[Curtisvill]

Hey everyone, as the title of the thread states I am looking for recommendations for a new to me tube amp. This will be my first headphone tube amp. I have had several different tube amps for my home stereo back in the day. I always found myself going back to solid state amps as my ears tended to pick up a hiss from the tube amps, almost like white noise, between songs or during quieter parts of the arrangements that took away from my enjoyment. I am hoping that the hiss can be taken care of with a power conditioner and would like to see what a tube amp will do for the warmth of the music. I am also interested in tube rolling and customizing the sound more to my preference.

I am new to the high-end headphone game, I have spent a small fortune on my home stereo which seems to be getting less and less use, as my headphones have become my go to for listening to music. I have had headphones from Sony, Sennheiser, B&W, Beats, and Apple along the way usually streaming music thru my Mac or iPhone, both wired and wireless.

My personality is such that when I find a new passion I jump in with both feet and buy what sounds like the newest/latest/greatest/hottest product on the market. I would like to think that I can restrain myself during this journey, take my time, and get some good guidance along the way.

My current list of gear and setup includes:

Amplifier – Focal Arche
Portable Amp – Dragonfly Cobalt for use with my Mac
Headphone – Focal Clear
CIEM – Ultimate Ears UE 18+
ZMF Verite Closed – on order
DAP – Astell and Kern SR15 – this will be upgraded down the road, Interested in your suggestions
DAC – I do not use a dedicated DAC at the moment but will add down the road, would love suggestions here as well
Cables – I use Black Dragon for my Clears and a wonderful Triton cable for my UE 18’s, both of which are balanced
Tidal for streaming

I have very eclectic musical taste. I listen to classical, jazz, opera, classic rock, lounge music, country, heavy metal, alternative, you name it. I have found with Tidal I am listening to a lot of different genres I would not usually consider as the quality of the signal is so good, and I am transfixed by the music and what I am hearing. I have found myself discovering sounds within songs that I have listened to hundreds of times emerging from the background which have not been audible to me in the past.

I do not want to spend more than $2,000 at this time but could be convinced to spend a bit more on the right amp. The amp can be new or used. I would prefer a smaller footprint desktop amp but that is not a deal breaker. I would like to add a planar headphone at some point and hope that this amp would be able to power them, along with my current headphones, without upgrading. I have looked at WOO, Bottlehead (I would let someone else build for me as my skill set is not in this arena), Felks Audio, Cayin, Schiit, Auris Audio, etc. I am beginning to get paralysis thru analysis. hence my need for your help.

Since I am not able to audition any amps at this time, I would like to hear your recommendations. I realize everyone’s ears are different and what I enjoy may not be your cup of tea but that is ok, I really appreciate your help. I have truly enjoyed being a part of this community and the knowledge that is freely shared is invaluable. I hope to be able to give back as I become more knowledgeable. Thanks in advance for your help and I look forward to engaging more with each of you.

John

 

[ruinedx]

Dunno about used but high quality, new headphone tube amps that include a tube power stage & have the goodies (balanced i/o etc) seem to start at $2500 like the Woo Audio WA22. Seems to be a wide price chasm between the cheap junk and the good stuff.

However, I just picked up the hybrid Monolith Liquid Platinum by Alex Cavalli (a smaller, less costly Liquid Crimson w/ balanced input) and I am *extremely* satisfied with the sound. My setup is PC > Musical Fidelity MX-DAC > Liquid Platinum > HD820/HD700/Hemp. It uses a tube preamp stage and solid state power amp stage; comes with two EH 6922 tubes. On sale @ Monoprice for $484 right now (reg 799). Deal might not last for long tho. Note this unit is meant to be used primarily with balanced 4pin XLR headphone cable, the 1/4" jack is no prize.

Note I listen to virtually all music genres also and this amp's got it covered. Tons of power on tap as well.

 

[1slyB]

I personally would stick with Woo Audio or Feliks Audio around that price. I am currently deciding which Feliks Audio to get next as have the Echo atm so I may have a bias. I like Woo Audio but prefer the look of the Feliks but either seem to be super popular. I think the Elise is considered the best all rounders in the Feliks range, it maybe the same for the WA2 but I have not heard it personally.

The Woo Audio WA22 is a very nice amp but remember it is super clean and doesn't necessary have that tube sound I think like the Feliks Euforia, they are both very clean and considered more clinical. Balanced isn't needed with the Feliks as the noise floor is extremely low I think this can be said also for the Woo Audio but it is a more powerful amp also remember Feliks Audio arn't super powerful so if you have a planar go with Woo Audio as they technically are more powerful. Focal from what I have heard use Feliks to demo headphones but you would need technically with either the Elise or Euforia based on your Focal Clears impedance. But with the Feliks Audio you get a preamp out on the "budget" Echo while no preamp on the Woo Audio until I think the WA22.

Interesting chart about the Woo Audio specs
https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...1059475471/wooaudio_amplifier_comparisons.pdf

 

[Curtisvill]

Thank you both for your suggestions. If there was a way to audition the above amps that would be my first choice, but since that is not possible at the moment, your advice and guidance is greatly appreciated.
John

 

[ruinedx]

Thank you both for your suggestions. If there was a way to audition the above amps that would be my first choice, but since that is not possible at the moment, your advice and guidance is greatly appreciated.
John

It depends what you are going for.

Do you want just a hint of tube to take the digital "edge" off, like a neutral presentation without the "glare"? Or do you want to go full-on lots of tube distortion for that "euphonic" sound? The former is like a gentler solid state, the latter is super tubey. The former can be achieved with tube hybrid, latter needs full tube. Full tube also has more maintenance as power tube lifespan is much shorter than preamp tube.

 

[Curtisvill]

That is a good question. Since I already have a solid state amp I want to go in the opposite direction for some thinking that is super tubey.

 

[ruinedx]

That is a good question. Since I already have a solid state amp I want to go in the opposite direction for some thinking that is super tubey.

Bottlehead Crack with speedball upgrade would be a good place to start. Not too costly and will give you a sample of that type of sound, before spending tons of money and might not like it.

 

[tubebuyer2020]

I am also interested in tube rolling and customising the sound more to my preference.
...
My personality is such that when I find a new passion I jump in with both feet and buy what sounds like the newest/latest/greatest/hottest product on the market.

Make sure you consider tube rolling in your budget. All the well-known good stuff is expensive.

 

[Curtisvill]

Thank you for all of your ideas. I decided to go with a hybrid amp, Liquid Platinum, to see if I can find what it is exactly I am looking for in a tube amp. I realize the sound will be different with a hybrid vs all tube, but tube rolling should help me better identify the sound qualities that are important to me.

 

[ruinedx]

Thank you for all of your ideas. I decided to go with a hybrid amp, Liquid Platinum, to see if I can find what it is exactly I am looking for in a tube amp. I realize the sound will be different with a hybrid vs all tube, but tube rolling should help me better identify the sound qualities that are important to me.

Tungsram and Siemens 6922 are good places to start depending on budget. But first put 100 hours on stock tubes so you know which way to go (if any, stock tube sound may work for your setup)

The amp designer in the past demoed the $3000 Liquid Crimson (which the LP is a downscaled version of) using the same tubes that come stock with liquid platinum:


Note the black Electro Harmonix boxes in lower right of frame

Don't have a video but LP was also demoed at shows with EH 6922 as well. So stock tubes definitely aren't bad

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

You check these out. They are high value amps and are on your budget. They have their respective threads in this forum. Might be getting the Citadel Custom myself (they say its up there with WA33).

1. Ultrasonic Studios Oblivion and Citadel
2. ECP Audio T4
3. Cayin Ha-6A

 

[helljudgement]

With your budget I recommend the DNA Starlett. If you can stretch I'd recommend going to the Stratus especially if you intend to purchase planars in the future else the Starlett should be more than enough for an end game tube setup. You can use the Arche as dac so probably no real need for a dedicated dac soon.

 

[Honeypot]

I may have missed the ops budget but since you are considering the echo, here goes my two cents.
It's an awesome tube amp, it's very clean sounding and it adds warmness but no distortion or funny tube cracks.
IMHO it is hard to beat for 500 (i got it for 400 in a stores deal).
However if you are looking for more funny tubby sound, darkvoice + nice russian tubes (they go up in $$).

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

If you want a proper tube amp experience you’ll want to look for something like a Bottlehead Crack or indeed another OTL amp with a high output impedance (which is what makes these amps sound warm). The thing is..you only have one headphone that will pair well with an OTL..and that is the ZMF. The Focal Clear is a low impedance headphone and should preferably be hooked up to something with a low output impedance.
Anyhoo..if you’re set on trying a tube amp then you may want to look into more headphones like the ZMF ie high impedance (300 ohm).