Those look like amazing amps. I would love to have a tube amp for my speakers. But they also are very expensive even on the used market. One thing I noticed and found odd is that each of their lineups have the same naming scheme. Whether it's a preamp, power amp or integrated amp they are all name EVO 100, 200, 300 or 400. Would it not make more sense to have a different name for each kind of amp?
What is the best way to get an "all in one" setup for both headphones and speakers?
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Those look like amazing amps. I would love to have a tube amp for my speakers. But they also are very expensive even on the used market. One thing I noticed and found odd is that each of their lineups have the same naming scheme. Whether it's a preamp, power amp or integrated amp they are all name EVO 100, 200, 300 or 400. Would it not make more sense to have a different name for each kind of amp?
Steve160k
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If you can get a demo I don't think you will have any product identify concerns. Before I tried this I was under the impression that you could not have two high end amp stages in the same casing. Wrong.
For £4,600 the EVO 400 amplifier is easily outperforming a £5,000 stereo only valve power amplifier I was trialling. To have the headphone stage in the same box that now replaces the Chord Hugo 2 is icing on the cake.
The value for money is unbeatable. A two box solution that does not compromise.
Try one if you can.
For £4,600 the EVO 400 amplifier is easily outperforming a £5,000 stereo only valve power amplifier I was trialling. To have the headphone stage in the same box that now replaces the Chord Hugo 2 is icing on the cake.
The value for money is unbeatable. A two box solution that does not compromise.
Try one if you can.
I was actually just considering a Schiit Saga+ to use as a tube preamp into a Marantz PM8005 I am looking to get. The Saga+ would add some "tube sound" to the music. Perhaps it would help the headphone out from the PM8005 sound better. I would have my Bifrost II as the DAC for my sources.
I am considering a Pioneer SX-780 or 880 or even an SX-1010 if I can find one. They seem to have a good following online. Would any of these be good options?
Absolutely good choices provided you can find a good deal on one.
driftingbunnies
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With high impedance headphones, I can recommend the Luxman integrated amplifiers like the L550axii since the headphone jack has a high OI. If you had lower impedance headphones like focal, I would stay away from it.
I've gone through this journey before. The amplifier that will power a lot of different speakers and headphones would be the benchmark ahb2. You would have to connect everything to the speaker taps though. The way I used it was I added a speaker tap switch so I can go between speaker and headphones and then had a convertor box that went from speaker tap to 4pin XLR so it was an easy connection. I've found that the ahb2 was quiet enough for even very sensitive headphones and had plenty of grunt for speakers. It's not the most musical amplifier but it got the job done.
Something like the Luxman is more convenient since there's a headphone jack and two speaker taps so you could connect the headphones to one set of speaker tap but that would only work for insensitive planars or high impedance headphones. If you had anything sensitive, you could use the headphone jack but since the output impedance is high for the headphone jack, something like focal would have bloated bass.
One option would be something like a CFA3. It's a custom built amp that is headphone first and speaker second but uses the same circuit to accomplish both so they're both good. I'm waiting to receive mine but there are plenty of owners who really enjoy it. I'm using speakers in a nearfield setting so I think the power should be enough for me but if you want to fill a large room with bookshelves, it might not have enough power. I won't know for sure until I get one.
Last option might be something like a tube amplifier like the elekit tu-8200r. That has a headphone out with speaker taps. Similar thing with power though. It works for me nearfield but might not work for you. However, there are other
For me, I've reached the conclusion that there aren't really that many options when you want to use one box for both. You have a few like the Schiit Ragnarok, Buron Funk, and Burson Timekeeper when it comes to headphone amp manufacturers that have speaker taps. Most headphone outputs are going to be a very low priority for speaker amplifier manufacturers.
I've gone through this journey before. The amplifier that will power a lot of different speakers and headphones would be the benchmark ahb2. You would have to connect everything to the speaker taps though. The way I used it was I added a speaker tap switch so I can go between speaker and headphones and then had a convertor box that went from speaker tap to 4pin XLR so it was an easy connection. I've found that the ahb2 was quiet enough for even very sensitive headphones and had plenty of grunt for speakers. It's not the most musical amplifier but it got the job done.
Something like the Luxman is more convenient since there's a headphone jack and two speaker taps so you could connect the headphones to one set of speaker tap but that would only work for insensitive planars or high impedance headphones. If you had anything sensitive, you could use the headphone jack but since the output impedance is high for the headphone jack, something like focal would have bloated bass.
One option would be something like a CFA3. It's a custom built amp that is headphone first and speaker second but uses the same circuit to accomplish both so they're both good. I'm waiting to receive mine but there are plenty of owners who really enjoy it. I'm using speakers in a nearfield setting so I think the power should be enough for me but if you want to fill a large room with bookshelves, it might not have enough power. I won't know for sure until I get one.
Last option might be something like a tube amplifier like the elekit tu-8200r. That has a headphone out with speaker taps. Similar thing with power though. It works for me nearfield but might not work for you. However, there are other
For me, I've reached the conclusion that there aren't really that many options when you want to use one box for both. You have a few like the Schiit Ragnarok, Buron Funk, and Burson Timekeeper when it comes to headphone amp manufacturers that have speaker taps. Most headphone outputs are going to be a very low priority for speaker amplifier manufacturers.
Well it looks like the 780 just sold. But the 880 is still available for $770 Canadian.
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