[some dude]

I have a pair of HiFiman HE1000SE planar headphones which are rated at 35 ohms and 96db sensitivity. They are very easy to drive so the total power of the amp would be not much of an issue unless it’s way too powerful. I plan to use them mostly on a Chord mojo 2 but I would like to have a tube amp to complement that. I actually have a woo wa7 that does sound really good but it isn’t as tubey sounding as I am would prefer. Below I will list the attributes/requirements I am looking for in a tube amp to avoid irrelevant suggestions.

Strong tube sound: I want something ooey gooey sounding. The point of adding this tube amp will be to have a completely different sonic profile from the mojo 2. I want a thick syrupy euphonic sound.

Pairs well with 35 ohm planars.

Still has a relatively high level of detail. I realize that the sound profile I am looking for will inherently sacrifice some detail but I don’t want anything too muddy.

Price: preferably something that can be acquired for around $1000 usd or so. It can be new, used, or built I don’t really care, I am ok with assembling something. If you have a suggestion that is like $1200 go ahead and throw it out there, I have a bad habit of going over budget so it’s not out of the question…

Any and all suggestions are welcome and appreciated. I will do my due diligence on whatever is mentioned. Extra consideration will be given if you’ve actually heard an he1000se on the amp.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Low Ohm (impedance) headphones usually do not do well with OTL (pure) tube (high impedance) headphone amplifiers (more so the cheaper ones).
But a hybrid (tube/ solid state) will offer a low output impedance headphone jack.

 

[jonathan c]

I have a pair of HiFiman HE1000SE planar headphones which are rated at 35 ohms and 96db sensitivity. They are very easy to drive so the total power of the amp would be not much of an issue unless it’s way too powerful. I plan to use them mostly on a Chord mojo 2 but I would like to have a tube amp to complement that. I actually have a woo wa7 that does sound really good but it isn’t as tubey sounding as I am would prefer. Below I will list the attributes/requirements I am looking for in a tube amp to avoid irrelevant suggestions.

Strong tube sound: I want something ooey gooey sounding. The point of adding this tube amp will be to have a completely different sonic profile from the mojo 2. I want a thick syrupy euphonic sound.

Then, you should look into the Little Dot Mk 9. There is a Little Dot (U.S.) website; also Shenzhen Audio website.

Note: with two 6080 tubes + one 6N9P (or 6SL7) tube, it will run hot. [Price: app. $470 USD when on sale]

 

[DeadEars]

I'm surprised that no one has come up with recommendations based on your criteria. Your HE1000SE headphones tend to fine detail and etherial mids/highs, so it might be a challenge to get rich & bloomy out of them. I heard them only once, at a meet, powered by a Linear Tube Audio headphone amp, which was a crystal-clear relevation of detail and presence. My suspicion is that the Manley Absolute headphone ampllifer, which allows you a lot of flexibility for tuning the match, would be a world-beater with your cans. You should try to track them down and see (hear) for yourself.

 

[some dude]

I'm surprised that no one has come up with recommendations based on your criteria. Your HE1000SE headphones tend to fine detail and etherial mids/highs, so it might be a challenge to get rich & bloomy out of them. I heard them only once, at a meet, powered by a Linear Tube Audio headphone amp, which was a crystal-clear relevation of detail and presence. My suspicion is that the Manley Absolute headphone ampllifer, which allows you a lot of flexibility for tuning the match, would be a world-beater with your cans. You should try to track them down and see (hear) for yourself.

I wish but the absolute is substantially over budget at the moment…

 

[buke9]

I believe you have a misconception of tube amps. Most are not ooey gooey sounding.

 

[DenverW]

I believe you have a misconception of tube amps. Most are not ooey gooey sounding.

Agreed. The ones that are the most ooey gooey are going to be some of the OTL amps, such as a the pre-speedball bottlehead crack. The challenge you're going to run into is that your headphones won't pair well with that type of amp. If you're looking for a warm, euphoric tube sound I'd recommend getting a solid but inexpensive headphone such as the HD6xx or hd600 and see how they sound and how you like them on an OTL like the crack.

 

[UntilThen]

Price: preferably something that can be acquired for around $1000 usd or so. It can be new, used, or built I don’t really care, I am ok with assembling something. If you have a suggestion that is like $1200 go ahead and throw it out there, I have a bad habit of going over budget so it’s not out of the question…

I have just the tube amp for you. This is output transformer coupled. Drives anything from Grados to Susvara without a hiss or noise. Sound is .... like you have never heard before. It's custom built and should fall in your price range for the basic model in metallic silver US$1000. This model in wooden chassis and with Mundorf Silver Gold Oil caps and Silk output transformers will set you back at > US$2000.

This amp accepts a wide range of tubes from cheap to expensive. Your choice basically. From affordable GE 6y6g, 6v6, 6F6, 6W6 to GEC KT88, EL34, etc.

Interested? Hop over to this thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/eric-mcchanson-headphone-amp.718350/page-163#post-17604112

 

[some dude]

I believe you have a misconception of tube amps. Most are not ooey gooey sounding.

I know most are not but some have that sort of sound. From what I have heard so far the Feliks Elise mk2 is kind of along the lines of the sound I’m looking for. Although I have heard people say with my headphones it looses a little bit on the low end with that particular amp. I am definitely not a tube expert at all which is why I enquired here to hopefully get some suggestions or information from people more informed on the subject.

 

[UntilThen]

I had He1000se before so I know what that headphone needs. LCD4 as well.

FYI I had Feliks Audio Elise and Euforia before.

 

[some dude]

I have just the tube amp for you. This is output transformer coupled. Drives anything from Grados to Susvara without a hiss or noise. Sound is .... like you have never heard before. It's custom built and should fall in your price range for the basic model in metallic silver US$1000. This model in wooden chassis and with Mundorf Silver Gold Oil caps and Silk output transformers will set you back at > US$2000.

This amp accepts a wide range of tubes from cheap to expensive. Your choice basically. From affordable GE 6y6g, 6v6, 6F6, 6W6 to GEC KT88, EL34, etc.

Interested? Hop over to this thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/eric-mcchanson-headphone-amp.718350/page-163#post-17604112

I am interested thank you. That’s is perfect because I could start out cheap and upgrade things over time. I also know a wood guy that does custom stablized stuff pretty cheap so I could make a savage ZMF limited looking chassis for it no problem.

 

[UntilThen]

The basic model.

 

[UntilThen]

Point to point wiring. The tube amp builder has 40+ years of experience making stereo tube amp, guitar amps and headphone amps. I personally have this 300b amp from him as well.

This model though is good for Susvara but there's hum with sensitive He1000se. With Susvara it's perfect.

 

[some dude]

The basic model.

Looks nice. I pm you with some more questions about these.

 

[UntilThen]

Looks nice. I pm you with some more questions about these.

Sure. I'm not the builder but I know the builder well and have 2 of his tube amps.