[GREQ]

I'm looking for something that can EASILY drive headphones like my vintage AKG K241 and vintage Beyerdynamic DT 990 (both 600 ohms) and also easily drive vintage planar magnetics/orthos like Yamaha HP3 or SFI drivers.
 
What I'm specifically looking for is something fairly cheap (ideally around $200) and has a LOW power consumption. I want to save my electricity bills for many years to come. 
I'm not looking for something super-hifi, but as long as it's close to having a black background and is almost neutral, then that's fine for my needs/wants.
 
I've been perfectly happily listening to most of my headphones on a vintage Fisher SS AV Receiver without problems, but it can be a little noisy on lower sensitivity headphones and obviously uses A LOT more electricity than modern headphone amps.
A list of suggestions is also very welcome as I live in Germany and can't easily buy a lot of American products (Schiit for example - the Magni looks almost ideal for my needs, but the tax I would pay on importing it could be better spent on something better locally).

 

[jaywillin]

Quote:

I'm looking for something that can EASILY drive headphones like my vintage AKG K241 and vintage Beyerdynamic DT 990 (both 600 ohms) and also easily drive vintage planar magnetics/orthos like Yamaha HP3 or SFI drivers.
 
What I'm specifically looking for is something fairly cheap (ideally around $200) and has a LOW power consumption. I want to save my electricity bills for many years to come. 
I'm not looking for something super-hifi, but as long as it's close to having a black background and is almost neutral, then that's fine for my needs/wants.
 
I've been perfectly happily listening to most of my headphones on a vintage Fisher SS AV Receiver without problems, but it can be a little noisy on lower sensitivity headphones and obviously uses A LOT more electricity than modern headphone amps.
A list of suggestions is also very welcome as I live in Germany and can't easily buy a lot of American products (Schiit for example - the Magni looks almost ideal for my needs, but the tax I would pay on importing it could be better spent on something better locally).

i just got a fiio e9k, $109US, killer for the price , i'm very happy

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

i just got a fiio e9k, $109US, killer for the price , i'm very happy

Have you tried it out with high resistance or hard to drive vintage headphones?

 

[zilch0md]

I think this fits your requirements perfectly: 
 
http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=O2Full
 

 
 
Quoting this review:
 

The short answer is that if you’re looking for transparency on a budget the O2 seems to fit the bill for the majority of combinations of users and headphones.

 
 
Quoting another review:
 

[size=medium]What I will say is that this amp is incredible, it is transparent, what goes in comes out clean and purely amped, not modified in any way.[/size]

 
I've never heard the O2 myself, but I've read many other testimonies, including some from people who prefer it over much more expensive amps.
 
Mike

 

[GREQ]

Thanks, some good suggestions so far. I'll look into these.

 

[jaywillin]

Quote:

Have you tried it out with high resistance or hard to drive vintage headphones?

 no, sorry, spec wise, its rated for headphones up tp 600ohms
warm tonal balance

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

 no, sorry, spec wise, its rated for headphones up tp 600ohms
warm tonal balance

I think I'd prefer something closer to neutral. Thanks anyhow.