gsferrari
Member of the Trade: Veda Audio Contributor
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2003
- Posts
- 7,362
- Likes
- 21
This is tageted at the new members of the forums who have no prior experience with Headphones or Headphone amplifiers.
* What is a headphone amplifier?
Strange? Do you think it is silly that people here use amplifiers for their headphones? I thought so too until I heard the difference...my life is changed for the better and my wallet has changed for the worse
To keep it simple : Your portable has a built in DAC and Amplifier. However the manufacturer doesnt want to spend too much money here...profit margins are the order of the day. Designers are forced to make the electronics efficient and small. The result is that Audio quality is sacrificed for the sake of profit and extra features.
This, as an audiophile, is blasphemy. As an audiophile you dont belong to some "elite" society or order. We are just a bunch of people obsessed with the desire to extract the best possible sound. We want to hear the music the way it was played in the studio or on stage. Extra features mean nothing, efficiency, battery life, appearances mean very little or nothing at all.
Therefore -> We bypass the built in DAC and Amp in portables and use the Optical out to supply pure digital signals to a DAC. From here to a high quality amp and from there to high quality headphones.
* What are headphone amplifiers :-
These are small scaled versions of their bigger brothers - NOT!!
Headphone amps are specially designed to reproduce the input signal faithfully, with minimal coloration but with higher power to drive our headphones. Every amplifier has a sonic signature that is a result of the components used, the electronic design, materials, potentiometers (volume controls) and power supplies (loads of other things but I cant remember them).
If you have one of the headphones that are recommended on this forums then the chances are that you will need a nice amplifier to exploit their capacity.
I will proceed to suggest a few nice amplifiers that I have heard in person. This list is neither conclusive nor exhaustive and I expect other members to chime in with their recommendations as well.
To make it simple I will classify your setup as $$-Fi, $$$-Fi and $$$$-Fi and make recommendations in each class.
[size=medium]$$-Fi[/size]
Sources : Portable CD Player, MP3 Player, Low End Source (Toshiba/SONY dvd players), XITEL (or something similar) external DAC/Soundcard (M Audio Revo etc.)
Headphones : Grado SR-60, Senn HD-515, AKG K-401, Ety ER6, Shure E2c, Stax NOS-Lambda Nova, Koss KSC-35/Portapro etc.
Amplifiers for this range :-
-------------------------
* Headroom Airhead / Total Airhead
* CMOY
* PIMETA based amplifier
* Porta Corda
* MINT amplifier
* Xin Fixup amplifiers
* Gilmore Lite
* Grado RA-1
* Creek OBH-11SE
* Vintage Marantz receivers (they make good headphone amps as well)
* Stax SRM-Xh (For electrostatic headphones)
[size=medium]$$$-Fi[/size]
Sources : SONY NS-500V, Toshiba-3950 Other DVD based SACD players and DVD Audio players, Pioneer SACD/DVD-A sources, Unmodded Philips 963SA and other sub $1000.00 sources
Headphones : Sennheiser HD580/600/650 ; Grado SR-225/325/RS-1/RS-2 ; Beyer DT-880, AKG K-501, AT W-100/W-1000/A-900 , Sony CD3000, Sennheiser HD-555/595, AKG K1000 (special case) etc.
Amplifiers :-
==========
Solid State :-
------------
* Corda HA-1 / HA-2
* Headroom Little / Maxxed Out Home
* Emmeline XP-7
* Gilmore Dynamic / Gilmore V2
* PPA (DIY amplifier)
The Economy build includes the following:
Nichicon Muse Capacitors
Oxygen Free Copper Wire Interconnects
Tiffany style RCA's
AD8610 Opamps
* Perreaux SHX-1 (if you can find one at a decent price these days)
* Stax SRM-212/313 (For use with the electrostatic headphones)
Tube amps :-
-----------
* Singlepower PPX-3 / MPX-3
* MG Head OTL/DT
* Earmax PRO
* Berning microZOTL
* Rudistor RP-5 (hybrid amp)
* MG Head DT/OTL 32
* Musical Fidelity X-Can V2/V3
* ASL WAV-8/20 Monoblocks (for AKG K-1000)
* nOrh SE9 (for AKG K-1000)
[size=medium]$$$$-Fi[/size]
Sources : most $1000.00 and up sources
Headphones : Sennheiser HD-650, Sony MDR-10, AKG K1000, AT Leatherheads, AT W2002, Grado RS-1/HP1/HP2/PS1 etc.
Amplifiers :
If you have sources and headphones in this range you probably already know what you want
But here goes anyway...
SS :-
---
* Corda Prehead
* Grace Design 901
* Headroom Max/Blockhead with Stepped Attenuators
* Rudistor RP-5
* Emmeline HR-2
* Sugden Headmaster
* Maxxed Out PPA with all options
The Deluxe build (maxed-out) includes the following:
Black Gate Capacitors
Cardas RCA's
Silver Interconnect Wire
Burr Brown 627 Opamps
* Berning MicroZOTL
* KGSS (For use with electrostatic headphones)
Tube :-
------
* Singlepower SDS / MPX-3 with all the options maxxed out
* Audiovalve RKV MK-II
* Emmeline Stealth
* ASL AQ (AQ1005 DTi) Series (for the AKG K1000)
* ASL Twin Head MK-2
* Stax SR-007T (For use with electrostatic headphones)
* Shanling T100 and/or T200 (Headphone outputs)
[size=medium]NOWTHATSJUSTINSANE!!!-Fi[/size]
Weebl/Blue Hawaii (By Kevin Gilmore?
)
Stax T-2
Manley 300b Classic Pre-Amp
Cary 300B
Angstrom Research
Orpheus
Egmont Signature (From Trieste Italy)
I hope my members will jump in with their recommendations and please tell me under which class to put them. Or just recommend them with the pricing info and i'll add it to the list.
Cheers!
* What is a headphone amplifier?
Strange? Do you think it is silly that people here use amplifiers for their headphones? I thought so too until I heard the difference...my life is changed for the better and my wallet has changed for the worse
To keep it simple : Your portable has a built in DAC and Amplifier. However the manufacturer doesnt want to spend too much money here...profit margins are the order of the day. Designers are forced to make the electronics efficient and small. The result is that Audio quality is sacrificed for the sake of profit and extra features.
This, as an audiophile, is blasphemy. As an audiophile you dont belong to some "elite" society or order. We are just a bunch of people obsessed with the desire to extract the best possible sound. We want to hear the music the way it was played in the studio or on stage. Extra features mean nothing, efficiency, battery life, appearances mean very little or nothing at all.
Therefore -> We bypass the built in DAC and Amp in portables and use the Optical out to supply pure digital signals to a DAC. From here to a high quality amp and from there to high quality headphones.
* What are headphone amplifiers :-
These are small scaled versions of their bigger brothers - NOT!!
Headphone amps are specially designed to reproduce the input signal faithfully, with minimal coloration but with higher power to drive our headphones. Every amplifier has a sonic signature that is a result of the components used, the electronic design, materials, potentiometers (volume controls) and power supplies (loads of other things but I cant remember them).
If you have one of the headphones that are recommended on this forums then the chances are that you will need a nice amplifier to exploit their capacity.
I will proceed to suggest a few nice amplifiers that I have heard in person. This list is neither conclusive nor exhaustive and I expect other members to chime in with their recommendations as well.
To make it simple I will classify your setup as $$-Fi, $$$-Fi and $$$$-Fi and make recommendations in each class.
[size=medium]$$-Fi[/size]
Sources : Portable CD Player, MP3 Player, Low End Source (Toshiba/SONY dvd players), XITEL (or something similar) external DAC/Soundcard (M Audio Revo etc.)
Headphones : Grado SR-60, Senn HD-515, AKG K-401, Ety ER6, Shure E2c, Stax NOS-Lambda Nova, Koss KSC-35/Portapro etc.
Amplifiers for this range :-
-------------------------
* Headroom Airhead / Total Airhead
* CMOY
* PIMETA based amplifier
* Porta Corda
* MINT amplifier
* Xin Fixup amplifiers
* Gilmore Lite
* Grado RA-1
* Creek OBH-11SE
* Vintage Marantz receivers (they make good headphone amps as well)
* Stax SRM-Xh (For electrostatic headphones)
[size=medium]$$$-Fi[/size]
Sources : SONY NS-500V, Toshiba-3950 Other DVD based SACD players and DVD Audio players, Pioneer SACD/DVD-A sources, Unmodded Philips 963SA and other sub $1000.00 sources
Headphones : Sennheiser HD580/600/650 ; Grado SR-225/325/RS-1/RS-2 ; Beyer DT-880, AKG K-501, AT W-100/W-1000/A-900 , Sony CD3000, Sennheiser HD-555/595, AKG K1000 (special case) etc.
Amplifiers :-
==========
Solid State :-
------------
* Corda HA-1 / HA-2
* Headroom Little / Maxxed Out Home
* Emmeline XP-7
* Gilmore Dynamic / Gilmore V2
* PPA (DIY amplifier)
The Economy build includes the following:
Nichicon Muse Capacitors
Oxygen Free Copper Wire Interconnects
Tiffany style RCA's
AD8610 Opamps
* Perreaux SHX-1 (if you can find one at a decent price these days)
* Stax SRM-212/313 (For use with the electrostatic headphones)
Tube amps :-
-----------
* Singlepower PPX-3 / MPX-3
* MG Head OTL/DT
* Earmax PRO
* Berning microZOTL
* Rudistor RP-5 (hybrid amp)
* MG Head DT/OTL 32
* Musical Fidelity X-Can V2/V3
* ASL WAV-8/20 Monoblocks (for AKG K-1000)
* nOrh SE9 (for AKG K-1000)
[size=medium]$$$$-Fi[/size]
Sources : most $1000.00 and up sources
Headphones : Sennheiser HD-650, Sony MDR-10, AKG K1000, AT Leatherheads, AT W2002, Grado RS-1/HP1/HP2/PS1 etc.
Amplifiers :
If you have sources and headphones in this range you probably already know what you want
SS :-
---
* Corda Prehead
* Grace Design 901
* Headroom Max/Blockhead with Stepped Attenuators
* Rudistor RP-5
* Emmeline HR-2
* Sugden Headmaster
* Maxxed Out PPA with all options
The Deluxe build (maxed-out) includes the following:
Black Gate Capacitors
Cardas RCA's
Silver Interconnect Wire
Burr Brown 627 Opamps
* Berning MicroZOTL
* KGSS (For use with electrostatic headphones)
Tube :-
------
* Singlepower SDS / MPX-3 with all the options maxxed out
* Audiovalve RKV MK-II
* Emmeline Stealth
* ASL AQ (AQ1005 DTi) Series (for the AKG K1000)
* ASL Twin Head MK-2
* Stax SR-007T (For use with electrostatic headphones)
* Shanling T100 and/or T200 (Headphone outputs)
[size=medium]NOWTHATSJUSTINSANE!!!-Fi[/size]
Weebl/Blue Hawaii (By Kevin Gilmore?
Stax T-2
Manley 300b Classic Pre-Amp
Cary 300B
Angstrom Research
Orpheus
Egmont Signature (From Trieste Italy)
I hope my members will jump in with their recommendations and please tell me under which class to put them. Or just recommend them with the pricing info and i'll add it to the list.
Cheers!