[Ikrit42]

I found a Furman SP-20 amp in my attic, I think it got scavenged during the failure of my dad's last startup.

Has anyone heard/owned/known anything about this amp? I was thinking of building a cmoy, (not for portability, though), but now...

Also, I read in this thread that I should be careful with what jacks/plugs I use?
Would a 1/8" stereo to dual RCA cable, with two RCA to 1/4" mono adapters be acceptable? Or will I kill the amp?

Edit: fixed the link.

 

[Knuckledragger]

Your link is missing an "h." this is the correct one.

I have never used a Furman headphone amp, but I'm very well familiar with their power conditioning products. Everything the produce is very well constructed and extremely rugged. I used one of their power conditioners on my headphone rig until I got my Monster. The Monster was a vast improvement, but to be fair, the Furman I used (the original PL-8) is a mid-ranged model at best. I don't know if a Furman headphone amp might be up to audio snob standards, but I am positive it would have top notch construction, and sound far better than the headphone out on any consumer receiver or professional mixing board.

Unbalanced RCA-> 1/4" cables will not kill the amp, just about any pro piece of equipment that uses 1/4" TRS can fall back to single ended mode when a TR plug is inserted. At worst, you just won't have any sound. I'd suggest giving it a listen and letting your ears tell you how good it is.

 

[Ikrit42]

Thanks.

I did some research, and it looks like the SP-20 is more of a power amp than a dedicated headphone amp. Still, I'm planning on getting a Chaintech AV-710 soon, and it's nice line out (not the normal one) won't be able to drive my MS-1s.

So far, and I've listened for about five minutes, it sounds like there's more pronounced and fuller bass with the amp. My current source is a Karajan onboard thing on my motherboard, but it's actually very good for an onboard thing, and beats out most soundblaster cards below the audigy level.

Anyway, thanks for the help.