[Thenewbie76]

Hi all its been a year plus since I kept up on the audiophile world and am not up to date of all the best gear and what not. As the title states I'm looking for a headphone amp to use at home mostly that can power my HD 600, Hifiman edition X V2, Audece LCD2. I was thinking the JDS labs Atom because its only 100 and it packs a lot of power into a small form. It would be perfect for me to bring to my UNI accommodation. Are there any other amps I should take into account?

 

[NA Blur]

Schiit Heresy is awesome in that price range. Great sound, designed well, measures fantastically. I own 2 because I like it so much...one for work and one for home. It has slightly more power that the JDS Atom, but just as low of distortion so you get premium sound at a very low cost. I use mine for all sorts of headphones including the HE-400i and Aeon Flow Open.

 

[Bazaar]

I would add iFi Zen CAN to your list...I have the Zen DAC and am very pleased. I have ordered the Drop Zen combo, so I'm not getting the Zen CAN, but early feedback is very positive.

 

[Mightygrey]

The Schiit Asgard 3 or newly-released Topping L30 are both solid picks.

 

[DenverW]

The JDS atom for just under 100 bucks, and the Carvalli Tube Hybrid (CTH) from drop, currently $175.

 

[Thenewbie76]

Thank you all for the recommendations but I will be going with the JDS labs atom. This is all excellent products but let me explain.
The Zen can while I can buy it here in Singapore, it comes with a bunch of extras which I do not require, a balanced output, a DAC and a bass button. I do not require a DAC as I have the Soundblaster X g6 and it has a not too bad equaliser which I use on my headphones for more bass occasionally. Its also quite pricey compared to the rest of the suggestions.
The Schiit Asgard 3 is too big for my intended use at my UNI and the same applies to the Cavalli tube hybrid. The Schiit Heresy simply does not have a 3.5 line in signal like the jds labs atom which I need to connect from my Soundblaster X g6.
The general verdict between the Heresy and Atom was that they are both good but the Heresy slightly beats the atom in terms of technical measurements. I could get a line out to RCA but I do not feel that the slight improvement in the audio of the heresy would be audible enough to my ears to hear the difference. Thank you for the help.

Edit= I have found a 3.5mm lineout to RCA cable in my room . Not sure when I got it but it works. Will most likely be buying the Schiit heresy, its only a 7$ diff between the Atom for shipping to my place

 

[Bazaar]

Sounds good, just to note that the Zen CAN is amp only, which is why I suggested it, vs. the Zen DAC which is the headphone amp & DAC combo - which you don't need (the DAC). But it sounds like the 'extras' that come w/ both aren't desirable, so that's fair.

BTW, what's UNI? University? A 'dorm room', i.e. small accommodation?

 

[Thenewbie76]

Oh yeh my bad, I was referring to my university accommodation. My study table is quite small

 

[silent-circuit]

The Schiit Heresy has RCA inputs, so you could use it with a 3.5mm to RCA adapter with your sound card.

 

[Thenewbie76]

The Schiit Heresy has RCA inputs, so you could use it with a 3.5mm to RCA adapter with your sound card.

Yes I knew about it. I will not be buying a Schiit heresy because I found a 3.5mm to RCA cable in my room . So now I don't need to buy a extra cable for the schiit heresy. The difference between the JDS labs atom and the schiit heresy for me is 7$ when shipped to Singapore so why not.

 

[NA Blur]

Enjoy your new gear!