[vroomskies]

Hey everyone,
 
I'm in the market for a receiver that has a good headphone out. I'm going to be running a set of studio monitors through it as well, otherwise I'd just get a dedicated amp/dac.
 
The HK 3490 seems to be a popular unit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882121064
 
However I'm not a fan of the design and if I could get a unit that is shorter, that'd be awesome.
 
I'm quite a fan of the size and look of the Marantz NR1501, however price is a bit high and the feature set is lacking compared to the HK.
 
Thanks for all the help in advance.

 

[CrazyRay]

 
I would get something vintage vroomskies.
Something from the mid 70's.
Search online, eBay etc.
 
Here are my vintage units, they sound incredible!!
 
Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
This is where I bought my Pioneer from.
 
http://www.classicaudio.com/forsale/
 

 

 

 

 

[vroomskies]

Thanks for the reply CrazyRay, looks like some real nice gear there.
I forgot to mention that this will be hooked up to my pc and I'll most likely be using optical or hdmi out.
 
That would put a small kink in older gear lol.

 

[scompton]

Not really.  It just means you'll have to buy a DAC too.  You can easily buy a decent DAC and vintage amp for the same price as the HK.   I currently have an EMU 0404 USB feeding a Realistic STA2200 from the 70s.  $150 for the DAC and $75 for the receiver.  
 
Personally, I wouldn't buy either vintage or new without reading here that it has a good headphone out that is compatible with your headphones.  If you use Grados or other low impedance headphones, vintage is most like not going to work. 
 
A better option with a new amp would be to try it out at a Brick and Mortar store.  The headphone amps built into modern receivers aren't always that good.  I've seen mixed reviews of HK receivers here.  A couple of years ago, someone was thinking about buying a DT880 and a mid range Yamaha AV receiver.  Since I owned a DT880, I went to Best Buy and tried them with the Yamaha and they sounded very good.  A year later, Yamaha came out with a new line and the Yamaha rep told me that they concentrated more on the video than audio and you had to step up to the $1000 model to get the SQ that I heard in the previous generation's $400 model.

 

[vroomskies]

Thanks for that info Scompton.
I apologize, I thought I listed my headphones up above, I'm using the Senn's 595.

 

[scompton]

They're 50 ohm so it's probably going to more miss than hit with vintage amps.  You'd want one that had no higher than a 120 ohm output impedance and even then, I'm not sure if the impedance mismatch would be detrimental.  The 120 ohm impedance was the standard and vintage amps achieved it by adding a resistor network between the speaker amp and the headphone jack.  Unfortunately, quite a few manufacturers put single in line resistors in the 250-560 ohm range.  I'd almost guarantee that the 595 will sound bad out of one of these.
 
Unfortunately, your best bet will be to find a store that will allow you to try out the amp.  Most members of head-fi are under the mistaken impression that no speaker amp can have a good head phone out.
 
Here's 2 threads where this was discussed before.  Some of the posts are about modern amps, in particular NAD.  Not sure which model though.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/329395/using-full-sized-integrated-amp
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/353333/by-request-best-sounding-hp-jacks-on-integrateds-receivers
 

 

[customNuts]

I am also considering the Marantz NR1501 and would be interested in any comments.
 

 

[mibutenma]

Can't say for sure but most speakers amps that have headphone outs I would think most of them could do a low ohm headphone no problem.
 
Don't know about Marantz Home Theater amps but the their integrated amps (2 channels) can drive any dynamic headphone. 600 ohms no problem.
 

 

[reedzkee]

My old HD595's (120 ohm) benefited tremendously from a Marantz 2245. Not so much in volume, but in timbre. Don't know about the new 50 ohm version though.
 
I also have a Denon AVR-1909 for 5.1 and the headphone out is pretty bad. I wouldn't ever consider it an option.

 

[Hellbishop]

I have a Onkyo TX-8555 stereo reciever i ordered on sale from Amazon earlier this year and it has made all my headphone listening much more detailed and thick with fullness of sound. I also read afterwards that Onkyo designs their headphone outs to get the best sound from ones gear. Best wishes on finding whats best for your audio pleasures.

 

[Dynobot]

Marantz 2230

 

[chronicled]

Yeah, Im going to reiterate what Scompton said, depending on your headphones a receiver might not be as efficient. If you do buy a receiver make sure that it's in good condition (Cleaned, serviced, or fully working). Vintage receivers have at least 30 years on them and most on ebay need some repair like lights on the front don't work anymore, channel imbalance, old parts that need to be reserviced, the works. So you may have to add an additional 100 or so to get the receiver all brand new again. But after this I've heard the receiver can last a long way again. Good receivers include the Marantz 22xx series (fill in the x's with numbers), the Pioneer Sx series, and the Yamaha Cr Series.