[nrvenice]

Gentlemen, [edits in italics]

Adding disclaimer: This was moved from the Sound Science forum because I was hoping for powerful enough amp with now tweaking or design flaws but it was moved.

I've been looking for reviews with measurements of a high power amp or preamp headphone outs with no luck. Adding context: Thought I'd kill two birds with one stone: update my preamp and have a decent headphone amp.

Any suggestions. Need to be able to drive Audeze LCD-4 (200 ohm / 97db efficiency) well.

As long as the amp measures well it will sound good so I'm looking for the least expensive solution.

TIA

Adding budget: $200-$1000 (the lower the better).

 

[serman005]

Budget?

 

[cossix]

Considering you have a super nice pair of cans, I hope your idea of "least expensive" isn't a 70 dollar FiiO E10K

As stated above, budget?

 

[buke9]

You have a pair of $4k headphones and you want a budget amp? I guess you got a great deal or were gifted them but the do deserve a good setup as they are one of my favorites even with the weight.

 

[cossix]

I don't want to throw around the word "should" but those cans deserve a decent setup. I would say at least something like a Jotunheim or an Element, perhaps a Valhalla 2

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I've been looking for reviews with measurements of a high power amp or preamp headphone outs with no luck.

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB28.38/NFB28.38EN.htm
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB10ES/NFB-10ES2FR.jpg


http://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/...dphone-amplifier-and-bifrost-uber-dac-review/

Considering you have a super nice pair of cans, I hope your idea of "least expensive" isn't a 70 dollar FiiO E10K
As stated above, budget?

You have a pair of $4k headphones and you want a budget amp? I guess you got a great deal or were gifted them but the do deserve a good setup as they are one of my favorites even with the weight.

To someone who can buy a 599 GTB Fiorano and was contacted by the factory if he wanted to reserve an Enzo before that, a California T or Maserati Spyder will be considered a "budget" daily driver or an "entry level" toy. This relative perspective applies to everything else - somewhere out there is a guy who, if he saw me pairing a $5 Novellino blackberry wine with wet aged striploins from Australia-grown Japanese cattle, or Brut with some snapper nigiri, will look at me like I look at people whose idea of a Saturday night dinner is Quarterpounder or Fillet O Fish.

So for all we know, he wants a $1,000 "entry level" headphone amp because, hey, he has Focal Scala Utopias powered by monobloc tube amps running in Class A.

 

[nrvenice]

Thanks for the replies. I'll respond individually but just quickly budget is the minimum that is necessary to generate the specs posted. I think this can be accomplished with a couple hundred (that's how much I spent on the Sony preamp) but up to $1000 would be fine.

I don't expect to use this setup for more than a couple of hours each week, hence the desire to do it on the cheap.

 

[nrvenice]

Thanks for the links. I found the hometheatrehifi reviews exactly what I wanted. Now if only reviewers did measurements on the headphone amp that comes with preamps. Thought I'd kill two birds with one stone: update my preamp and have a decent headphone amp.

 

[nrvenice]

You have a pair of $4k headphones and you want a budget amp? I guess you got a great deal or were gifted them but the do deserve a good setup as they are one of my favorites even with the weight.

I asked this question on Sound Science forum because I thought I'd get a response from people who know a decent headphone amp doesn't have to be expensive but I see it was moved.

 

[nrvenice]

I don't want to throw around the word "should" but those cans deserve a decent setup. I would say at least something like a Jotunheim or an Element, perhaps a Valhalla 2

Heard the Schitt line up at CanJam and thought it worked very well with my headphones. Even the lowest cost one was decent though the TOTL subjectively made me salivate.

I like the concept of a Ragnarok where they quote both the headphone amp output as well as their speaker output.