[Spareribs]

I would go for it. Budget Chinese hi fi or at least cheap tube amps can be fun especially if you are new to tubes. The cheap stuff is pretty much an upgrade to the standard ipod headphone jack. 
 
You won't get the tightest bass or the most refined tones compared to the expensive stuff but with budget headphones or even higher end headphones it's not bad and can still be plenty loads of fun. You can even stop there and never upgrade and be happy and save money. But keep in mind that the truly good tube amps cost a good few hundred dollars or close to $1000.

 

[Spareribs]

Also, it's a good idea to read reviews. Some Chinese amps get good reviews and some get no reviews. I would stick to the ones that get the most good reviews just to be safe. If you end up not liking it, at least you can return it (assuming good customer service) or you lose a little bit of money without sacrificing your Ramen noodles.

 

[DerangedGoose]

At this point Im turned around; now I'm being told its the audio source problem and that I need a DAC/amp combo, and that a standalone amp wont help?

 

[kiteki]

If your headphones need more power and you want a higher quality source than your laptop soundcard or whatever and want to save money via China, then you should look into a respectable DAC/Amp like the Yulong U100.
 
 

 

[Spareribs]

If you are a beginner in the headphone hobby, your iPod or standard DAP should be your reference. Don't worry about source. A good amp with a good headphone on a modest level sounds impressive. It doesn't even have to be a tube amp. Even a budget solid state with a more powerful power supply is invigorating and blows away that tiny weak internal iPod amp which is the size of a pea.
 
 If you to take it another step further, get a better DAC or source. If you want to push it even further, a good turntable with quality vinyl will take you to the depths of audiophile heaven. But in the mean time, a modest upgrade of amp and headphone is great and loads of fun. Source is not that really important if you are a "beginner". Your headphone will still rock.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

I have a bravo V2, and its fun, good looking but it doesnt amplify per se, I believe it only change the sound, def darker and mellow, I use the standard 12AU7 tube. I also have the AKG k240s but never tried them both....
 
works nice with the SennHD25, make it to have more punch, tho less clear, just a bit less clear.

 

[kiteki]

My only good memory of the Bravo V2 was listening to rock music from a CD player, and Fostex T-5 headphones, that was a pretty fun experience, but usually I just found it had relatively weak amplification and seemed a bit constrained or filtered or something, so it just gathered dust while I used the headphone-out on my receiver, second hand receivers are dirt cheap and often have very powerful and pretty ok quality headphone-outs.  I noticed in your first post you don't have space for one though, I haven't heard them but Fiio E7 and E11 seem like pretty popular cheap headphone amps as well....
 
 

 

[kiteki]

Honestly I think this might be what you're after http://store.hifiman.com/product_detail.php?p=74
 
$169 new, try to find one second hand, pretty sure that tube amp will sound way better than these cheap units on ebay that cost max $15 for the manufacturer to make, yeah I'm being harsh on the Bravo V2 and other people seem to think it sounds fun, I guess it sounds fun but (IMHO) it just doesn't offer a sound-quality improvement over normal stuff like a PC soundcard or the advertised "excellent female vocals" and so on...

 

[DerangedGoose]

Do people sell the EF2 used often? If my next best option is a $150 dac/amp, i might as well just find a cheap stereo receiver and find somewhere to shove it under my desk...

 

[kiteki]

Not sure, doing a search on head-fi it seems like it's been for sale every now and then.
 
Yeah, or you can get something like the Fiio E11 for $65, but the EF2 or a good stereo receiver is way cooler.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Keep in mind that the cheap tube amps are disposable. If something goes wrong, you'll pay more to have it repaired (indeed, if it can be repaired) than it costs. Tubes don't belong on PCBs. Even when they are working, they have chintzy power supplies that don't give pure DC and run AC on the heaters. You have to cut corners if you want to keep costs down.

As for bass, a cheap OTL will not deliver good power to an AKG. You want an amp that has a lower output impedance than the headphone impedance. Cheap OTLs rarely do - that's why the manufacturers usually won't tell you what the output impedance is. If you want a good damping factor, you either have to use output transformers or run solid state. Quality output transformers start around $200/pair and you don't want the cheap ones.

If you want solid bass control, I'd recommend something like the Dynalo or M^3. No sexy tubes, but they deliver and sound good. The cheapest way into a tube amp that will drive AKGs is DIY. Expect to drop $500-$600 on parts.

 

[maverickronin]

Those Indeed/Muse/Bravo/whatevers are hybrids though, not OTL.

 

[DerangedGoose]

Quote:

You want an amp that has a lower output impedance than the headphone impedance. Cheap OTLs rarely do - that's why the manufacturers usually won't tell you what the output impedance is. If you want a good damping factor, you either have to use output transformers or run solid state. Quality output transformers start around $200/pair and you don't want the cheap ones.

If you want solid bass control, I'd recommend something like the Dynalo or M^3. No sexy tubes, but they deliver and sound good. The cheapest way into a tube amp that will drive AKGs is DIY. Expect to drop $500-$600 on parts.

this amp:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290526665184&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_5676wt_1140
 
lists its specs as:
 
 

1. [size=small]Out-Put Impedance:16~600 Ohm[/size]
2. Dynamic range: 84.6dBA((300 ohm) 89.8dBA(33 ohm)
3. Gain:20dB
4. Frequency response:10Hz-60KHz +/- 0.25dB
5. Minimum THD:  0.016%(300 ohm)  0.45%(13 ohm)
6. Signal/Noise Ratio >91dB

 
 
then I found a solid state amps/DAC:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110693698551&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3558wt_906
 
the solid state has much lower harmonic distortion, a grater range, and a higher signal to noise ratio. is it better than the tube amp?
 

 

[sidel]

Quote:

 

1. [size=small]Out-Put Impedance:16~600 Ohm[/size]
2. Dynamic range: 84.6dBA((300 ohm) 89.8dBA(33 ohm)
3. Gain:20dB
4. Frequency response:10Hz-60KHz +/- 0.25dB
5. Minimum THD:  0.016%(300 ohm)  0.45%(13 ohm)
6. Signal/Noise Ratio >91dB

 
 
/cut to make smaller
 

Specifications are often very "colored" by manufactures like these, and aren't all-showing or meaningful when translated to actual sound to begin with.  Usually on lower price dac/amp combos the amplifier is more of a cheap add-on and even less impressive than the bravo/muse/indeed/ect hybrid amps. 

 

[kiteki]

That ebay page looks nice but I'd take the those specs with a pinch of salt, for example the septagon rating graph shows how good each tube is but it really depends on which system they're in.
 
I don't really care about background hiss or very low noise much, and you'll find some high-end DAC's that use "vintage" components that will have lower specs on paper but are intentionally used for their particular sound.
 
Advertised frequency extension (on headphones/IEM's) seems to decided by rolling a dice, you can pretty much dismiss all of them, and look for measured frequency response graphs (FR) instead, but don't be scared if they have dips and peaks as this is usually intentionally tailored into them and can sound very good, but dead-flat FR is very popular as well.