[InfernoUk]

Hey i'm going to buy a pair of grado 125 's next week as my first proper pair of headphones, they are for home use only. i have a mid range ONKYO amp currently, will i need a separate headphone amp or will my current one do? also if you can recommend one if i will need it. thanks

InfernoUk

 

[Volta]

The ONYKO will likely sound great if it has a headphone out.

 

[InfernoUk]

yes, it does have a headphone out, guess ill give it a try first before buying another amp. whats the best kind of source? i currently only really have an i pod with 320 bit rate music, should i be using CD's for better quality or is there no real best quality

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

ipod with a lineout dock is a sufficient source for now IMO. The headphone out sections in receivers tend to be of very low quality (it just wasn't a design priority) and is likely to be your bottleneck at this point. A headphone amp like the Little Dot MkII is one of the best values in amplification these days and will be perfect for your situation. A tube amp offers the additional advantage of tube rolling and customizing the sound of the amp to your exact preference.

Welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet.

 

[InfernoUk]

Ok thanks, just wondered where to buy headphone amps in the UK, most websites are American and also a lot of the headphone amps i see are out of production or custom made etc. is there a British (or ships to Britain) site with the kind of amps i need? most searches seem to link to this forum r others. but ill have another look.

InfernoUk

 

[InfernoUk]

is this the one ? Little Dot 2+, II+Tube headphone amplifier,Plus pre-amp on eBay, also Integrated Amplifiers, Amplifiers, Home Audio Hi Fi, Consumer Electronics (end time 04-Apr-08 11:45:05 BST)

 

[Jaw007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InfernoUk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey i'm going to buy a pair of grado 125 's next week as my first proper pair of headphones, they are for home use only. i have a mid range ONKYO amp currently, will i need a separate headphone amp or will my current one do? also if you can recommend one if i will need it. thanks InfernoUk

Your current one should do.

 

[InfernoUk]

ok ill give it a go first before spending anymore than necessary

 

[jimbomak]

Why don't you find out if any local Hi Fi dealer will let you borrow an amp as a try before you buy deal. Or you could take your Grados down to a Hi Fi dealer and ask if you could try em out on some amps.
(I , myself am from the UK and use Grado SR- 80 's with a second hand QED headphone amp. I'll never go back to using my amp's headphone socket - and the QED is an old cheap one!!)