[LoringL]

Unfortunately, apartment living now demands that "critical" (loud) music listening must now be experienced via headphones. I have a decent set of headphones, Sennheiser HD-580's. I am currently listening to them through the headphone output of a capable Audiosource Amp One. But I feel something is missing.
Previously, I have owned a Melos Sha-Gold and Audio Alchemy HPA v1.0, so I understand quality headphone amplification. My budget now is much less than that of the Melos; about $200.00 I am willing to spend. I've scoured ebay and Audiogon, looking at Creek (OBH-11/21) and Musical Fidelity (X-Cans v 2, 3, etc.). On this site, I've noticed mention of the Pro-Ject Headbox, which appears appealing.
So, in short, I'm looking for reccommendations for inexpensive, quality headphone amplifiiers. My musical tastes lean toward rock and pop music.

 

[mrarroyo]

Buyused, most people here take very good care of their gear. I am very partial to Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 an it can be bought used for about $140-$170. Good luck.

 

[ADD]

Contrary to popular opinion, I am very partial to the sound of the Creek amps. I think they are great. Even the entry level OBH11 to me sounded extremely good. They are all a smooth, detailed inoffensive listen and have the Creek "house" sound (at least of years gone by - I have not heard their current generation non-headphone stuff). Sound may not be best suited to rock and pop though - I think they shine with classical. Unfortunately the build quality on the OBH11 I had was suspect - an RCA plug came lose the first day I owned it. I think they are all made in Taiwan these days, however, so build quality ought to be consistently high as opposed to when they were made in the UK.

XCan V2 is I agree generally a good used prospect, though in my view the V3 is quite a step up in build quality if that matters to you. Some prefer the V2 sound to the V3. Both will benefit from changing the tubes if they are the stock ones. Again though, perhaps these amps are not the best for rock and pop as they tend to smooth over dynamics and are rather coloured, rich and creamy sounding. Though if it were me I would probably pick the V3 over the V2 for rock and pop since it is a little more incisive than the earlier model.

I have heard the earlier Project headbox amplifier and was not the slightest bit impressed - worse than the ubiqiutous headphone jacks found on mass produced audio gear. A couple of adopters of the current model have indicated they like the new model, but those users did not seem to have had much experience with other headphone amplifiers. Project build quality for their current line is consistently excellent though - amongst the best out there.

Since you own the HD580, if it were me listening to rock and pop I would probably at least consider the XCan V3, since I know from personal experience it is an excellent match in all respects to the HD580 and can be "tuned" with tube rolling. The V3's weak points tend not to be exposed with non-acoustic music sources.

Incidentally, I would not want to be listening loudly via headphones (or speakers or anything else)

 

[WaxMan]

A while ago I put my Little Dot Micro Tube up in the F/S forum, it has not sold yet, I'm offering it up at a good price. I bought the amp from jamato, It's in great shape, drives my HD600's with plenty of punch. Overall a very fun, exciting amp to listen to! I'll see if I can't find the original post and bump it up to the top of the F/S forum in the amplification section. Check it out! - WaxMan.

 

[mrarroyo]

ADD the V3 is the more correct sounding of the two amps. However the V2 is a more engaging and fun to listen amp. Yes I have compared them side by side in stock and fully modded with the PinkFloyd mods.