[Skycyclepilot]

Someone on YouTube just questioned me about using a $100 JDS Atom amp to drive my $1,600 Arya headphones. Here is my reply, and I've love to hear what some of you have to say on the topic...

"An amplifier has one job - to create enough gain to drive a given load, without coloring or otherwise distorting the signal. The Atom does exactly that to audible perfection. It has enough power to drive the Arya cleanly, to beyond 120 decibels. Its frequency response is perfectly flat to beyond 40 KHz. Its S/N ratio, intermodulation distortion, harmonic distortion, etc. are all well below audible limits, and its output impedance is below one ohm. In every scientifically measurable way, it is audibly transparent - a wire with gain. Please explain to me, in scientific terms, without getting into the snake oil world that audio is often drenched in, how a $1,000 amp would be better?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm open minded about this, but I am a working person - not a doctor or lawyer who supports an extravagant lifestyle, by screwing working people out of their hard earned money. My Arya headphones represent almost a month's take home pay, and it took me years to trade up to them. I would love to have an expensive amp, but I can't afford to buy one, just for the prestige, unless it truly does sound better. I'm glad we are having this conversation. It's something I've been curious about ever since I got into this hobby..."

 

[Coztomba]

I'm not going to point you to some graph or audio science review. If only it were that easy. End of the day it's your ears that count the most. I'd recommend going to a decent audio shop (probably hard to do in todays climate) and seeing if you can tell yourself. If you can't then money saved and be happy with what you've got. If you can and you really like it, then you have to decide if it's worth it to YOU. I can tell you one thing... A 1k amp isn't going to sound 10 times better than a $100 amp that's for sure. But also sometimes it's all the little things that make the difference.

Once you start spending more money it's more about the cherry on top than the actual cake. Some people can live without the cherry. Some people don't even like cherries!

 

[Skycyclepilot]

I'm not going to point you to some graph or audio science review. If only it were that easy. End of the day it's your ears that count the most. I'd recommend going to a decent audio shop (probably hard to do in todays climate) and seeing if you can tell yourself. If you can't then money saved and be happy with what you've got. If you can and you really like it, then you have to decide if it's worth it to YOU. I can tell you one thing... A 1k amp isn't going to sound 10 times better than a $100 amp that's for sure. But also sometimes it's all the little things that make the difference.

Once you start spending more money it's more about the cherry on top than the actual cake. Some people can live without the cherry. Some people don't even like cherries!

I'm very much a "cherry on top" kind of person, which is why I have headphones that cost almost a month's take home pay. Unfortunately, I do have champagne tastes and a beer budget. And also unfortunately, there are no high end audio places for hundreds of miles around.

 

[Skullar]

From my own little experience, disregarding slight tonal variation, when i upgraded my amp i could clearly hear improvement in soundstage. Dynamics improve aswell. So its not just sheer power. Even on low volumes you will hear differerences. Espacially if you have higher end capable headphones.

If you go for your purchase based on meassurement as a solid proof. Why not look at something like Topping a90.

Its going to be my next purchase. So i dont own it yet and cannot tell you how it sounds to my ears.

- It meassures well
- It has 3.5mm 4.4mm and xlr HP out. So all connectivity you need really
- Its fully balanced so you avoind ground loop issues.
- Its extremely powerful but at the same time has very low output impedadance, meaning it can drive anything from iems to planar cans
- It also costs only around $500 and has transfarable waranty.

It just ticks so many boxes without even auditioning one.
The only thing people complained about were some noise issues with RCA connection. So probably would require to have dac with balanced out, to be safe.

While Atom seems to be highly praised for its price to performance ratio. 1k amp will most likely sound better the better quality cans you plug in. But there are few good options in between if you dont want to spend 1k.

 

[Skycyclepilot]

From my own little experience, disregarding slight tonal variation, when i upgraded my amp i could clearly hear improvement in soundstage. Dynamics improve aswell. So its not just sheer power. Even on low volumes you will hear differerences. Espacially if you have higher end capable headphones.

If you go for your purchase based on meassurement as a solid proof. Why not look at something like Topping a90.

Its going to be my next purchase. So i dont own it yet and cannot tell you how it sounds to my ears.

- It meassures well
- It has 3.5mm 4.4mm and xlr HP out. So all connectivity you need really
- Its fully balanced so you avoind ground loop issues.
- Its extremely powerful but at the same time has very low output impedadance, meaning it can drive anything from iems to planar cans
- It also costs only around $500 and has transfarable waranty.

It just ticks so many boxes without even auditioning one.
The only thing people complained about were some noise issues with RCA connection. So probably would require to have dac with balanced out, to be safe.

While Atom seems to be highly praised for its price to performance ratio. 1k amp will most likely sound better the better quality cans you plug in. But there are few good options in between if you dont want to spend 1k.

Thanks. I've heard many people comment on improved sound staging, instrument separation, etc. I just wonder what parameters a person like Amir at Audio Science Review could test that would prove those differences. In other words, what's the science behind those differences.

 

[Skullar]

Thanks. I've heard many people comment on improved sound staging, instrument separation, etc. I just wonder what parameters a person like Amir at Audio Science Review could test that would prove those differences. In other words, what's the science behind those differences.

Not a very technical person. So while i could roughly guess drom my own reseach ive done. I will let someone more experienced to chime in and explain before misinforming you with my nonsense.

 

[tesarpa]

My very personal and limited experience is from choosing speaker amp, but I believe it's basically same thing as HP amp. As a result I can confirm that amplifiers do sound different. By big margin. Not that more expensive sounds better, forget about that. It's about pairing with transducers, source...

In my case, I found single most important differentiator, which is quality of how volume is attenuated. Better solutions, as resistors or even autotransformers are not cheap.

 

[The Jester]

Thanks. I've heard many people comment on improved sound staging, instrument separation, etc. I just wonder what parameters a person like Amir at Audio Science Review could test that would prove those differences. In other words, what's the science behind those differences.

That’s the million $ question ... if someone can provide measurement as to why a certain component, cable, power supply sounds better and prove it then 99% of audio reviewers would be out of a job ...
Truth is, the human hearing system, is better than any current test equipment ...

 

[TuneInSoul]

Glad to see you here,I think I have good ears ,and to me,amp can change sound,and here is my klippel listening test result.
You can try this test.Everyone has different listening threshold,that's the reason behinds a lot of argues.

edit: I forgot to write : measurements can not represent the whole performence, it depends on your personal taste,and higher price is not equal to better one.

 

[driftingbunnies]

I would recommend looking through the used section and trying something that catches your eye that people recommend with the Arya. I mean there was probably a reason you decided to go with Arya and not Ananda. Was there a graph or measurement that helped you decide? I believe fr graphs can give you a general idea but it won't really tell you how well it images or how large the soundstage is or how natural the timbre is.

Throughout my journey with audio, my experience is that some things you just have to try it to believe it. If you don't like it, no harm no foul, just sell it. If you bought it used, just think of it as an audition fee. While analog has been around for a long time, I think it might be a bit naïve to think that a company can give you the best sound in a $99 package. Granted, not all expensive products are good but generally you get higher quality components the more expensive a product is. This is applicable to any industry out there so I'm not sure why audio is the exception.

 

[Skycyclepilot]

I would recommend looking through the used section and trying something that catches your eye that people recommend with the Arya. I mean there was probably a reason you decided to go with Arya and not Ananda. Was there a graph or measurement that helped you decide? I believe fr graphs can give you a general idea but it won't really tell you how well it images or how large the soundstage is or how natural the timbre is.

Throughout my journey with audio, my experience is that some things you just have to try it to believe it. If you don't like it, no harm no foul, just sell it. If you bought it used, just think of it as an audition fee. While analog has been around for a long time, I think it might be a bit naïve to think that a company can give you the best sound in a $99 package. Granted, not all expensive products are good but generally you get higher quality components the more expensive a product is. This is applicable to any industry out there so I'm not sure why audio is the exception.

I started with the Ananda. It was seriously lacking in bass, and the upper mids were much too forward. That's why I traded them in for the Arya. I'm not financially able to just buy and resell, in order get to try different amps. I have items on sale here, on eBay, and on CraigsList, and can't seem to sell anything, so I'm kind of stuck right now.

 

[driftingbunnies]

I started with the Ananda. It was seriously lacking in bass, and the upper mids were much too forward. That's why I traded them in for the Arya. I'm not financially able to just buy and resell, in order get to try different amps. I have items on sale here, on eBay, and on CraigsList, and can't seem to sell anything, so I'm kind of stuck right now.

Part of the journey is being able to try different things. I don't think you have to rush into it. From personal experience, every part of the chain can make a difference. A good source can bring up the level of every component after it.

 

[A Jedi]

I just wonder what parameters a person like Amir at Audio Science Review could test that would prove those differences. In other words, what's the science behind those differences.

The measurements Amir does (and the ones most manufacturers publish) barely begin to scratch the surface. It's a bit like buying a car based on the number of cup holders it has. I mean, if that's your thing then go for it. But it, in no way defines a car or what it's like to drive. Neither is horsepower or gas mileage or anything else. Unless you drive it, you don't know if you'll like it or what's different from another car no matter how many specs or measurements you look at.

As someone already posted, more expensive gear usually has higher quality parts. Power supply is usually better. Power supply filtering is better. And on and on. It all adds up (unless the manufacturer is incompetent).

Will you prefer the way something "better" sounds? Up to you.

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

The most I paid for a headphone amp is $500 and that was for a Rupert Neve amp. It was good but the $100 Schiit Magni 3+ sounded better to me. Purely subjective observation.

 

[tesarpa]

I started with the Ananda. It was seriously lacking in bass, and the upper mids were much too forward.

It's funny how much personal / subjective is audio perception. I own Anandas and yes, they are not bass heavy. But after I dicovered, let's say non-traditional position on my head, I have quite enough of bass. The magic for me appeared, when I moved headband forward to sit not on the top of the head, but on my forehead. Headphone cups then don't fit completely around ears, but there is some space between neck and the cups, which probably works as bassreflex port on speakers. And I like Ananda's mids and treble. I drive them from Benchmark DAC3, which is quite neutral source, good for long sessions without fatigue. Anyway, I'm not headphone expert, as I listen to speakers more than 90 % of the time.