[tutetibiimperes]

What are the best options out there for those of us who have both headphone and speaker setups in the same room?

There's the Schiit Ragnarok, but are there other similar options out there, possibly with better performance?

Ideally something similar to the Ragnarok that can output major power into headphones and still drive full-size speaker, but with better measurements/performance?

 

[tesarpa]

Budget? What power do your speakers / headphones need? From my experience, Benchmark HPA4 + Benchmark AHB2 is killer combination for both speakers and headphones. Best measuring devices and also very nice sounding.

 

[Alcophone]

I don't know about best options, necessarily, but I wanted to leave two comments.

One is that the Ragnarok 2 has this quirk where the preouts are only on when the headphone outs are on. So if like me you're running a subwoofer off the preouts, you need to turn off the speakers on the Ragnarok 2, and turn off the subwoofer itself, while the headphone out is basically on all the time because I either want to use my subwoofer with the speakers or listen on headphones.
I rarely use the Ragnarok 2 as a headphone amp because it is on the other side of the room from my desk and my neighbor is usually tolerant. I do have a long 4-pin XLR extension cable, though. When I initially tried it as a headphone amp, it sounded as good as my Gustard H20 with SparkoS opamps or less good, depending on the headphones. Dynamic headphones seemed to do work less well than planars, though my planars are low impedance cans, so closer to speakers, which might be part of it. Definitely listen more to those who regularly use it as a headphone amp, though.

In my bedroom setup I'm using a Burson Fun with SparkoS opamps as either a headphone amp (headphones plugged in, so pre outs muted) or a preamp (no headphones plugged in) into an RCA splitter going to both a Schiit Vidar power amp and a subwoofer.

So I'd consider using a separate power amp for the speakers and a headphone amplifier as a preamp, or connecting a DAC to both a headphone amp and an integrated amp. In some cases that can be a problem, the Yggdrasil doesn't like it when a connected device shorts its input, which some amps do when they are off, causing distortion on all of the Yggdrasil's outputs.

Good luck!

 

[tutetibiimperes]

Budget? What power do your speakers / headphones need? From my experience, Benchmark HPA4 + Benchmark AHB2 is killer combination for both speakers and headphones. Best measuring devices and also very nice sounding.

Fairly open budget, but under $3,000 all-in would be preferred. I like the idea of the HPA4+ AHB2, but that's double my upper-limit. I've considered just getting an AHB2 and running headphones off of the speaker taps and then disconnecting and attaching my speakers when I want to use them, but it seems like it may become a PITA.

My speakers are Infinity Intermezzo 4.1t towers that each have built-in powered subwoofers, though I've been contemplating the idea of upgrading to Revel F228Be or Klipsch Cornwall IVs.

Headphones are a range of things from easy-to-drive cans like Grado PS1000e to difficult-to-drive like Hifiman HE6SE with others in the middle like an Audeze LCD-3 and ZMF Auteur.

I don't know about best options, necessarily, but I wanted to leave two comments.

One is that the Ragnarok 2 has this quirk where the preouts are only on when the headphone outs are on. So if like me you're running a subwoofer off the preouts, you need to turn off the speakers on the Ragnarok 2, and turn off the subwoofer itself, while the headphone out is basically on all the time because I either want to use my subwoofer with the speakers or listen on headphones.
I rarely use the Ragnarok 2 as a headphone amp because it is on the other side of the room from my desk and my neighbor is usually tolerant. I do have a long 4-pin XLR extension cable, though. When I initially tried it as a headphone amp, it sounded as good as my Gustard H20 with SparkoS opamps or less good, depending on the headphones. Dynamic headphones seemed to do work less well than planars, though my planars are low impedance cans, so closer to speakers, which might be part of it. Definitely listen more to those who regularly use it as a headphone amp, though.

In my bedroom setup I'm using a Burson Fun with SparkoS opamps as either a headphone amp (headphones plugged in, so pre outs muted) or a preamp (no headphones plugged in) into an RCA splitter going to both a Schiit Vidar power amp and a subwoofer.

So I'd consider using a separate power amp for the speakers and a headphone amplifier as a preamp, or connecting a DAC to both a headphone amp and an integrated amp. In some cases that can be a problem, the Yggdrasil doesn't like it when a connected device shorts its input, which some amps do when they are off, causing distortion on all of the Yggdrasil's outputs.

Good luck!

Thank you for the input. I've heard mixed-opinions on the Ragnarok which is why I've been hesitant. The remote and affordability are enticing though. Right now my speakers have built-in subwoofers, but if I go to separates in the future that sounds like it would be annoying to have to turn them off every time I wanted to use headphones.

I've considered the head-phone amp as pre-amp route. I really love the idea of the Flux Labs FA-10, but it has no XLR outs which has been holding me back. If I could find a nice headphone amp with a digital or R2R volume control that could put out 5 watts or more into 50 ohms and has XLR outputs that would be worth looking at. I could deal with either pass-through (in which case I could just control volume via my RME ADI-2 DAC) or preamp capability in which case I'd control volume via the amp itself and set the RME ADI-2 to fixed output.

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

McIntosh MHA 100/150 gently used will get you where you want to be...

 

[driftingbunnies]

I've owned the AHB2 before and used a speaker switch selector to go between headphones and speakers. You can grab a used AHB2 and a goldpoint for ~$3k. Another amp that works well with speakers and headphones would be the Bakoon 13R but that's currently at the end of its production and quite pricey even if you find one. Other than those two, there aren't a lot that can power both super sensitive headphones + hard to drive headphones + speakers without some noise.

I currently use the Luxman L550axii and will use the speaker taps when I have a hard to drive headphone and the headphone out for easier to drive headphones. The headphone out isn't the best out there but good enough when I need it.