[gonglee]

Do good preamps make good headphone amps as well, or are the dedicated headphone amps sound better?

Which preamps are your favorite if they do sound good?

 

[urlawyer]

I have ordered a M.A.D. Ear+ Purist HD150 from Dr. Perrard and while I wait for it I am using the headphone output from my Apt Holman Pre-amp to drive my new Grado SR 325i. My theater system has three headphone outputs, one from my Yamaha DSP-A1 intergrated amp, one from my Panasonic DVD player, and, of course, one from my Apt Holman Pre-Amp. Oh! I forgot both of my tape recorders have headphone outputs also.

Of the five, the Apt Holman sounds the best with the 325i, so I have the tape outputs from the Yamaha, the tape recorders, tuner, turntable, and the DVD as an inputs to my Apt Holman and the pre-amp controls their output to my headphones. Note: The Yamaha controls the Direct TV, the two VCRs, and DTS decoding which is directed through its tape output to the Apt. It can, also, control the tape recorders, tuner, DVD, and turntable through its inputs and output all of them through its tape output. But I prefer the Apt for these units. Except for the DVD which is connected to both the Yamaha and the Apt.

When I get the HD150, I plan to use the Apt Holman as a switcher to control the outputs of all my units and output them through the tape out to the HD150 because the all inputs to the Apt pass through the Apt without modification or with modification (i.e. more or less bass, treble, or modification with my S.A.E. Equalizer) if I wish.

As you can see, a good pre-amp can be used as headphone amp. and as a switcher for all your stereo and home theather units to your headphone amp. Keeps you from unpluging and repluging inputs to your headphone amp.

R.

 

[sberger]

Decware makes a terrific triode preamp, the CSP2, which I own. It also is a very nice headphone amp. And Single Power headphone amps make very good pre's. When another pre that I was using at the time went under, I used my PPX3 as a pre in my system with great results.

 

[head_man]

Pre amp is like a voltage source it have a perfect volltage tranfer when load impedance is very higher than output impedance there for some Pre amp design can't drive head phone directly it must use amplifier buffer for help to drive low impedance

 

[PaulDB]

If I could rephrase your question as "Do good headamps make good preamps as well?", my answer would be "Hell yeah!"

I asked Mikhail to build me a maxxed out MPX3 with preamp out. That was late July or early August that I received the amp, and since then I've been using the MPX3 (SE) as preamp almost all the time, never looking any further. Prior to MPX3 experience, I had been consistently (and stubbornly) sticking with "minimalist" setups: EVS Ultimate Attenuators, a no-gain tube linestage, built-in volume controls from Shenling SDC200 and Slim Device Squeeze Box 2. The tube linestage sweetens and veils the sound a bit more than I wanted to hear, the rest didn't satisfy my desire for a good musical sounding system.

For the last 4-5 months, I have tried hard but couldn't find any faults, sonically, aesthetically and mechanically, with the MPX3 SE. Moreover, it grows with my associated gear. In my book it's a SOTA, and can only imagine how more SOTA products SinglePower offers such as Supra, Maestro and Extreme series.

 

[Computerpro3]

my Melos SHA-Gold Reference Maestrobator Preamp is one of the best single ended dynamic headphone amplifers...ever (for Grado's and Beyerdynamics at least).

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Computerpro3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif my Melos SHA-Gold Reference Maestrobator Preamp is one of the best single ended dynamic headphone amplifers...ever (for Grado's and Beyerdynamics at least).

and every dynamic/hybrid akg headphone evr made.

perhaps the singlepower extreme will change my opinion of senheissers. the melos didnt.

 

[stevieo]

i have heard preamps that sound better or equal to many headphone amps & vicea versa.