Gentleman,
I have been driving myself crazy reading everything I can about headphone amps, tubed and solid state. I have never had a good headphone amp system or any tube component since I began listening to music with a "hi end" system almost thirty years ago. I am now ready to combine the two. I need your advise about whether I should order this particular amp or another such as the RSA Raptor.
My requirements and inclinations are as follows:
1) I do not want to get an amp which is only usable or even at its best with one or two manufacturer's hps or only with one or two kinds of hps. Therefore, I am looking for an amp which will get the best or almost the best out of most of the popular quality hps such as the Denon 2000s, unmodified, HD650s, and 702s all of which I am considering ordering after the amp. I have started with the Denon 1001s which are really good straight out of my ipod, but I know better is out there and I am very interested in hearing it.
2) I am not confident in my ability to maintain the bias of the tubes. Therefore, I am focused on self or auto biasing amps.
3) I do not upgrade very often. The only exception is with digital components which are constantly benefitting from technological developments like computers. I want to start out with almost the best available (I am aware of the law of diminishing returns in audio and do not pay a disproportionate premium for a small improvement) and keep it for many, many years. I also do not forsee myself buying more than one tube home headphone amp.
4) I want to buy from a manufacturer who has good quality control and long term reliability. I find it ridiculous for a manufacturer to ship a defective audio component.
5) I only buy components from North American companies or those who have had a long presence here. If I have questions or problems I want the manufacturer to speak English, and be helpful and available for consultation and repair. That is why I have purchased components from Bel Canto, Bryston, Paradigm, Linn and Naim.
6) I am looking for an amp which will be compatible with, have the right amount of gain, most mainstream solid state digital source components such as my Naim CD player and USB DACs such as the Benchmark.
7) From my reading, using different tubes for different sound is part of the benefit of tube amplification and I do want to explore this. Therefore, I can foresee getting a few different types of quality tubes. However, I do not want to get an amp which needs expensive or very expensive tubes to operate at its best. In other words, I do not want to buy an amp which costs a thousand dollars and needs a set of tubes which costs no less than $100.00 to be worthwhile. That would make it necessary to spend multiple of hundreds of dollars to enjoy the benefits of the amp. I do not want to go down that road.
8) In that regard, I listen to primarily rock, blues and folk, but also opera and orchestral works. I do not limit myself to audiophile recordings. The most important aspects of the reproduction of music to me is timing, pace, rhythm and tonality. Soundstaging and imaging is secondary. I am looking for an amp which maintains the timing of the music and the tonality of the instruments.
I wish to thank all of you who have taken the time to read this long post and offer your thoughts.
