[paradoxper]

I own both the original HeadAmp Gilmore Lite with dedicated power supply and the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 with dedicated Golden Reference power supply. I love both of HeadAmp amplifiers. They are VERY good amplifiers and only cost $100 more than the RebelAmp.
.
However, I also own two Rebel Audio RebelAmps because they are SO GOOD I had to purchase two of them. I can't think of a single headphone of my large collection that my HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 sounds better with over my RebelAmp. Therefore, stating that the Gilmore Lite Mk 2 is much better than the RebelAmp would seem to be more of a matter of opinion. Not fact. In my opinion, the RebelAmp is a much better amp.

Never cared for the extra warmth of Rebel amps. If you want to hear an excellent AMB amplifier, try out a Beta 22 which is still venerable today.

They're good budget amps compared to Schiit's entry and the THX crap. But once you've heard the bigger counterparts, it's a much different plane.

 

[hottyson]

Never cared for the extra warmth of Rebel amps.

That warmth/darkness is exactly why the RebelAmp does not pair well with the ZMF Aeolus. Warmth/dark plus warmth/dark equals poor synergy.
.
However, with HifiMan headphones (and many other planar dynamic headphones), which are inherently bright, the RebelAmp synergizes amazingly well.
.
Yes, most of this pairing the right amp with the right headphone can be avoided by simply purchasing a much higher performing amplifier like a high end Questyle or (fill in blank here). But then you have to have lots of money to pour into the system. However, for most of these people searching for an amazing system on a budget, I recommend the magical combination of HifiMan HE6se V2 $500 plus Rebel Audio RebelAmp $660 and they are in hi-end headphone heaven for under $1,200. A system that can perform against systems costing thousands. There are caveats with quality control going with HifiMan of having to deal with returning HifiMan headphones until you get one that does not have factory defects. So this may not be for everyone. But it is the best performing headphone value combo I am aware of.

 

[paradoxper]

That warmth/darkness is exactly why the RebelAmp does not pair well with the ZMF Aeolus. Warmth/dark plus warmth/dark equals poor synergy.
.
However, with HifiMan headphones (and many other planar dynamic headphones), which are inherently bright, the RebelAmp synergizes amazingly well.
.
Yes, most of this pairing the right amp with the right headphone can be avoided by simply purchasing a much higher performing amplifier like a high end Questyle or (fill in blank here). But then you have to have lots of money to pour into the system. However, for most of these people searching for an amazing system on a budget, I recommend the magical combination of HifiMan HE6se V2 $500 plus Rebel Audio RebelAmp $660 and they are in hi-end headphone heaven for under $1,200. A system that can perform against systems costing thousands. There are caveats with quality control going with HifiMan of having to deal with returning HifiMan headphones until you get one that does not have factory defects. So this may not be for everyone. But it is the best performing headphone value combo I am aware of.

Definitely an excellent value.

 

[Meridian7]

If you say so.

I think you mean I'm hopeless

I do appreciate tech know-how brought forth, thanks for that.

 

[Meridian7]

recommend the magical combination of HifiMan HE6se V2 $500 plus Rebel Audio

Hi,
That headphone is listed as hungry and minimal 2W per channel, whereas the rebelamp can provide 0.65W at HE6se's 50ohm. Quite amazing that this combo still works like a charm considering the min 2 W in the data.

Beyerdynamic DT1990 pro is 250 ohm, rebelamp can provide about 0,15 W in it, and it goes enormous loud, cannot past 12 o' clock volume position in rebel's high gain setting when provided with a 2.5Vrms at the rca's.
But the 1990's have a nominal handling capacity of 0.2 W, compared to the rebels 0.15 is not too far off.

The difference between HE6se's min 2W and rebels 0.65W is less fitting. Amazing that it still works. Or am I missing something?

 

[hottyson]

The difference between HE6se's min 2W and rebels 0.65W is less fitting. Amazing that it still works. Or am I missing something?

You lose me when you start speaking data. Why be so concerned with what looks good on paper. Ultimately I shall be listening to headphones, not reading paper. Usually the HE6se V2 sounds pretty awful on most cheap amps. Synergy is synergy. So yes, amazing. When an amp pairs well with a headphone and sounds as good as a two thousand dollar amp with said headphone, I am pretty amazed and happy. I am not missing anything.

 

[Meridian7]

You lose me when you start speaking data. Why be so concerned with what looks good on paper. Ultimately I shall be listening to headphones, not reading paper. Usually the HE6se V2 sounds pretty awful on most cheap amps. Synergy is synergy. So yes, amazing. When an amp pairs well with a headphone and sounds as good as a two thousand dollar amp with said headphone, I am pretty amazed and happy. I am not missing anything.

I believe you without a shadow of doubt, numbers hugging ain't all that and in this case clearly misleading.

 

[dstarr3]

I agree, too, that all that matters is the sound, not the numbers. And I believe you when you say the Rebel Amp is a good pairing with the HE6se v2, this is one reason among several that I'm eager to eventually get my hands on a Rebel Amp. But it is a little frustrating that sometimes there seems to be just no rhyme or reason as to why some amps and/or headphones sound good. Like, you start seeing a pattern like "This headphone synergizes well only with very powerful amps," but then there's also this not-particularly-powerful amp that also synergizes well for some reason, too. It just makes audiophilia seem like magic sometimes. Like, I 100% prioritize sound over measurements. I don't care how a piece of kit measures if it sounds good. But these things are designed and built by engineers, not wizards. It's just weird how difficult it is to find a correlation between sound quality and just about any technical specification or measurement.

 

[Plieb]

Hi,
That headphone is listed as hungry and minimal 2W per channel, whereas the rebelamp can provide 0.65W at HE6se's 50ohm. Quite amazing that this combo still works like a charm considering the min 2 W in the data.

Beyerdynamic DT1990 pro is 250 ohm, rebelamp can provide about 0,15 W in it, and it goes enormous loud, cannot past 12 o' clock volume position in rebel's high gain setting when provided with a 2.5Vrms at the rca's.
But the 1990's have a nominal handling capacity of 0.2 W, compared to the rebels 0.15 is not too far off.

The difference between HE6se's min 2W and rebels 0.65W is less fitting. Amazing that it still works. Or am I missing something?

My Rebel at medium gain is louder than my Singxer at balanced high gain with both amps using the same single ended 2.1v rca input. Headphones being used are the Focal elex, sennheiser 660s and sennheiser 650. Hence we have a wide range of impedance variations.
Singxer puts out 2 watts at 120 ohms. 6 watts at 32 ohms.

 

[Plieb]

I agree, too, that all that matters is the sound, not the numbers. And I believe you when you say the Rebel Amp is a good pairing with the HE6se v2, this is one reason among several that I'm eager to eventually get my hands on a Rebel Amp. But it is a little frustrating that sometimes there seems to be just no rhyme or reason as to why some amps and/or headphones sound good. Like, you start seeing a pattern like "This headphone synergizes well only with very powerful amps," but then there's also this not-particularly-powerful amp that also synergizes well for some reason, too. It just makes audiophilia seem like magic sometimes. Like, I 100% prioritize sound over measurements. I don't care how a piece of kit measures if it sounds good. But these things are designed and built by engineers, not wizards. It's just weird how difficult it is to find a correlation between sound quality and just about any technical specification or measurement.

Lets also remember that the quality of components used is often overlooked and does impact sound quality after an unreasonable amount of time. For example the thx amps from monoprice and drop use the crappiest components. My CTH hybrid tube was totally unusable after a year of heavy usage. I myself have returned 3 thx amps do to extremely noisy pots after 6 months of usage. Learned my lesson.

 

[pongpaktech]

So I recently got a HFM HE6SE v2 that I'm powering off an SMSL SP400 THX 888 amp and it's been great. It's got 4W into 50 ohms so it's plenty to power the HE6SE v2. I keep hearing that the Rebel Amp does a much better job since it's class A and very similarly priced to the SP400. I can't help but notice that the Rebel Amp is only rated for 0.65W into 50 ohms. I'm sure that's an understatement by the manufacturer but I wanted to know a little more about that seeming low rating.

 

[Beefy]

So I recently got a HFM HE6SE v2 that I'm powering off an SMSL SP400 THX 888 amp and it's been great. It's got 4W into 50 ohms so it's plenty to power the HE6SE v2. I keep hearing that the Rebel Amp does a much better job since it's class A and very similarly priced to the SP400. I can't help but notice that the Rebel Amp is only rated for 0.65W into 50 ohms. I'm sure that's an understatement by the manufacturer but I wanted to know a little more about that seeming low rating.

The power rating is not an understatement, it's about right from the M3 it is based on. It corresponds to about 5.7 VRMS before clipping, which is appropriate based on a +/- 15V PSU, the not-quite-rail-to-rail swing from the OPAMP, and about 2V switch on for the MOSFETs.

Where the design excels is in super clean current delivery, and low distortion up to the max power. Other amps will struggle with distortion as they approach their maximum power, this will not. Some amps with monolithic output devices/buffers trying to supply more than 1W continuously will practically melt, this will not.

It's also the case that 0.65W is practically deafening with every 'normal' headphone, except for things like the HE6 and Susvara. Power creep for normal phones is quite silly, really.

 

[pongpaktech]

It's also the case that 0.65W is practically deafening with every 'normal' headphone, except for things like the HE6 and Susvara.

So the rebel amp will work well with the HE6SE v2?

 

[Beefy]

So the rebel amp will work well with the HE6SE v2?

Without having those phones, I can't answer that. But the original HE6, and all the subsequent variants, do have similar extremely low sensitivities. It's really going to depend on your listening levels.

 

[cfranchi]

It would be nice to compare rebelamp vs other amps for he6se