Desktop amp recommendations
May 4, 2017 at 2:28 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14
chimney189

chimney189

Headphoneus Supremus
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Good day,
I own the HD 800 and Alpha Prime headphones. I'm currently running them through a Burson 160-DA DAC and a Burson Soloist SL AMP. However I want to try and find a different type of amplifier that is neutral, maybe a tiny bit on the warm side. The Soloist SL seems a bit too bright, but it definitely pairs well with the Alpha Prime headphones.

Does anyone have a recommendation other than Schiit products?
I'm looking to spend under 1K.


Thanks!
 
May 5, 2017 at 7:59 AM Post #3 of 14
I just built the new bottlehead sex 3.0 and also use it with my hd800 - i can fully recommend it if you are willing to DIY a bit. Also great to run some bookshelfs in a nearfield setup; perfect for desk useage
 
May 5, 2017 at 11:08 PM Post #4 of 14
chimney189 said:
Good day,
I own the HD 800 and Alpha Prime headphones. I'm currently running them through a Burson 160-DA DAC and a Burson Soloist SL AMP. However I want to try and find a different type of amplifier that is neutral, maybe a tiny bit on the warm side. The Soloist SL seems a bit too bright, but it definitely pairs well with the Alpha Prime headphones.

Does anyone have a recommendation other than Schiit products?
I'm looking to spend under 1K.
Click to expand...

I reviewed the Soloist before (not the SL though) and those are already warmer than a lot of amps like Meiers (let alone the O2), probably even Violectric. Assuming the SL doesn't have a design flaw of making the sound brighter, what you're probably hearing is some kind of flaw in the headphones' response curve (like a peak in the HD800), and going any warmer than the Bursons would be even warmer and farther from neutral, like the Little Dot Mk VI+. Which still wouldn't have a precise way of trimming the peaks - might as well save a lot of money and run an EQ app to trim where the HD800 has a peak.
 
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May 6, 2017 at 10:46 PM Post #7 of 14
Spiral Out said:
Lake People G109-S. Very neutral and enough power to run just about anything. I love mine...
Click to expand...

I've thought about getting the Lake People G109-S, but I can't for the life of me understand why it has to headphone outs. Why is this?
 
May 6, 2017 at 11:10 PM Post #8 of 14
chimney189 said:
I've thought about getting the Lake People G109-S, but I can't for the life of me understand why it has to headphone outs. Why is this?
Click to expand...

So potentially two people can listen. Like if you and your wife live in a home with a shared wall, like a flat, so you can't use speakers.

I don't see how that's a problem to be contemplated. It's not like having to think, "why the hell does Lamborghini charge less for AWD cars that have more parts and weigh more, and I have to pay more to get RWD and less weight?!"
 
May 7, 2017 at 10:14 AM Post #9 of 14
ProtegeManiac said:
So potentially two people can listen. Like if you and your wife live in a home with a shared wall, like a flat, so you can't use speakers.

I don't see how that's a problem to be contemplated. It's not like having to think, "why the hell does Lamborghini charge less for AWD cars that have more parts and weigh more, and I have to pay more to get RWD and less weight?!"
Click to expand...

I don't see it as a problem, but I just didn't understand why it was implemented. =/
 
May 11, 2017 at 3:39 AM Post #12 of 14
I'm using an audio-gd C2 11th Anniversary amp. It will probably run in class A with your HD800's as it has gobs of power. It is very clean with a slightly warm signature and has jumpers that can be installed to make it sound slightly warmer. I haven't tried this yet.
 
May 11, 2017 at 9:26 PM Post #13 of 14
Auralic Taurus MkII is a fantastic amp. Can be had for under $1k gently used.
 
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