Comparable alternatives for B22

[Arlekiin]

Hello,
 
So Im thinking about getting myself a solid state amp that would serve me for a long time and B22 seems to be a good candidate but unless I pay to a builder or do it myself I cant have it. 
What kind of commercial alternatives are available?
 
Thanks for info,

 

[Lil' Knight]

I'd say the Luxman P1 and SPL Phonitor are on the same par regarding the build quality and design. They are also in the same price range with the 3-channel B22.

 

[PFKMan23]

Headamp GS-1/GSX are also options.

 

[padam]

CEC HD53N as well

 

[Arlekiin]

Well GS1 seems wallet friendly

Also the SPL Phonitor seems very interesting because it has "Soundstage" controls...very interesting.
GSX only has a point if you plan it integrate into your whole homestereo via its preamp capabilities well then again its a dual mono so probably superior to GS1 in that regard as well.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Are you looking for a balanced amp?

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Well GS1 seems wallet friendly

GSX only has a point if you plan it integrate into your whole homestereo via its preamp capabilities well then again its a dual mono so probably superior to GS1 in that regard as well.

The GS1 can also be used as a preamp.

 

[jc9394]

How about Phoenix?  Is it comparable to to b22?

 

[Arlekiin]

Balanced means i have to reterminate my headphone cables right? or what does it mean when the amp is balanced...

 

[sokolov91]

Quote:

Balanced means i have to reterminate my headphone cables right? or what does it mean when the amp is balanced...

Balanced means one single ended amp per channel, basically you are double amping your headphones.
 
IF the headphone cable is a 4 conductor design, then yes you can simply reterminate to a 4 pin xlr, or 2 x 3pin xlr. If it is a 3 conductor single ended design, you need to add a 4th conductor to have a +/- for each driver. If the headphone is a single entry 3 conductor design, this gets complicated. 

 

[sokolov91]

The phoenix is probably the only amp that comes close in terms of value and design and is said to be directly comparable a 4 channel B22 even using non current output sources as the phoenix is designed to use.
 
Kevin Gilmore designs are very good too, but you are paying more for less/the same compared to a phoenix. 
 
Phonitor is neat, but you are paying mostly for the "soundstaging" controls and not so much the actual amp. The actual value of the internals is far less than the other amps mentioned. 
 

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

The phoenix is probably the only amp that comes close in terms of value and design and is said to be directly comparable a 4 channel B22 even using non current output sources as the phoenix is designed to use.
 
Kevin Gilmore designs are very good too, but you are paying more for less/the same compared to a phoenix. 
 
 

Care to qualify both statements?

 

[Nebby]

I also think the statements need to be qualified....
 
Quote:

Care to qualify both statements?

 

[sokolov91]

Several factors come into play when stating value.
 
OP specifically stated he couldn't DIY, so he has to resort to market solutions.
 
The internals of the Phoenix are of much higher quality than the other offerings mentioned and for your dollar, you are getting more worth.
 
Gilmore designs are known to be great, but head amp is not using the same kind of components you could use for DIY and is charging a fair bit because they have to as an American company.
 
So when it comes down to what you can get for any given price, the phoenix is a pretty good deal from what I have seen. I am looking to buy one myself, but have been checking tons of balanced amps out.
 
Either amp should sound great though :/ but who knows what topology the OP might prefer more sonically?
 
Also if the source is ACSS matched it should, theoretically, give it a performance boost that other camps couldn't get.
 
But this is all just speculative and based on shots of internals and the designs + specs + the impressions of others, I won't claim to have heard any of these amps.
 

 

[Nebby]

What kind of components would you rather have Headamp use?