[Christopher Blue]

I recently bought a pair of Sennheiser HD-580's. They have not arrived yet but I am interested in an amp. I wish to spend around $50-150. Here are two I have found so far:

Headsave MiniMe? It along with the 12v DC powersupply would cost $145.00.

HeadRoom AirHead Does it need a power supply or does it come with one?

 

[darkfusion]

Quote:

Originally posted by Christopher Blue HeadRoom AirHead Does it need a power supply or does it come with one?

I don't think it comes with a PSU but you don't *need* one for the airhead/total airhead as they run on batteries, but you can buy a PSU for them here: http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?...tID=4022500000 if you wish to use it at home and don't want to waste money on new batteries.

 

[Christopher Blue]

Thank you for the link DarkFusion. Well that makes the two amps I listed cost about the same with their respective power supplies. Which one do you feel is better for my HD-580's? Is there an alternative to both that I should consider?

 

[PinkFloyd]

Hi Chris,

The MINT is another little amp you can consider and you can power it either by a 9V battery or a 9V - 24V PSU.

I housed mine in a small Hammond enclosure and use a 15V regulated PSU to power it.

You can get JMT to build you one and I believe his prices start at $90 which is pretty good. remember you'll have to factor in say another $20 - $30 for a PSU which brings you up to $110 - $120

http://jmtaudio.com/ look under "products" and then "MINT"

The MINT with 15V PSU drives my sennheiser HD600's no bother and sounds PDG so you would get the same results with the HD580's.

All the best.

Pinkie.

Pink MINT here: http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=63007

WHOOPS! I just realised that a MINT in the small Hammond is identical to the "MiniMe"

 

[Christopher Blue]

I have a 12-Volt 1500mA AC-to-DC Power Adapter that is virtually unused. It was meant for a router but I scrapped the project and am stuck with it. Could the plug I linked to sucessfully power the MINT amp?

 

[mkmelt]

In the price range of $50 - $150, don't rule out an older integrated amplifier or receiver. You can search on 'vintage', in this forum, if you want to learn more.

If you do your homework and are patient, for well under $100, you can find used piece of Marantz stereo equipment in very good condition that will make a very good headphone amplifier.

These older amplifiers and receivers work especially well with Sennheiser HD-580 and HD-600 phones. For a solid state amplifier you would have to spend $300, if not more, on a headphone amplifier to get better sound from these phones.

For a bit more than your budget, the MG Head DT or MG Head OTL would be a good entry level tube amplifier, at around $200 - $230 used. This tube amplifier would also be a very good match for your HD-580s.

 

[gsferrari]

Skip solid state and get into tubes. You can get a used Mg Head for around $200.00 with a few tubes to get you started...build on this collection and you wont find the need to "upgrade" unless you hang around this forums afterwards.

HD-580 + MG Head + Nice Source + Nice IC's + Cardas Cable for the HD-580 and you are looking at a total of around $600 - $900

Factor out the Cardas for later and you are looking at around $500- $600 for your setup.

 

[sleepkyng]

your budget is 50-150 correct?

i've got a marantz 2226B receiver that has a real nice headphone jack. i'm trying to get rid of it cuz i like my tubes better (granted they cost me 400) but really NOT by much.

i really was genuinely impressed with this receiver. but i'm gettin a PIMETA so i'm stoked.

 

[cpw]

Headroom Airhead or Total Airhead gets my vote. I have a Total Bithead on order and was very impressed with my friend's new '04 Airhhead. Tough to beat for the money though as you can see, you have a surprising number of options in this price range. Headroom are very nice to deal with and have a great return policy should you have second thoughts or want to audition more than one.
CPW

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally posted by Christopher Blue I have a 12-Volt 1500mA AC-to-DC Power Adapter that is virtually unused. It was meant for a router but I scrapped the project and am stuck with it. Could the plug I linked to sucessfully power the MINT amp?

That would be fine for a MINT but you would have to have a suitable DC socket fitted to the mint to accept the DC plug on your radio shack PSU.

 

[NightWoundsTime]

I second the Marantz vote. Mine just arrived last night. It's a great rock/pop amp. It has a noise floor issue in the right channel. but music covers it up easily. As long as you aren't listening to classical or sparse jazz you wouldn't notice.

My marantz is a 1060B, which I got on ebay for 120 plus shipping. So far I'm very happy.

 

[Christopher Blue]

Quote:

Originally posted by PinkFloyd That would be fine for a MINT but you would have to have a suitable DC socket fitted to the mint to accept the DC plug on your radio shack PSU.

Thank you! One last question, should I get the MiniMe or the AirHead? I am kinda leaning towards the AirHead since it takes a standard stereo input and I don't have many RCA cables nor adapaters around.

Of course it all comes down to which one puts out the best sound. So, which one does?

How about the Total AirHead, is it worth the extra $50? Keep in mind my source is a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard (not the best of sources I'm sure).

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Quote:

Originally posted by Christopher Blue How about the Total AirHead, is it worth the extra $50? Keep in mind my source is a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard (not the best of sources I'm sure).

Ouch, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz? I'd suggest upgrading to an Onkyo or SoundBlaster sound card before considering an amp (my opinion).

You could grab a mint off Ebay for $50 and spend $100 on a new soundcard, that should do the trick.

 

[k3nnis]

Hi there.

I have just got my Senn HD-580 and i have a Creek OBH-11SE amp for it. It sounds fine to me but i haven't tried any other amps before so i can't really comment

Cheers.
Kenn.

 

[averydonovan]

I love my PIMETA with my HD600s. Mine has OPA627 opamps in it and a cheapo 9V (which actually puts out 13V) power supply and sounds great. Only downside with one with those parts is that it would hit $200 easily, slightly over your budget. I haven't heard any other amps in that price range with those phones so I can't really comment on them.

Another thing to consider for your HD580s if your budget allows is an upgrade cable. It will really help you get the most out of your headphones and amp. I bought the Oehlbach cable from Meier Audio for $63 shipped. It really does help the sound, and is also built better than the stock cable.