[jamato8]

For a portable all-in-one, though not available now, I would go with the Sony D303 cd player. When hooked up to the external DC supply the internal amp can drive my HD650's to acceptable levels with a sound that is clean open and dynamic. With the Portapros it goes way beyound what I could listen to in volume. I was amazed the other day when I listen to it without going through my external dac and amp. The other Sony's have no where near this sound quality out of the internal amp, at least that I have experienced and I have most of them. After that the Xin micro IV would be the best bet for me.

 

[Wmcmanus]

SDS-XLR. No, just kidding. To tell you the truth, some of the portable amps available today do a great job. Something like the SMIV or Hornet, and I'm good to go. If you don't mind recharging batteries, they're fine for home use as well and can drive pretty much any headphones other than the K1000.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 Uncle Eric (haven't called anyone uncle in decades ), I believe you also have the kit version of the GLite so does this mean you'd pick the H5 over the GL?

Yep. The Dynalo is very good, as well, but there's no built-in crossfeed. I've come to like it a lot lately. If they both had it, well, it'd be a lot closer!

 

[Solitary1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 Andrea, I highly value your opinion so I immediately checked out this amp and it looks very tasty. Would you please explain in a little more detail why you think it would be a good choice? I use K501s,701s, listen almost exclusively to audiophile classical discs with an emphasis on choral music and value a clean, light and transparent sound to capture the voices of angels.

My mini-review of the Faith amp

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207160

And some pics I took

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ighlight=mseed

 

[bhd812]

if I wanted the tubey fun then the ec-01, if I wanted something alittle more in the clean area the sr-71

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 If you could have only one stock amp (no tweaking allowed), what is the cheapest, readily available amp you could be happy with? I know some of you are very advanced in this hobby and would be inclined to pick some obscure amp that none of us noobs ever heard of, but if you suddenly became poor and still had the taste for headphone blood what amp would pick?

Hmmm...I believe the Xiang Sheng 708B is in the $300 range. I had the 708A (bought used for around $200), and could easily live just with that driving ATH-W100's. I moved on, but that doesn't diminish how good the combo sounded.

 

[krmathis]

I could happily live with a RSA The Hornet, and a pair of high-end headphones.

 

[Baalzamon]

Not to jump off topic but how big of a jump is say the Headfive from using a PA2V2? Sound quality wise and all. This is what i'll probably end up getting next week etc. Thanks all!

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 Andrea, I highly value your opinion so I immediately checked out this amp and it looks very tasty. Would you please explain in a little more detail why you think it would be a good choice? I use K501s,701s, listen almost exclusively to audiophile classical discs with an emphasis on choral music and value a clean, light and transparent sound to capture the voices of angels.

(sorry for the late answer) Because it looks like it's accurately engineered and built, first; and because the chips themselves are very good sounding and the 'architecture' is clever. Those chips should also deliver just about the type of sound you seek...

 

[bizkid]

The zhaolu discrete amp upgrade, only comes with the DAC so the price is around 200$. Its not completely silent as you turn up, but otherwise it sounds great! Nobrainer for the money.

 

[neergan1216]

My vintage Marantz 1060 for $53.29 shipped. Needs only a cleaning and a power switch.

 

[hYdrociTy]

Headroom total bithead 06 if i need dac too
Drives anything pretty well..

 

[gradofan]

If I were poor, I'd use my soundcard; it's $24 and sounds pretty good for it's price.

 

[Sleestack]

SR-71 for SS or X-Can v3 for tubey. Having had both, I know either would be just fine if I was on a budget.

 

[GoStones]

Despite the problems others had with the LD2+, I am still very happy with it. The sound is terrific, and fits what I listen to very well. It really is a bargain for its price.