[breizh]

Hi head-fiers,
 
Here is my current concern
 
I own AKG K550, Beyer DT880 32 ohms, Schiit Asgard amp, HRT Streamer II+ dac, and Yulong U100 dac/amp
My favorite combinations are:  HRT + Asgard + DT880 on one side, HRT + Yulong (as an amp only) + K550 on the other one
 
I was wondering if a “budget” tubes headphone amp (max 450-500$) could add something to my listening pleasure through the AKG and Beyer…
Actually I find the sound quality I obtain with Asgard + DT880 really close to perfect but it’s more with the AKG that I’m searching for the best combination
I have read that tube amps are generally not the best pairing choices for low impedance headphones, but do some of you have a great experience through tube amps and such headphones ?
I also precise that I am planning, (one day,  in a middle-term perspective...), to purchase probably something like the Beyer T1 so the new headphone amp should also be well-suited to this kind of high impedance headphones
 
I listen mainly to classic rock (kinks/stones/bowie...) and orchestral classical music (brahms/dvorak/beethoven...)
 
You can see that the situation is a bit complicated but do you identify something that could match all these requirements ?
 
I must add that I live in France (many brands available in the U.S are not always easily available here…)
 
Little dot mk IV se, as an example, would it be a sort of nice change/upgrade/improvement ? What else ??
 
Thanks a lot
 
richard

 

[Rem0o]

If you are looking to improve your actual listening experience, a different amp isn't really what you are looking for as the Asgard is way more than you need for the two headphones you mentioned . Instead of shopping for an amp first and a new pair of headphones after as you suggested, I would go the other way arround. As you are looking for a flagship, you should try to find the one that suits you the most and only then get a new setup to power them up if you need to. I suggest the "Battle of the flagships" thread by David Mahler if you want to get an idea of the sound of each and every highend headphones on the market. 

What kind of sound are you looking for?

1) Warm and mellow?
2) Fast and precise?
3) Punchy?
[...]

 

[breizh]

ok Rem0o, thank you very much for you answer !
 
i'm looking for a relatively wide soundstage, good trebles, and bass with accurate and punchy impact
 
the sound of my DT880 with asgard is really great, and the AKG is good with the yulong (brighter than the asgard)
 
But

, i'm wondering which combination could be a nice upgrade, and i'm clearly leaning toward the T1 headphones
 
It's why hope that somewhere in the mid-fi universe there is one hell of a tube amp (hybrid maybe ??) that could satisfy both K550, DT880 and the possible new T1...
 
Do you think i will find it ??

 

[Rem0o]

Your sound description screams DT990. As for the amp upgrade, I would save that money for your headphone upgrade: the T1 ain't cheap! But I don't get why you want to get a new amp so much right now, it won't make 1/10 of the difference a new headphone will at this stage. What exactly do you expect a new amp to do? Keep in mind that reviews tend to exagerate the difference between amps saying it's night and day when in fact, it's shades of gray. As long as the amplifier is decently designed and has enough juice for your cans, an amp upgrade won't make that much of a difference, if not no difference at all.

At least, that's my experience.

TLDR: Keep your $$$ for the T1.