[DARKHAVEN]

So I think I'm finally ready to outgrow my starter amp, a Creek OBH-11, which has been a really nice first amp for me. Now I'm looking to make the jump into more high quality, bang-for-the-buck options. For up to $500ish (or below!) what are known to be the best bang-for-the-buck amps out there? I run a Sennheiser HD650 right now. Thanks for the guidance all.

 

[jpelg]

Start with a list of what you like & don't like about your current Creek+Senn system.

The Creek is a nice, little amp. It does have a rather high output impedance (~220ohms) that probably warms up most cans plugged into it. Senn HD650's wouldn't be my first choice with the Creek, as they are already on the warm side, imo. But that's neither here nor there, as you seem to be ok with it.

Have you tried plugging your Senns into the Denon receiver jack? How about constructing a speaker connector cable to drive the Senns directly off the speaker taps (be careful not to blow your headphones!)?

More info please, so that we can better spend your money

 

[DARKHAVEN]

You've made some interesting suggestions. As for my Creek, I'm not very dissatisfied with it, I've heard its a pretty basic, lower-end amp and wanted to try something a bit better. I didn't buy the Creek for the HD650s, it was just an amp I could afford at the time. What would you recommend as a good pairing for HD650s? As for the Denon receiver headphone jack, it isn't bad for a built-in unit, I just thought I would get more (in terms of power, control, and sound quality) out of a dedicated unit (after all, I doubt Denon put several hundred dollars of technology into the headphone jack, which is usually an afterthought on receiver units like this. That said, I really like Denon...). As far as what I want out of the sound, to be honest, I couldn't tell you, I've never tried any other amps. My ignorance in this area is driving my exploration, I just need a bit of guidance to see what I may be missing. Thanks!

 

[Meliboeus]

if you want bang for the buck...Little dot is the way to go...the MKV is a nice dual mono opamp-based amp, very powerful, build quality is awesome for such inexpensive units as the little dots, the MKV is available for 299$ + shipping...

 

[DARKHAVEN]

I've been looking at the Little Dot MK V dual mono opamp as well as the Little Dot MK IV SE tube amp. Any thoughts on the one vs. the other?

 

[Meliboeus]

read those exhaustive reviews

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...mkivse-266751/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...lifier-289765/

 

[synaesthetic]

For something with the same "desktop" form factor as the OBH-11...

Travagan's and Firestone amps are compact little guys but I'm not sure how good they sound. The Travagan's Red and Green can also power small speakers.

Channel Islands Audio VHP-2 should be excellent if the VHP-1 is any indication (which I own).

 

[DARKHAVEN]

I'm starting to lean toward the Little Dot MX V, but I was wondering what anyone thought of the Tianyun ZERO, it seems packed with features and has a DAC, or the Nuforce Icon? Can the ZERO actually be that good having all those features, or does the Little Dot MX V blow it away?

 

[Meliboeus]

The zero costs about half as the mk5, it has a good amplifier section, but it lacks analog rca inputs, it accepts only digital input...probably sq wise the little dot is better...but the zero is a damn nice multi purpose unit