[Lross78550]

Im new to this site and new to headphones but a long time audiophile. I played musical amps in my home system for years trying everything from meridian, proceed, classe, krell and levinson to name a few. In the end my favorites are BAT preamp, Levinson 436 mono's and B&W Nautilus speakers. Alas i sold everything and moved on to my next hobby and life long love flying. Although i love my 84 piper dakota the lycoming engine dosent sound near as nice. I would still like a way to listen to music and with kids a nice headphone system seemed like a reasonable solution. After reading everything i can im leaning toward a RSA Raptor. My Questions are these...
If anyone owns levinson home amp which headphone amps come as close to the levinson "sound"? How does the raptor compare to the above. also im going to need a usb/toslink dac. My amp budget somewhere between $900.00and $1500.00. I still have a lexicon mc-12b home theater processor in my home theater system so i can use the analog outs on it (it has both balanced and SE outs) for the time being but will eventually want the USB dac ability.
Hello to everyone, thanks for having me and thanks for any help you can provide.
btw anyone who wants to buy me a garmin gnc-530w for christmas i would be forever in your debt.
Thanks
Lee Ross

 

[Lross78550]

well unless anyone has any comments or comparisons i guess i will have to order a raptor and then i can report the sonic differences between it and levinson amps for anyone interested in powering their full range speakers with smooth jucy goodness.
Lee

 

[Knuckledragger]

To really answer your question, we need to know what kind of headphone you own/are considering buying. That said... It has been a really, really long time since I've heard anything designed by Mark Levinson. Off the top of my head, I'd say look at HeaRoom's Balanced Desktop. It has a nice upgrade path that will be useful to you (USB DAC/external power supply, etc.) As bonus, you will be buying from a very reputable company that has excellent customer service. As an alternative, check out HeadAmp's product line. I used a Gilmore Lite as my primary amp for over two years, and I still think it's one of the best bargains in the business.

Both my suggestions are solid state, but I'm sure the Head-fi tube-o-philes will be here shortly to suggest some space heaters for you.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Easy there, you're looking at a big investment. Even if you don't mind dropping $1,200, you still don't want to be disappointed in your purchase.

I think the main problem is that the vast majority of people here do not have Levinson amps. I've been around close to two years and can't immediately think of a reference I've seen to them. A few people probably own them and will get around to leaving comments.

If you'd like solid advice, why don't you tell us a little more about your headphones, the music you listen to and the rest of your system?

Also, have you considered maybe a different sound for your headphone rig? My main speaker setup is a pair of ProAc 2.5 clones fed off Conrad-Johnson pre and power amps. I love it, it sounds great. However, I have multiple headphone setups and most of them sound nothing like the speaker rig. If I want the CJ/ProAc sound, I have it. If I want the AKG/Singlepower sound, I have that. Or maybe I'll be in the mood for Grados or perhaps a nice Sennheiser/solid state setup.

For me, switching up the sound is the best part of this hobby.

So tell us about what you're looking for. And before you drop a lot of cash on an amp, be sure to read up on it. Not just here, but Google what you want to find reviews and impressions across the Internet.

 

[MaloS]

I read a little bit about Levinson's...and I would say at least from the impression I am getting about them, you are better off taking a look at Zana Deux.

 

[tom hankins]

Wait for either a Singlepower MPX3 or PPX3-slam to show up used. They come up fairly regular. you can find reviews comparing the MPX3 to the RSA Stealth at welcome to 6moons.com, a website for music lovers & audiophiles who love to read and reviews on the PPX3 and Singlepower Supra at
Enjoy the Music.com - High End Audiophile Audio Equipment and Music Review website. The Absolute Sound, The Audiophile Voice, Superior Audio, Sensible Sound, and Review Magazine
Good luck with your purchase.

positive feedback online has also done a review of the older toaster style Supra in issue 15.
And also I believe they did a review of the PPX3-slam also.

SoundStage! reviews both the PPX3 and Supra in the all in your head headphone and headphone amp section.

 

[purk]

Look like the MPX3 also won the "Blue Note Award" for best headphone amplifier as well.

Lee,

You might want to upgrade the MPX3 (if you choose to buy one) with the high voltage option. This option allows your amp to run and at higher voltage which yield a noticable improvement in dynamics and slam. The stock MPX3 is designed for 6SN7 tubes in mind, but your need to upgrade the MPX3 with high voltage upgrade in order to for the amp to use the 6BL7/6BX7 tubes. You can also get a slam tube adapter to allow 5687 tubes to work with the amp or an ECC1 adapter to allow even more tubes gooeness.