[vkalia]

I have a pair of HD650s and have ordered a Little Dot Mk IV SE amp.  I am going to get a pair of LCD2.2s and a HE-500s, and am looking for an alternate amplifier, to complement the Little Dot.    I'd like it to be solid stage, and my budget is around $500-700.
 

I'd like your recommendations on amps with sufficient oomph to drive all 3 of these headphones to a level sufficient to reproduce an orchestra in its full glory (ie, loud peaks).   Looking for a very high S/N ratio (ie, low noise floor) and sufficient headroom to handle the peak crescendos of something like Rite of Spring or Dvorak's 9th.
 
I am in the camp that believes that there is no audible difference between the performance of various high-quality solid amps, provided they have the power to drive the speakers/headphones.   I know not everyone agrees with this and that is fine - I am not looking to debate that;  each to their own. 
 
The Asgaard 2 looks like it ticks all the buttons - however, all else being equal, I'd *prefer* it not be Schiit simply b/c that is an idiotic name which was amusing the first time I encountered it, but which got old really fast.   But if the Schiit offer better, cleaner watts for the same price, I'm open to it.
 
Thanks!

 

[techboy]

In order of better to worse:
Lehmann BCL/Burson Solonist $1000
Burson Solonist SL $600
Lehmann Rhinelander $500
Matrix M Stage or Lovely Cube Professional $250+

 

[vkalia]

Thanks - there's a couple of new names in there, gonna go check them out now  

 

[HaVoC-28]

Lake People 109-S / Violectric HPA V90 /V100

 

[Happy Camper]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/629352/he-500-lcd2-d5000-dt770-sr80-on-a-speaker-amp-emotiva-mini-x-a-100-project

You'll be pleasantly impressed at how good a $200 speaker amp sounds with headphones.

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

In order of better to worse:
Lehmann BCL/Burson Solonist $1000
Burson Solonist SL $600
Lehmann Rhinelander $500
Matrix M Stage or Lovely Cube Professional $250

Have you even heard or owned one of these amps???

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

I have a pair of HD650s and have ordered a Little Dot Mk IV SE amp.  I am going to get a pair of LCD2.2s and a HE-500s, and am looking for an alternate amplifier, to complement the Little Dot.    I'd like it to be solid stage, and my budget is around $500-700.
 

I'd like your recommendations on amps with sufficient oomph to drive all 3 of these headphones to a level sufficient to reproduce an orchestra in its full glory (ie, loud peaks).   Looking for a very high S/N ratio (ie, low noise floor) and sufficient headroom to handle the peak crescendos of something like Rite of Spring or Dvorak's 9th.
 
I am in the camp that believes that there is no audible difference between the performance of various high-quality solid amps, provided they have the power to drive the speakers/headphones.   I know not everyone agrees with this and that is fine - I am not looking to debate that;  each to their own. 
 
The Asgaard 2 looks like it ticks all the buttons - however, all else being equal, I'd *prefer* it not be Schiit simply b/c that is an idiotic name which was amusing the first time I encountered it, but which got old really fast.   But if the Schiit offer better, cleaner watts for the same price, I'm open to it.
 
Thanks!

Check out Audio GD's web site, right in your budget and they sound great. vhttp://www.audio-gd.com/
 
Say what you will about Schiit, they have excellent customer service and make fantastic gear for the money.

 

[wyddh]

lehmann should be out of comission asap. they are way out of date from my perspective. Violectrics are good for hd650s, as well as spl2910

 

[Archerious]

I recommend M^3, but get it with external PSU, or balanced if you could. If not, single ended is good. I love the M^3 with HD600/HD650.

 

[vkalia]

To clarify, I am not looking for an amp for the HD650s - I am looking for something primarily to work with the LCD2.2 and HE-500s (both of which I'll be getting soon), and which will provide a slightly different sound palette than the Little Dot Mk IV SE.   Does that change any of the above requirements?
 
I had another question - from what I remember of full-size audio, push-pull designs measured well, but never sounded as good as single-ended, Class A designs.   Is that a generally accepted fact with headphone audio as well?   Are there any Class A, non-PP solid stage designs?
 
Thanks!
 
ETA:  Does the Audio-GD SA-31SE really put out 10W @ 40ohms / 8W @ 50ohms and 1.4W @ 300ohms??   Good lord.  That's more watts than my regular amp.

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

 
ETA:  Does the Audio-GD SA-31SE really put out 10W @ 40ohms / 8W @ 50ohms and 1.4W @ 300ohms??   Good lord.  That's more watts than my regular amp.

Yep, and it sounds fantastic.

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

 
 
ETA:  Does the Audio-GD SA-31SE really put out 10W @ 40ohms / 8W @ 50ohms and 1.4W @ 300ohms??   Good lord.  That's more watts than my regular amp.

 
Unless you're going with the HE-6 i don't feel the need of such power in my opinion. 

 

[breizh]

I'm waiting for this: http://www.teac.com/product/ha-501/
hope it's great, i'm actually upgrading from Asgard (1)
 
the dac of the 501 serie seems quite exceptional (reviews available) but I haven't found complete review for the amp yet

 

[Jesterphile]

Meier Audio Corda Classic
Burson Soloist
 
I've heard the Violectrics are good (but warm)

 

[Neverthinking]

You may think about Graham Slee Solo Ultra-Linear. It fit HD650. But may not for Lcd2