[MrChiSox]

My first pair of headphones was a 1970's model "Airline" which was made of very cheap black plastic and sold by Montgomery Wards, not exactly a high end or truly special product but they suit my needs when I was a kid.  In the 1990's I bought a pair of Sennheiser HD 535 which was a significant improvement but only used them on occasion.  I still own them but have come to desire better sounding headphones and have started to get into this hobby on a different level.  Over the past three years I have purchased the Sennheiser HD 598, KEF M500, Audio-Technica ESW9, Sony MDR-1A, Sony MDR-XB950BT and finally, the Sennheiser HD 600 which just arrived yesterday and has just overwhelmed me with joy thus far.
 
I am powering my headphones with an inexpensive little Fiio E10K desktop DAC and am beginning to get the urge to try something different, perhaps something in the tube variety but this area is going to be brand new to me.  I'm looking for help in suggesting a good quality tube amplifier in the $200-300 range.  Would such an amplifier be connected in tandem some way to my DAC or would I need to purchase something else entirely?  I'm just curious to find out how much more I can get out of these newest headphones because I have wanted to own them for SO long and they just sound so good to my ears.  Thanks for any replies!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Darkvoice 336SE tube amp,
sold by Massdrop, eBay, Amazon.

 

[serman005]

The Meier Corda Rock is very good. On the Innerfidelity Wall of Fame. $220.00. Worth reading about.

 

[MrChiSox]

I will check that one out, thanks for the reply.  I know that many of these come with very poor tubes as stock offerings so what would a good set of tubes expect to run?

 

[MrChiSox]

Thank you for the reply to my query.  I looked at this one briefly this morning but am thinking of something with tubes, perhaps.  Wouldn't I need some sort of a DAC or processor to pair up with an amplifier?

 

[MtnMan307]

Schiit Vali 2 is a good tube hybrid option at $170.  I started out with that and no DAC before getting a Schiit Modi Multibit to stack with the amp.  The Modi Multibit is $250, they also make Modi 2 and Modi 2 Uber at 100 and 150 bucks. 

 

[MrChiSox]

Thank you for the reply.  I was looking at the Schiit lineup of products yesterday online and in various youtube reviews.  It would seem to me that this line is pretty popular with people.

 

[MtnMan307]

IMO Schiit delivers an excellent value for your audio dollar. American made with a lot of thinking and innovation.

 

[MrChiSox]

I appreciate both value and American made, as well as what reviewers speak of.  I am actually eyeballing that gorgeous Vallhalla 2 but after purchasing these newest headphones it'd a bit down the road.