[MaKa13]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Do you have some links to reading materials about why tube amps won't fit well for some headphones?

 

[dunring]

In the price range the Hifiman he5xx is great, use them as daily drivers. Beyerdynamic dt880 600ohm, and the DT770 250ohm is just fun for the deep bass extension.
The Audio Technica ada1000x is another favorite for female vocals like Sia or Ellie Goulding, so good for gaming also.

 

[rlanger]

I would second the Sundara. It's definitely one of the best values in its price range, and if you can find a good used one, it's unbeatable.

You'll want to make sure that the pads are not too well-worn, since replacing them would be an added expense of around $50 if you purchase the originals.

 

[bagwell359]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Do you have some links to reading materials about why tube amps won't fit well for some headphones?

It has to do with power delivery at a certain impedance. Setting aside ribbon and estats, by far the most greedy headphone is the HFM OG HE-6 which requires at least 6 wpc @ 50 ohms. OTL (output transformerless) tubes produce useable power at the 300-600 ohm range, Absolutely no way it can get more than a whisper from the OG HE-6, and it would sound distorted. This is not neccessarily true of tube amps with transformers, SS amps with great current reserves can handle the 300-600 ohm range and get the Senn 600 loud, but, it still sounds dry and ascetic to me. The extra warmth that you get from the harmonic distortion from an OTL tube seems to be almost precisely what they need to sound like actual music. Also the 600 a known poor imaging can (3 blobs on SS) has a better (albeit not accurate) soundstage on the 3 OTL amps. The ABX crowd of course would hoot. Hearing is subjective and can be educated - a more valuable skill than scoffing over distortion figures.