[Maxvla]

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Sounds like the OP needs to attend a meet. You are in a prime audio geography so check out the meets thread.

Typically one in Houston (not sure of times) and one in Dallas/FT. Worth area (January and sometimes a second meet in July).

 

[Bloodoath]

$900.00

 

[alphaphoenix]

Quote:

$900.00

LOL.  I was wondering when this would show up. 
 
Anyways, like other's have said, go to a meet, bring your own music and cans and have some methodical system to compare the amps with music/can combo and take notes if you have to.  Most importantly, have fun!

 

[Ypoknons]

Depends on the $300 amp, there are some rather competent ones and some not so good for that price. The circuit design, the opamps used, the quality of the power supply, parts and caps, they all make difference. It also depends on application, a lot of $250 amps are either good at high-impedence (budget OTL tube designs) or low-power, there are a few all-rounders at low price points but $1200 can get you some really cool stuff (like the Head One with variable output impedence etc...).
 
Differences between amplifers are smaller than between headphones or speakers, and what amp you buy depends on the headphone's needs. Sometimes you don't need a powerful or dedicated amp at all.

 

[SP Wild]

Thanks - very insightful.  Perhaps one day I could commission you to build me a proper hi-end tube amp. 
 
I do wonder about solidstate though.  You have the Matrix going around three hundred, the Asgard - goes for $250!!!  As a point of reference - Headphonic felt the Black Cube Linear had the most quickest transients of most amplifiers - eclipsing even the B22 in this department.  The BCL retails at around about the 1k mark and was also selected by Sennheisser to debut the HD800 to the world.  The Matrix is a clone of that - and is reviewed to compete and beat amplifiers no less than twice the price. 
 
The Asgard is discreet class A - and it runs hot enough to be class A.  For $250 - I wonder how much price tags play on the mind of consumers.
I have always felt that todays $300 dollar amplifiers are constructed to run with $1000 amplifiers from last year.
 
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Yes, there are huge differences.

Usually, the differences come out in the power supply. I'm not terribly up on solid state, but there's considerable differences in tube amps. The power transformer is usually the biggest expense, often running $100-$200 alone. If you want to use big caps and chokes to smooth the power, you can easily run up to $500-$600 in parts alone. The power supply is key with tubes. Cheap supplies will let "ripple" through that makes the sound output waver a bit. Ditto if you put AC on the filaments instead of DC. The smoother the power and deeper the reserves, the better the sound will be. If you look at the good amps, they all invest heavily in the power supply. You can also run up the tab using tube rectifiers as opposed to diodes.

Next, you have to look at construction. Cheap amps are built on a PCB. That makes them more or less disposable, since a damaged PCB can be a real pain to repair. If traces lift, get broken or scorched, you pretty much have to rebuild the amp entirely, which would cost more than replacing it. The good amps are point-to-point, with terminals and real wires making connections. If something goes wrong in one of those, you can usually get the bad stuff out in short order and repair the amp.

As an example, I'm building Ciuffoli's SESS amp with 417A tubes (plans at Headwize). I paid $700 just for the power transformer, three chokes, and two output transformers. Then I'll spend another $200 for a stepped attenuator volume control, individual terminal points, and I've got another $300 or so in sockets, tubes, jacks, switch, screws, raw aluminum for the case, Teflon wire, and headphone jack. So, about $1,200 in parts, give or take. Since I'm building the case from scratch, it'll probably take 60-70 hours to finish it nicely. This doesn't include a few thousand in tools that I already have.

The rule of thumb is that an amp costs four times its parts if you want to sell it retail. I don't think I could turn a profit on this thing unless I charged about $3,500-$4,000 for it.

This is also why you don't see that many truly high-end tube amps on the market. If you have to add in labor and overhead, it's not easy to break even at the high prices. If you want a really good amp, you often have to build it yourself.

 

[FallenAngel]

Actually, I really disagree with the idea "todays $300 dollar amplifiers are constructed to run with $1000 amplifiers from last year".  In fact, I have usually felt the exact opposite with regards to amplification and even more so with DACs.  Yes, there are newer designs and yes digital audio has taken huge steps forwards... which makes $1000 amps and DACs from a few years ago sell for $300... but they still sound like $1000 units and usually go head to head with today's $1000 products.

 

[Happy Camper]

I'd take a rebuilt old amp before I would a new amp both prices being the same. Discrete circuitry sounds better than opamps IMO. Properly powered tube amps are preferred.
 
Dacs are a whole nother discussion.

 

[wantmyf1]

Are there distinguishable differences between a $300 and a $1200 amp?  For the most part, absolutely. 
 
Whether those differences are worth the extra cost of admission is something only you as a buyer can decide.

 

[hodgjy]

I follow the following advice and believe it to be true:
 
The jump from low-fi to mid-fi is cheaper and more easily noticeable than the jump from mid-fi to higher-mid-fi and even to hi-fi.  Sure, there are some improvements, but each dollar does less as you go up the scale.  In other words, the jump from a $100 amp to a $500 amp is more noticeable than the jump from a $2000 amp to a $2500 amp.  Eventually, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.
 
I say spend the most you can afford and love it to death.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

To me, something that's $200 and almost as awesome as something that's $1000 is actually more interesting than the better, $1000 item. I'm a stingy bugger, and great deals are more interesting than straight-out brilliance at a steep price. It's all about stretching that budget just a little further.

 

[Bloodoath]

Let me say this in all seriousness, I'm looking for an amp too.  I want max bang for the buck.  Guaranteed a $300.00 amp won't have as good components or warranty as a $1200.00 one. This does not mean they won't sound as good one another, but usually you get what you for.

 

[spartan123]

I don't know...  Their are some amps tubed and SS that for 750.00 or less sound just fantastic and can be more then most people will ever need.  Look at my profile....  Tho... It is really up to a persons hearing abilities... and their can collection and source...  and media...   Look for used... you will save a LOT of money.
 
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Let me say this in all seriousness, I'm looking for an amp too.  I want max bang for the buck.  Guaranteed a $300.00 amp won't have as good components or warranty as a $1200.00 one. This does not mean they won't sound as good one another, but usually you get what you for.

 

[Alrod]

Quote:

Let me say this in all seriousness, I'm looking for an amp too.  I want max bang for the buck.  Guaranteed a $300.00 amp won't have as good components or warranty as a $1200.00 one. This does not mean they won't sound as good one another, but usually you get what you for.

These are excellent points, which is why I subscribe to blind testing whenever possible.  I saved a lot of money doing it this way.  At least in America anyway, our minds are trained to think that more expensive = better.

 

[downsize]

It wasn't too long ago that I started on the amp answers quest. I found there are a few peoducts at different price points that way over step their own pricing ....
 
For example, there is NO WAY I would spend over $1200 for a solid state amp after hearing the Blue Circle Audio SBH, unless i was ready to spend around $4500 for an EAR HP4.
 
At the $650 price point, I don't think you can beat a Goldpoint.  But for the lower priced offerings I have no experience, although I am sure there is a giant killer at the $350 mark probably.

 

[ROBSCIX]

I think a good point is to go and listen to some different products at various price points.  This will give you a better idea of what the different products and build types (glass, solid state) have to offer you.
Then you can make an informed decision as to what product and price range is the right one for you.