Well I was able to read about 25 pages in before it got out of what I was looking for. Perhaps somewhere afterwards I would find my answers, but my searching was fruitless.
Basically, I have GAS(Gear Acquisition Syndrome)....sadly no dedicated headphone amps. Just a few pre and int. amps with "ok" sounding HP outs. Right now I have some stock Beyerdynamic Dt770/80, though I plan to get the 250 ohm version as well for doing mods. I do have several home amplifiers that I wouldnt mind trying. I have read about the parallel and series resistors and suggested values. Strange I always called that resistor configuration an L-pad and used it as a standard part of passive crossover design for speakers. Usually one was a variable resistor to adjust the attenuation. Now I realize that the resistors are more about impedance matching, but couldnt we use vari resistors to fine tune an amp to a pair of head pho9to figure out the right valuesnes? I am picturing a neat little case with a couple of knobs and some sort of digital readout of what values are currently being used. At the very least use the device to setup level for hard wiring; much like using active crossovers to determined the best crossover point to build in passive in speaker building.
Am I asking too much, is there already a product like this out there? If so, I cant afford it and still want to build one myself.
Some amps I am considering....
Amp 1 Conrad-Johnson MV-50 tube
Amp 2 Crown PSA2 SS (actually have two...talk about silliness
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Amp 3 Parasound 855a SS five channel but I will only use two.
Amp 4 Crown D-150(I can hear the cringing from here...lol) VERY SS...lol
Amp 5. Some sort of Chip amp like the lm3887(or whatever it is, cant remember off hand)....SS, and I would still need to build it...lol
AMP 6 Even more out there...I have some VERY NICE car audio amplifiers, as well as a very powerful 12v supply (70A) that I use on my test bench for repairs and what not. In the past I used it to drive a pair of Soundstream 10.0 "Class A" amps to a pair of Magnepan MgIIbs. Sounded pretty good, also used some Denon car amps...and a slew of others(classics from the 1990's)... Some of the high current amps have me curious. The "cheater" amps rated at 50watts at 4 ohms, but would do 800watts if the impedance was driven low enough..usually 1ohm stable, 1/4ohm if actively cooled. More silliness I know, just would like to get some ideas before I start liquidating the majority of my collection.....car, home, HT, and pro sound(mostly amps and speakers).....baaaad gas. I know that a car amp seems silly but it could be battery powered, and some really do sound good, especially in the first watt, where I expect my headphones to stay. I have other "outlets" for LOUD.....
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FWIW I also have Parasound Speaker Switch that I plan to incorporate, eventually. My custom speaker build has been put on hold.
Thanks for any productive replies, your time is very much appreciated. Obviously most concerned about the MV-50 tube amp, and was hoping someone had already successfully done one. I am under the impression that the both the parallel and the series need to be used for tube amps. It is el34 based, pretty sure common ground but will check when I unbox it...guess I could look at the schematics...heh. But pretty sure it will be fine, I was thinking of going a little higher that 10 ohms, maybe 16 or so, depending on what is available. Not really sure what to use for the "series" leg resistor though. Help!?!