[peter braun]

A local dealer carries a headphone amp by a brand called Furmann. They said that the company primarily makes pro gear, which explains why it is seldom heard of. Has anyone else heard or heard of these amps? The person on staff said that it bests other amps until you move into the Sudgen price range. At $275, this would be quite a bargain! Any comments ?

P.S. - The particular amp that I heard is also said to serve as a 20W integrated amp. This may something AKG1000 owners might want to look into?

 

[peter braun]

Ohh yes...the other amp I was wondering about was one that I saw in the new Music Direct catalog. Advertised as the Pro-ject Head Box, it sells for it $249.99. Any comments on this amp?

 

[Orpheus]

i assume your dealer meant either this:

http://www.furmansound.com/pro/hdphn.../system3_3.htm

or most probably this:

http://www.furmansound.com/pro/hdphn.../system3_1.htm

the former is mostly advertised as a "power amp" while the latter is Furman's real "headphone amp."

either way, i wouldn't be surprised if either amps sound better than audiophile types costing several times more. furman is an extremely popular pro audio company, and probably sells more headphone amps than probably half the companies mentioned on this board COMBINED. ...so, since they make so many of these things, they can produce them much cheaper than small companies making much smaller numbers.

but anyway... i have never used one... though you can find zillions of these things (and other furman headphone amps) on ebay. i'd be curious how an audiophile would compare these amps to more "famous" audiophile-type headphone amps.

furman does make consumer models though (mostly power conditioning/regulating related stuff)... but no consumer headphone amps.

 

[grancasa]

Quote:

Originally posted by Orpheus either way, i wouldn't be surprised if either amps sound better than audiophile types costing several times more. furman is an extremely popular pro audio company, and probably sells more headphone amps than probably half the companies mentioned on this board COMBINED. ...so, since they make so many of these things, they can produce them much cheaper than small companies making much smaller numbers.

Nope, the Furman amps don't sound better than the amps talked about on this board. They aren't designed with high quality sound in mind... they are made to simply provide a headphone output for studio musicians from the control room. They sounded okay to me, but really they were just like the headphone out from the Mackie mixer I was using... not all that interesting.

 

[Number9]

Also be careful with pro studio equipment. Most of them require XLR balanced input connectors or TRS phone connectors, vs. the standard RCA phono plugs that you find with home gear.

 

[Orpheus]

"Nope, the Furman amps don't sound better than the amps talked about on this board. They aren't designed with high quality sound in mind... they are made to simply provide a headphone output for studio musicians from the control room. They sounded okay to me, but really they were just like the headphone out from the Mackie mixer I was using... not all that interesting."

--yes, true... they are mostly to provide outputs to the musicians either recording or are on stage. however, this does not mean furman did not try to make them "sound good." and they definately ARE NOT like the headphone outs on a Mackie mixer. i personally have a Mackie 32x8 (a $5000 board), and i can tell you, the headphone outs on that board are relatively weak, though are still more powerful than my MG Head. even the headphone outs on my Tascam CD player are more powerful than my mixer's. i quote:

"The Furman HA-6A's 20 watts-per-channel make it ideal as a low distortion headphone driver for the most critical listening situations. While most headphone amps provide half a watt or less per headphone channel, the HA-6A's higher power can drive headphones of any impedance to their full rated listening level, and do so with minimal noise and distortion."

believe me... your Mackie mixer does not have a 20wpc headphone out. no way.

yes, i have not heard them... and it is possible as you observed that they don't sound all that great... but don't think these headphone amps are your standard outs from mixers/cd-players, etc.... they are anything but.

 

[peter braun]

The amp pictured in the first link was the one I saw and heard, thank you Orpheus. At the time I thought it sounded pretty good, but I was just begining to look for an amp and had heard only it and the Creek. As I look back, I do remember the low end being extremely tight and the overall sound clear. But once again, I was just getting started and using only the jack on my cd player to drive my 600's.

 

[Orpheus]

cool...

but again, i just want to say, i am not saying that they do sound good. i have never used one. but they are one of the most popular headphone amps ever made (the 6 channel version,) despite the fact that no one mentions them on this board. so they are at least worth checking out. not only that.... you can get one for really cheap on ebay. there are some other companies making these things though... Samson has a really cool one that's blue, and has level meters all over it. but furman is still the most popular.

 

[peter braun]

This would definitly be an amp to at the very least look into, especially for those with a hard to drive pair of headphones. I know the dealer thought very highly of it, and it was primarily a home audio store, no pro gear.