[EddieE]

Was at a friends house last night and tried my HD650 on the headphone out of his Dennon integrated amp (don't know model number) and was floored by the incredible sound quality it produced. I didn't have my desktop amp there to compare (LD MK V) but from first impressions it did a better job. I don't think I've heard my HD650 sound so good.

Since I've been planning to get an integrated amp and some speakers soon anyway, I thought I'd ask people here to list what they know to be some of the best bang-for-buck integrated amps for headphone out (taking into account quality for speaker powering as well of course). If I find something good I could sell the headphone amp and save some space too.

I have done a search for this but most of the stuff I found on integrated amps is quite old so thought a fresh thread could be a helpful resource for others interested in an all-in-one amp solution. Sorry if I missed something recent that deals with the same issue.

 

[Mayzei]

Hmm, I've been wondering lately, what is the difference? Is a Headphone Amp better at driving headphones specifically, as that is the job it was built for? I am soon buying a Hi-fi Amplifier (Cambridge Audio Azur 340A SE) and wonder how my 'phones will sound out of it, out of curiosity.

xx

 

[Chuke]

I'm diggin my Peachtree Decco. I think it's the first time in about 10 years that I've kept an integrated amp longer than a year.

Nice hp section with 6922 tube preamp, Scott Nixon DAC, usb, coax, toslink and analong inputs...pre-outs too if the stock 50 wpc isn't enough for you. Or you can hook up your powered sub to the pre-outs. I believe the hp section pushes up to 150mw into 300 ohms. Not as good as many separate hp amps, but good for a "swiss army knife" unit.

You can probably grab one used for around $475-$500 on Audiogon.

 

[EddieE]

Mayzei,
I was looking at the Cambridge Audio Azur 340A SE as well, it seems well spoken of as a budget speaker amp but have no idea about hp out either. Would be interested to hear if anyone has one.

Not really sure what the difference is, from bits and pieces I've read it seems different companies making integrated models deal with hp out in different ways. Anyone know anymore about this?

 

[KBerube80]

Outlaw RR2150 has a good headphone out and is an amazing bang-for-buck receiver.

 

[EddieE]

^ Outlaw Audio

Looks pretty fancy.

When it says "USB input for playback of streaming audio output from compatible computers" is that saying it has an onboard DAC?

 

[KBerube80]

Yes. I'm not sure how good it is though because I have never used that option.

However, it drives my B&W 683's beautifully. You'll be hard pressed to find this level of SQ from an integrated at this price...not to mention the features.

 

[Chuke]

The Outlaw does not have an onboard DAC. It only allows through-put via USB.

 

[jax]

Portal Audio Panache has a great headphone out section. It is pretty much straight off the amp with minimal buffering. They come up occasionally on the used market over on Audiogon. Highly recommended. I currently have one in my office system.

 

[tim3320070]

The best I have heard was a used Adcom 565 (preamp) head out. And I had the Cambridge 640A and it's very good as well.

 

[glitch39]

it all depends on the output stage used by the integrated or receiver. My experience is that the older units are better b/c they used discrete back then. I've used older Rotels and B&K. the head-out sounded nice.