[emuff]

My name is Ed and I am new to the forum. Long time fan of all things audio. Recently built a new headphone amp and I am putting it (and myself) through its paces with a handful of entry level headphones. Found this site and figured I should engage and learn a thing or two more along my journey!

 

[HDGabe5636]

What's Up Ed

 

[emuff]

Hello!!

 

[HDGabe5636]

What headphones do you got currently running on that custom built amp of yours?

 

[emuff]

Sennheiser 280 Pro, 6xx, Grado SE-80, HiFiman 400SE

 

[emuff]

Open back, closed back, planar magnetic….wanted to get a cross section on a budget! Truth be told….they all sound good in their own way. For me it is about “the pursuit” and excitement of “the build”……amp project to amp project…..same with speakers!!!

 

[emuff]

How about you?

 

[emuff]

Open back, closed back, planar magnetic….wanted to get a cross section on a budget! Truth be told….they all sound good in their own way. For me it is about “the pursui

 

[HDGabe5636]

How about you?

I have no amps to be honest. I really need one but I don't know where to start and youtube is just full of snake oil reviews trying to take $5200 out of me and with inflation I'll probably go broke before I get one. Ed what amps do you recommend below $1000?

 

[emuff]

You are right about all the stuff on YouTube. I am very frugal which is why I try building my own stuff but that’s not always cheap. For under $1000 you can get yourself into a VERY nice setup. What can of headphones do you have? I personally like “The Cheapaudio Man” (Randy) on YouTube. Lots of recommendations up and down the price points!

 

[HDGabe5636]

At the moment I have a pair of Hd600's and a handful of IEMs. I also plan on getting my first pair of planar magnetic headphones so I would need an amp that would work well with varying degrees of impedance and sensitivity. I have seen a video or two by The Cheapaudio man but I really never looked at his videos on amps so I will definitely check his channel out.

Thanks for taking time to recommend something I appreciate it Ed.

 

[emuff]

Even though I try and make my own stuff I would hesitate to look at Topping or Schitt Audio. There is another US company JDS Labs I would like to try. Reasonably priced , well reviewed. Good luck in your search!!

 

[earmonger]

@HDGabe5636

Amp sellers will be happy to take as much as you're willing to pay but...

How about a two-digit amp? The VE Megatron is $56 shipped to the US and has plenty of power and clarity.
https://www.veclan.com/engappliance_sel_one?eng_ApplianceVo.eac_id=63

There are reviews attached to the seller webpage and elsewhere online, including a Head-fi page.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/venture-electronics-megatron-dac-amp.962399/

It isn't fancy. It runs on USB power from a computer or phone (USB- or USB-C to USB-C), so it's portable (though not as portable as a little dongle). It doesn't have a volume control -- you control volume from your music player app -- and it doesn't have a built-in battery. But it's both a DAC and an amp, and it runs my power-hungry 470-ohm ATH-R70X just fine. It has jacks for 3.5mm, 2.5mm balanced, and 4.4mm balanced and will actually run 3 sets at once if you have those plugs.

Or if you want something analog with a volume control to plug in at your desktop, the Monolith Liquid Spark amp, once $99 or more, has weirdly dropped down to $32.50 on Ebay at the moment. Its output is 1/4 inch, so you'd need a 1/4 to 3.5mm adapter for most current headphones, along with a 3.5mm to stereo RCA cord.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/394965402017

 

[emuff]

Even though I try and make my own stuff I would hesitate to look at Topping or Schitt Audio. There is another US company JDS Labs I would like to try. Reasonably priced , well reviewed. Good luck in your search!!

In my post in meant to say I WOULD NOT hesitate to buy those brands!!! Typo!!!!

 

[earmonger]

And by the way, Schitt's Magni+ Heretic is down to $59.

https://www.schiit.com/products/magni-plus