[Zojokkeli]

   
Well I actually already have the CLAS and Mk III, so now I am just looking for a sealed headphone to pair the rig with. Here's the entire list of considerations: 
 
Shure SRH 1540 
Sennheiser Momentum 
Sennheiser HD25-1 II
NAD VISO HP50
Fostex TH600
Beyerdynamic DT1350
Focal Spirit Classic
Focal Spirit Professional
Denon AH-D7100
Denon AH-D600
Audio Technica ATH-ESW9A
V-Moda Crossfade M-100
Mr. Speakers Alpha Dog
ZMF x Vibro

 
I recommend the Momentums. Good isolation and comfort, great looks and sound quality. Perfect for commuting etc.
 
Btw. Does anyone own, or have tried, the Fostex TH600/900's? Lately I have started to build a lust towards them.

 

[madwolfa]

  I recommend the Momentums. Good isolation and comfort, great looks and sound quality. Perfect for commuting etc.

 
Do you know how good is the mike on those?

 

[Zojokkeli]

   
Do you know how good is the mike on those?

 
Sadly it only works with iDevices so I have no idea. I suppose it does the job.

 

[vkalia]

   
Valhalla 2 is neither push-pull nor hybrid, but still meets the specs. We were initially talking about the tube headphone amps, not the tube amps per se.
 
I'm ready to believe that a big tube OTL amp, driving a pair of low impedance speakers, gives all kinds of audible distortions (pleasant or not).
Not the headphone amp.

 
This is getting a little silly - we have gone from saying "all tubes sound the same" to "tube amps that all measure at 0.01% distortion" sound the same.     I am willing to accept that if you get a bunch of tube amps which have very similar measurements, they'll sound similar.   Of course, there are plenty of SET headphone amps out there that dont fit into this category.
 
I have a Lyr, a 2A3 with headphone outputs, a Little Dot Mk IVSE, one of the Bravo Audio little jobbies and an Alo Continental V3.    They dont sound identical.    And this is coming from a guy who is a self-professed skeptic about the amazing differences people are able to hear between amps and DACs, nevermind cables.   
 
If you think they sound the same, good on you.    I dont know what else to say to that.

 

[olegausany]

  
Well I actually already have the CLAS and Mk III, so now I am just looking for a sealed headphone to pair the rig with. Here's the entire list of considerations: 
 
Shure SRH 1540 
Sennheiser Momentum 
Sennheiser HD25-1 II
NAD VISO HP50
Fostex TH600
Beyerdynamic DT1350
Focal Spirit Classic
Focal Spirit Professional
Denon AH-D7100
Denon AH-D600
Audio Technica ATH-ESW9A
V-Moda Crossfade M-100
Mr. Speakers Alpha Dog
ZMF x Vibro

 
I recommend the Momentums. Good isolation and comfort, great looks and sound quality. Perfect for commuting etc.
 
Btw. Does anyone own, or have tried, the Fostex TH600/900's? Lately I have started to build a lust towards them.

Beware of emphasized bass on TH600

 

[vkalia]

Beware of emphasized bass on TH600

 
You know, I've read that a lot here - I used to own the TH600s before selling them to a fellow Head-Fier, and i found that the 650s have more bass than the TH600s, which didnt really seem to be anything special bass-wise (although they certainly had LOTS of treble to go around!)

 

[madwolfa]

  This is getting a little silly - we have gone from saying "all tubes sound the same" to "tube amps that all measure at 0.01% distortion" sound the same.

 
The guy was asking if he would hear a difference between a good solid-state and one of the Schiit tube amps. I basically said - no, because they measure in 0.01s of %, so there's no way to hear a "tube sound" in that (except psychological reasons). I didn't try to refute the whole "tube sound" concept. And I didn't say all tube amps sound the same.
 
You were trying to attribute me the generalizations I didn't make. I was staying in OP's question context, and you were trying to take my words out of it.

 

[hodgjy]

   
The guy was asking if he would hear a difference between a good solid-state and one of the Schiit tube amps. I basically said - no, because they measure in 0.01s of %, so there's no way to hear a "tube sound" in that (except psychological reasons). I didn't try to refute the whole "tube sound" concept. And I didn't say all tube amps sound the same.
 
You were trying to attribute me the generalizations I didn't make. I was staying in OP's question context, and you were trying to take my words out of it.

 
If all tubes sound the same, why is tube rolling so popular? Why does rolling tubes result in different sounds?  If there isn't an audible difference between tubes and solid state, why does Schiit offer tube-based amps?  

 

[madwolfa]

  If there isn't an audible difference between tubes and solid state, why does Schiit offer tube-based amps?  

 
They're just fulfilling the demand. There's a "cool" factor in tubes you can't just ignore.
 

 
Tube rolling is too murky of a territory for me, sorry. We're already way much off the topic here.

 

[Krutsch]

   
They're just fulfilling the demand. There's a "cool" factor in tubes you can't just ignore.
 
Tube rolling is too murky of a territory for me, sorry. We're already way much off the topic here.

 
Your "My Gear" link sort of says it: you've opted for SS (Asgard 2), as opposed to tubes.
 
I think you make an interesting point about THD numbers; if you look at the Schiit specs, the numbers are very low.  If you look at the numbers for, say, a McIntosh tube-equipped preamp, they are even an order of magnitude lower than the Schiit gear.  So, if tubes are supposed to provide that "warmth" from analog distortion, I wonder how you are supposed to hear it when the THD numbers are vanishingly low.
 
As for being off-topic, I'm not so sure... I keep reading how one best appreciates the HD 650s with a tube amp; so much so, that I've been looking into a new amp for my desktop rig and the BH Crack seems to be very popular here.
 
I'm not trolling, I'm curious and thinking out loud.

 

[madwolfa]

  So, if tubes are supposed to provide that "warmth" from analog distortion, I wonder how you are supposed to hear it when the THD numbers are vanishingly low.

 
That is exactly my point.
 
I'd buy myself a Valhalla 2 for its "sexyness" alone, but I'm pretty sure it would sound the same as my Asgard 2. And that would be a compliment.

 

[hodgjy]

I've owned the Asgard, Asgard 2, and Valhalla.  I've tubed rolled the Valhalla.  I've heard differences in all setups.

 

[madwolfa]

  I've owned the Asgard, Asgard 2, and Valhalla.  I've tubed rolled the Valhalla.  I've heard differences in all setups.

 
You just belong to subjectivist camp, nothing wrong with that...

 

[olegausany]

  
They're just fulfilling the demand. There's a "cool" factor in tubes you can't just ignore.
 
Tube rolling is too murky of a territory for me, sorry. We're already way much off the topic here.

 
Your "My Gear" link sort of says it: you've opted for SS (Asgard 2), as opposed to tubes.
 
I think you make an interesting point about THD numbers; if you look at the Schiit specs, the numbers are very low.  If you look at the numbers for, say, a McIntosh tube-equipped preamp, they are even an order of magnitude lower than the Schiit gear.  So, if tubes are supposed to provide that "warmth" from analog distortion, I wonder how you are supposed to hear it when the THD numbers are vanishingly low.
 
As for being off-topic, I'm not so sure... I keep reading how one best appreciates the HD 650s with a tube amp; so much so, that I've been looking into a new amp for my desktop rig and the BH Crack seems to be very popular here.
 
I'm not trolling, I'm curious and thinking out loud.

I don't want to heat subject up but just will say my personal opinion.
First of all you will not regret buying the Crack. I owned one, sold it and recently bought one again from Matt and with my favorite tube pairing i own i prefer it to Decware CSP3 (yes both amps have appropriate capacitors upgrade installed).
Second of all i own HA-1 which is SS amp and have a dilemma between selling the Crack and just stick with HA-1 or use HA-1 as Dac only and still keep the Crack

 

[hodgjy]

   
You just belong to subjectivist camp, nothing wrong with that...

 
Nope. I know what my ears tell me.  Tubes sound different.  There's nothing to debate about that.