[Bong Hollywodd]

Hi my fellow Head-fi'ers,
 
I'm on a hunt for a good Tube amp that can power my IEM's (Shure 535 and Noble K 10 Uni) and my easy to drive Cans (Audeze EL-8, Fidelio X2 and Oppo PM-3) with enough headroom for heavier cans (HD800 or LCD-3).  I have a HA-2 but checking if a tube amp could make a difference on my CANS and IEMS.

 

[jodgey4]

What's your budget? Tube amps can be tricky to pair with IEM's unless you spend quite a bit (though from what you own.. that doesn't look like it'll be an issue).
What do you not like about the HA-2?
 
Also, how're you liking the EL-8? Open or closed? I want to hear the closed version, personally.
 
The Gustard H10 or Violectric (what it's cloned from) might add that warmth and smoothness you desired, with all the versatility you'd probably ever need.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Hi my fellow Head-fi'ers,
 
I'm on a hunt for a good Tube amp that can power my IEM's (Shure 535 and Noble K 10 Uni) and my easy to drive Cans (Audeze EL-8, Fidelio X2 and Oppo PM-3) with enough headroom for heavier cans (HD800 or LCD-3).  I have a HA-2 but checking if a tube amp could make a difference on my CANS and IEMS.

 

It depends on what kind of "difference" you expect. If it's specifically tube distortion, well, the keyword there is "distortion." It's not just acting as an amplifier amplifying the signal, it's deliberately coloring the signal; technically speaking, given that it's intentional, you can call it a "warmifying colorifier" instead of "amplifier." Note however that there are a lot of tube amps designed to minimize this kind of distortion, even at higher output levels, and the tube distortion being very subtle, you might not notice the difference.
 

Second, a pure tube OTL amp isn't going to be ideal for IEMs since OTL designs typically have a problem with low impedance loads, even if they were already designed with a relatively low output impedance. You'll likely have to get a hybrid, but the gain can be a problem - you might not get past the point of channel imbalance on the potentiometer before you're deaf on those IEMs on tube amps designed for 90dB sensitivity full size headphones instead of 110dB sensitivity IEMs. Safest bet I suppose is to get a portable hybrid tube amp.

 

The Valhalla2 will likely be great with all your headphones but I have no idea about the IEMs; also this is one of those amps where the tube distortion is relatively subtle.