[aureus]

Hi guys,

Normally I just search Head-Fi and find answers to my questions. But for some reason, this time I thought it might be a good idea to open a new topic.

I can’t decide on an amp. It’s really hard actually.

After selling my Leckerton UHA-3 (I thought portable amps might not be the best solution of the use is 99% home..), I’m trying to find something better. To be honest, after switching to the Leckerton, switching back to the iMac’s headphone out, switching back to the Leckerton… I couldn’t examine a noticeable difference. I thought there might be a little improvement in the bass, but honestly, I couldn’t understand those people saying "You can’t drive the DT880" without an amp anymore. Well, this time, it shall be different.

I thought about buying the Headphonia USB DAC cable to begin with and upgrading later to a Fubar DAC or something like that. To my mind a decent amp might be more important to begin with, what do you think?

Let’s move on to the central question now. You can see my current headphone equipment in my signature at the moment if that’s important, but I might be side stepping to the K701 sooner or later. Furthermore I’ll be buying a K271S or K272HD soon, I wouldn’t mind an Audio-Technica either. Well, at the moment those are future plans, so let’s calculate with my current equipment.

Which headphone amp would you buy? I thought a kind of warmer amp might be the right way to go, so I nailed my choice down to tubes and the Meier amps, as Jan Meier is already in Germany, that might be a good choice. Somehow I really like his designs too, I can truly imagine putting such an Arietta next to my Alu iMac..

The current budget is at 200€ max. My current choices would be the LD MKII and the Arietta. They are about the same price, which is better? Is there anything else to consider?

By the way, my music of choice is mainly Rock (those British bands are amazing IMO, Radiohead, Oasis, Bloc party and so on), some Blues / Jazz (Katie Melua, Norah Jones, such) and sometimes I mix a little Pop into my listening sessions, like Phil Collins.

I’d be very happy if you gave any advice. I don’t think I’d waste my money with any of those amps, but I’d really like to get the best for it. Thanks.

 

[Jaska]

In order for you to perceive a difference on another scale completely, I seriously think you should consider investing in an outboard DAC. I am of the firm conviction that something like an Apogee Duet will bring about bigger improvements than any headphone amp connected to the line-out of your computer. The Duet's built-in headphone amp is very good, too.

 

[aureus]

First, thanks for your reply. The thing is, the Duet is double the price of the other two amps. Honestly, I can’t afford that at the moment. Do you really think I have to spend 400€ to hear a difference to my iMac’s headphone out? That sounds kind of ridiculous after reading how many people say headphone amps are veeeeery important..

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aureus /img/forum/go_quote.gif First, thanks for your reply. The thing is, the Duet is double the price of the other two amps. Honestly, I can’t afford that at the moment. Do you really think I have to spend 400€ to hear a difference to my iMac’s headphone out? That sounds kind of ridiculous after reading how many people say headphone amps are veeeeery important..

Once you get a good amp, you'll start hearing defects in your source. If you can live with that, OK, but most upgrade after hearing problems in a source. The DT880 is very revealing, as well.

Dr. Meier's amps are very good ones - you would be happy with one. You might also be interested in Eddie Current's Lunchbox.

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aureus /img/forum/go_quote.gif First, thanks for your reply. The thing is, the Duet is double the price of the other two amps. Honestly, I can’t afford that at the moment. Do you really think I have to spend 400€ to hear a difference to my iMac’s headphone out? That sounds kind of ridiculous after reading how many people say headphone amps are veeeeery important..

It's all veeeeery important to someone on some level, but personally, I'm coming out of my iBook G4, through an iMic - a little USB thingy for less than $100 that gets you a line out if your iMac doesn't already have one - into an amp. It sounds good. Very good. Would it sound different if I had an outboard DAC? Sure. A different output stage would probably have a different sound signature if nothing else. Better? Maybe I'll find out some day. But the typical problems that almost require an outboard DAC or sound card - a lot of noise from inside the computer leaking into the audio - don't seem to be an issue in Apples, and like I said, it sounds very good. So that's not the first place I'm going to spend money.

Tim

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aureus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you really think I have to spend 400€ to hear a difference to my iMac’s headphone out?

I'm not sure what you're willing to spend, and of course your hearing is different than mine. I would suggest paying a lot of attention to threads specifically involving Mac-based setups and see what you think afterwards.

All I can say is that in my own case, I have found the Duet to be very well worth the money, and it's honestly hard to even justify a separate headphone amp beyond the one it's already got. Simply putting a headphone amp between your computer (with already good headphone output in my experience - I've heard the aluminum iMacs) and your headphones won't make a huge difference.

Just my opinions, and I have no idea whether you'd prefer solid state or tubes if you're after strictly a headphone amp.

 

[aureus]

Okay, thanks for the advice. I just thought I should buy an iMic + an Arietta, and if I still don’t hear a difference (I can’t believe this will be the case, as I’ll be spending ~250€), I could send them back without any difference, thanks to German law.

 

[aureus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaska /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure what you're willing to spend, and of course your hearing is different than mine. I would suggest paying a lot of attention to threads specifically involving Mac-based setups and see what you think afterwards. All I can say is that in my own case, I have found the Duet to be very well worth the money, and it's honestly hard to even justify a separate headphone amp beyond the one it's already got. Simply putting a headphone amp between your computer (with already good headphone output in my experience - I've heard the aluminum iMacs) and your headphones won't make a huge difference. Just my opinions, and I have no idea whether you'd prefer solid state or tubes if you're after strictly a headphone amp.

I might give the Duet a try as well, after trying the Arietta. Will need a month before I can afford that, though. As I said, returning items in Germany ain’t a problem, and by this time I think trying it out myself will be actually the best.

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aureus /img/forum/go_quote.gif trying it out myself will be actually the best.

Absolutely.

 

[plaidplatypus]

I highly suggest getting an audio-technica over the K271S.

The 2Move has a USB DAC built-in and is the same price as the amp you are looking at.

 

[aureus]

Thanks, but the K271S is elusively cheap here at the moment, they’re selling their last ones so I just can’t pass over that one.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

I own the Little Dot MkIII and love its sound with jazz music. The advantage of a tube amp over solid state amps like the Arietta is the ability to tube roll and control the tone of the amp to your preference, an ability I find particularly helpful when I'm listening to a variety of different types of music.

 

[skeptic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Once you get a good amp, you'll start hearing defects in your source. If you can live with that, OK, but most upgrade after hearing problems in a source. The DT880 is very revealing, as well. Dr. Meier's amps are very good ones - you would be happy with one. You might also be interested in Eddie Current's Lunchbox.

This describes my experience with the 880's perfectly. The addition of a used Woo 3 did yield a serious improvement in the sound of my Beyer's - I'm talking the full laundry list: noticeably wider stage, better separation, tempered the brightness in the trebles, smoother more intimate mids/vocals, and the addition of a nice controlled bottom end - truly revealing notes and lines I had never heard before. For example, a bass line in one song that I had always believed to be some sort of synthesized effect turned out to be humming, and multiple voices were discernible! I agree with the posters who suggest that the 880's pair well with tubes (a little warmth to temper the innate brightness).

But as Uncle Erik noted - a decent amp will also show off the flaws in your source and your source material - in a serious way.

I had the occasion to hear a Shreve-Rabco tangential tonearm a couple of weeks ago, and I'm now itching for a legitimate source. Nothing on this level of course, but something that will approximate it by adding to, rather than detracting from, the woo + Beyer pairing. That is - unless modifying my X-fi really will make it sound as good as a dac1? (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/ho...no-56k-226975/) For some reason I'm dubious...but I think I'm going to have a friend help me give it a go one of these days regardless.

 

[kostalex]

I did not like DT880 with the following SS amps: Audio-Technica AT-HA2, PA2V2, Headroom Total Bithead, Corda Move, iBasso D2. DT880 sounded detailed but lifeless with all of them so I decided it is just boring itself.

Things were changed with OTL tube EddieCurrent LunchBox. This combo sounds both precisely and lively. Very recommended.

Be aware that LunchBox does not handle low impedance cans well.

 

[aureus]

Thanks, but I want to buy in Germany in this case - because of return policy.