sounding amp, might be good for your T1.

 

[Uncle Erik]

If you're going to run an amp in class A, then you need a fair size chassis to dissipate heat. Otherwise, the amp will cook itself. You'll need air circulation, too. Maybe one of the lower-powered solid state amps would work.


The HD-800 is boring? Then again, I didn't think much of the T1. The bass is exaggerated for people who expect bass to be exaggerated.

 

[M3NTAL]

The ALO Amphora is pretty small. Maybe the Millet MiniMax

 

[Caesar2010]

Thanks for the replies so far.  I think a foot print of 13" x 15" would be max for me, with a weight of 25 pounds or so.

 

[Caesar2010]

Quote:

The HD-800 is boring? Then again, I didn't think much of the T1. The bass is exaggerated for people who expect bass to be exaggerated.

 
How do you like your ZD?  What else did you hear before picking it up?
 
I go hear live music a lot.  Hd-800 doesn't sound like live music to my ears.  It presents details for the sake of details.  Here's a quote from the Playback review, which is a bit more politically correct than my blunt statement, but says the same thing:
 
"I’m more in the camp that likes, but doesn’t love, the HD 800. I believe that has less to do with outright flaws in the HD 800, and much to do with what I want a headphone to do. I want a headphone to provide an alternative listening experience. I want to hear things on recordings that I don’t hear as well via speakers. This partially comes from my sense that headphones just can’t do the virtual reality thing that traditional speaker-based audio can. At the same time, I need a certain vividness in my headphone listening that makes up for the things headphones inevitably take away.
 
From some perspectives this vividness is called coloration. Maybe. But the declaration of coloration refers to reasonable though arbitrary notions of “correct”. All I know is this: live music is vivid. The HD 800s, at least with the amps I used initially (primarily the Luxman P200 and PS Audio GCHA), are not vivid, which is what keeps me on the “like” side of the line. I have since tried the prototype Woo Audio WA 22 amp (which is tube rather than solid state and has variable output impedance). The WA 22 takes the sense of vividness up a notch, mostly by making the midrange contrast level higher, while introducing minimal if any deleterioius side effects. The mostly subtractive errors noted above are still there, but they are diminished in the overall presentation"

 

[YoNni22]

Headroom BUDA is pretty small and can go balanced with the HD800.

 

[loopfreak]

Lake people g100

 

[santacore]

Check out the Violectric V200  http://www.violectric.de/Pages/en/products/hpav200.php
 
I just picked one up and it's sounding great with my HD800's and LCD-2's. Small footprint, runs very cool, and has tons of power. I think it would do well with your T1's. In fact, do a search on this board, I think one of the members has that combo.

 

[kboe]

RSA XP-7 or HR-2 would fit the bill.  I would also second the Amphora, It sounded great with my 650s when I had them.