[PhoneLover94]

Long time guys. I currently am running my AD700's through a Fiio E6 which runs out of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-E sound card I have in my computer. I am looking to get a stationary headphone amplifier to replace the E6. I have narrowed my search down to several different options, all around the $100 price range. I am mainly looking at hybrid amps because I think they will give decent performance and a little taste of both worlds since I have never used a good dedicated headphone amplifier so I don't know which I prefer (mosfet/solid state vs tube). 

First thing though, my sound card is a little old now. Should I update the sound card or get a DAC? Should I get a DAC/Amp that will do both tasks? Or is my sound card good enough and just an amplifier would be the best thing for me? The main reason I want to get rid of my E6 is because it gives a tiny bit of background noise (even at low levels) and the battery doesn't last very long anymore (and it squeals when it is charging). Also, I don't like the little light E6 because my heavy cable I put on the AD700's flip it around easily. The AD700's aren't hard to drive, but upgrading the amplifier will also give me room in the future to upgrade to more power hungry phones (probably would only be looking at 250-300 ohms max, and any of these should handle that no problem). 

So assuming that just a headphone amp would be the best option, here is what I am looking at:

http://www.amazon.com/Bravo-Audio-V2-Multi-Hybrid-Headphone/dp/B00ADR2DTG
http://www.amazon.com/Bravo-Audio-Ocean-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00A2QKSVI
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Dot-6JI-standard-Headphone/dp/B00A2QM5O6
http://www.amazon.com/Vali-Subminiature-Hybrid-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00HAOSDOO


Out of these amplifiers, which one is the best? I like the Bravos and the Little Dot since I can change the tubes to match my headphones but the Schiit is really well built. 

As always, thanks in advance to any suggestions/help. You guys here are great

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Long time guys. I currently am running my AD700's through a Fiio E6 which runs out of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-E sound card I have in my computer. I am looking to get a stationary headphone amplifier to replace the E6. I have narrowed my search down to several different options, all around the $100 price range. I am mainly looking at hybrid amps because I think they will give decent performance and a little taste of both worlds since I have never used a good dedicated headphone amplifier so I don't know which I prefer (mosfet/solid state vs tube). 
First thing though, my sound card is a little old now. Should I update the sound card or get a DAC? Should I get a DAC/Amp that will do both tasks? Or is my sound card good enough and just an amplifier would be the best thing for me? The main reason I want to get rid of my E6 is because it gives a tiny bit of background noise (even at low levels) and the battery doesn't last very long anymore (and it squeals when it is charging). Also, I don't like the little light E6 because my heavy cable I put on the AD700's flip it around easily. The AD700's aren't hard to drive, but upgrading the amplifier will also give me room in the future to upgrade to more power hungry phones (probably would only be looking at 250-300 ohms max, and any of these should handle that no problem). 
So assuming that just a headphone amp would be the best option, here is what I am looking at:
http://www.amazon.com/Bravo-Audio-V2-Multi-Hybrid-Headphone/dp/B00ADR2DTG
http://www.amazon.com/Bravo-Audio-Ocean-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00A2QKSVI
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Dot-6JI-standard-Headphone/dp/B00A2QM5O6
http://www.amazon.com/Vali-Subminiature-Hybrid-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00HAOSDOO
Out of these amplifiers, which one is the best? I like the Bravos and the Little Dot since I can change the tubes to match my headphones but the Schiit is really well built. 
As always, thanks in advance to any suggestions/help. You guys here are great

 
I would say for now just to replace the E6 & Xtreme with a Asus Xonar DG ($17-$28) or DGX ($28-$38) sound card.
In the future you could get ATH-A900X or ATH-AD900X headphones, they are 40-Ohm, so easy for the Xonar to drive.
 
If you really did want to get 250-Ohm or 300-Ohm headphones in the future, then get the Sound blaster Z sound card, it can easily drive 300-Ohm headphones

 

[PhoneLover94]

I decided to spend a little more than I was originally planning and just get a DAC/Amp: the Aune T1 MK2. We'll see how good it is when it gets here It is supposed to be "warm" and less critical than Schiit (another DAC/Amp combo I was considering), which should be great to go with my AD700s because they have a pretty balanced soundstage and I feel they could benefit with adding some color.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I decided to spend a little more than I was originally planning and just get a DAC/Amp: the Aune T1 MK2. We'll see how good it is when it gets here It is supposed to be "warm" and less critical than Schiit (another DAC/Amp combo I was considering), which should be great to go with my AD700s because they have a pretty balanced soundstage and I feel they could benefit with adding some color.

 
The Aune T1 MK2 headphone output impedance is only 10-Ohm, is the Aune T1 MK2 a hybrid?

 

[PhoneLover94]

I don't know about the 10 ohms part but it has an adjustable gain on the bottom that apparently can handle most headphones up to about 600 ohms.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I don't know about the 10 Ohms part but it has an adjustable gain on the bottom that apparently can handle most headphones up to about 600 ohms.

 
The ATH-AD700s are only around 36-Ohms(?)
So the lower the output impedance of your amplifier the better the detail for your AD700s,
Technically, you would want a headphone output impedance of 4-Ohms or less, for use with the AD700s (nothings perfect)..
As the Aune uses a tube, 10-Ohms to me seems fairly decent (same as an Asus Essence STX).
An Asus Xonar DX sound card has a 100-Ohm output impedance