fumblingforward
New Head-Fier
Hi folks, I'm kind of a noob. I've recently gotten back into vinyl after a really long hiatus(15years). I bought an at lp120 and this should surprise no one but the onboard preamp is garbage. I've been using the preamp feature in my klipsch speakers and it sounds ok. Second wrinkle. I'm looking to kind of take some steps into headphone audio. Out of necessity really. My turntable and speakers have been in my work area in the basement. The place I work with wood. It's set away and fairly well isolated but still finding wood dust on my lp's. I'm moving it all upstairs into an armoire type thing I'm building. I have a toddler I want to keep out of it without supervision. I'm going to hog out the onboard preamp and connect it to a separate preamp, connect that to a headphone amp and those to headphones. That being explained... There's so much gear out there. Which preamp? Which headphone amp? While there's more reviews than can be counted, I'd like an some recommendations based on use. I'm looking for kind of neutral amplification. I'm looking to experiment with different headphones based on music genre, etc. I'd like the headphone amp to be able to drive phones of different resistancesin the $200 to 500 range. I'm considering the Schiit audio Asgard 2 for its robust appearance, versatility and the US build. As far as phono preamp goes there's just too many, all reported to sound amazing. For the preamp I'm budgeting $200. I've been creeping the forums for a few weeks, so much information.....So much gear. So many knowledgeable people. In the quest for solid recommendations this is where I thought I'd get them. Which head amp? Which preamp? Why? Thank you to all who take the time to read and offer their expertise. Good day.