[HeadFierUsername2022]

Hello,



As the title says I am looking for a good OTL amp for my soon to come pair od T1' s.
Problem with living in the EU, many are expensive, impossible to find or on the wrong power input values (out of budget is as always present) .
Budget woul be maximum 200€- 300€ (including shiping and taxes, if necessary) .
I am mostly interested in personal opininions, because many on the 'specialized' sites seem to me to be ads.

I dream of a Decware CSP 2(+) but for now, is just that.

Can I use my HK970 as a DAC?



Thanks!

 

[serman005]

Check out the DarkVoicce 336SE. It could potentially work for you.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

Check out the DarkVoicce 336SE. It could potentially work for you.

Hello,

With shipping and taxes is way over budget. I' ve searched for it here, but no luck (searched for La Figaro also, same) .

Thanks

 

[ProtegeManiac]

With shipping and taxes is way over budget. I' ve searched for it here, but no luck (searched for La Figaro also, same) .

You might as well save up and enlarge that budget. There are cheaper amps, but not by much, and since you're not getting them in the EU anyway, you'd still end up paying shipping and taxes. Also compare the price to the Schiit Valhalla2 if you purchase that from the EU dealer - if it's not that much higher you might as well get that.

Alternately, you can just give up on tubes and get an O2 from Head-N-HiFi, or the Meier Corda Rock.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

You might as well save up and enlarge that budget. There are cheaper amps, but not by much, and since you're not getting them in the EU anyway, you'd still end up paying shipping and taxes. Also compare the price to the Schiit Valhalla2 if you purchase that from the EU dealer - if it's not that much higher you might as well get that.

Alternately, you can just give up on tubes and get an O2 from Head-N-HiFi, or the Meier Corda Rock.

Hello,


The Valhalla 2 is a 'true' OTL or is it a hybrid?
Also, the DAC issue/ question still puzzles me.

Has anyone heard of Hartung amps? Are they any good for this 'task' (driving T1' s) ?

Thanks

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

If you are considering the Valhalla 2, that is already over your original budget, take a look at the Feliks Audio Espressivo, works very well with the T1.

The Valhalla 2 is OTL,

The Little Dot MK2 is available from Amazon too,

 

[ProtegeManiac]

The Valhalla 2 is a 'true' OTL or is it a hybrid?

Also, the DAC issue/ question still puzzles me.

Me too. I can't see why you'd think of using the HK970 as a Digital to Analogue Converter when it doesn't even have a digital input to receive a signal that it would convert to analogue.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

If you are considering the Valhalla 2, that is already over your original budget, take a look at the Feliks Audio Espressivo, works very well with the T1.

The Valhalla 2 is OTL,

The Little Dot MK2 is available from Amazon too,

Hello,


The Feliks Specs show just 300 Ohms. I am a newbie as far as depth of headphones foes, but is that enough to drive the T1' s?


Thanks

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

Hello,


The Feliks Specs show just 300 Ohms. I am a newbie as far as depth of headphones foes, but is that enough to drive the T1' s?


Thanks

I don't always believe the specs, and I have used the Espressivo with the T1 and T1 2nd Generation, it powers them just fine and sounds really really good with them. Also you are supporting a small, hand built amp manufacturer.

I used my Espressivo with the T1 at the first London Canjam and people were very impressed with its performance, and thought it was a lot more expensive than it is.

Marshall Jefferson (House producer) went out and purchased one after seeing and listening to it at CanJam.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

I don't always believe the specs, and I have used the Espressivo with the T1 and T1 2nd Generation, it powers them just fine and sounds really really good with them. Also you are supporting a small, hand built amp manufacturer.

I used my Espressivo with the T1 at the first London Canjam and people were very impressed with its performance, and thought it was a lot more expensive than it is.

Marshall Jefferson (House producer) went out and purchased one after seeing and listening to it at CanJam.

Impressed by its performance means it was a good 300 ohm amp, or that it sounded just as good as a 600 ohm?
I don' t know this differences as far as sound goes (produced by the T1' s) , so that' s why I' m asking, seing that you (' ve) own(ed) them.


Thanks

 

[ostewart]

Impressed by its performance means it was a good 300 ohm amp, or that it sounded just as good as a 600 ohm?
I don' t know this differences as far as sound goes (produced by the T1' s) , so that' s why I' m asking, seing that you (' ve) own(ed) them.


Thanks

I think you are getting confused, the amp is not 300ohm or 600ohm, the headphones you use are that impedance.

For example, it will not power the Hifiman HE-500 even though they are 38ohm, they require a lot more power.

The Beyerdynamic are 600ohm but not too difficult to drive, the Espressivo is a brilliant amp for them.

I owned the Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm for quite a while and it powered those equally as well, so it has no issues driving most dynamic headphones.

Here is mine:

Also it says on their website:

• Optimal headphones impedance: 100 - 600 ohm

http://feliksaudio.pl/en/products.php

Review using the T1 (not mine): http://pmrreviews.com/?p=1013

My review: http://www.soundperfectionreviews.com/2015/09/review-feliks-audio-espressivo-hand.html

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

I think you are getting confused, the amp is not 300ohm or 600ohm, the headphones you use are that impedance.

For example, it will not power the Hifiman HE-500 even though they are 38ohm, they require a lot more power.

The Beyerdynamic are 600ohm but not too difficult to drive, the Espressivo is a brilliant amp for them.

I owned the Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm for quite a while and it powered those equally as well, so it has no issues driving most dynamic headphones.

Here is mine:

Also it says on their website:

• Optimal headphones impedance: 100 - 600 ohm

http://feliksaudio.pl/en/products.php

Review using the T1 (not mine): http://pmrreviews.com/?p=1013

My review: http://www.soundperfectionreviews.com/2015/09/review-feliks-audio-espressivo-hand.html

Hello,


Looks good, and found one in the price range if it would only ship where I live. On the official site the price is a bit out of budget.
Has anyone had the chance to test the Hartung Headphone OTL?
Read somewhere it was decent and in the pricerange of the Espressivo.
That Espressivo looks nice.


Thanks for giving me a viable option

 

[kvik]

I have no personal experience with this company/model, but TPaudio in Italy has an OTL amp within your budget.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

Hello again,


Does anyone have the Feliks Audio Elise (and [had] also the Espressivo) ? If so, is it worth (not subtle worths) saving some more for it?


Thanks

 

[ostewart]

Hello again,


Does anyone have the Feliks Audio Elise (and [had] also the Espressivo) ? If so, is it worth (not subtle worths) saving some more for it?


Thanks

I have reviewed both, if you have the money the Elise is definitely worth it, it has more power and authority to the sound, it is fuller and more effortless. But beware that tube rolling can get expensive with it, and you will find yourself looking for other tubes quickly even though it "doesn't" need them and sounds great stock.

Tube rolling can get expensive with any tube amp, but the ones used in the Elise are more expensive than those in the Espressivo.

Comparison can be found in my review: http://www.soundperfectionreviews.com/2016/09/review-feliks-audio-elise-otl-valve-amp.html