[sheadlee]

Has anyone used or heard the HD83 tube headphone amp?

If so, how does it compare with some of the other good amps?
(I'm using the Sennhieser HD 600's)

Thanks for any help.

 

[Ross]

I have the HD83 and it's good. It is certainly much better than the X-Cans (v1 or 2) (but so are most things), and I think I prefer it to my recently acquired Earmax Pro. Let me qualify that statement by saying that I generally prefer solid state amps to tube amps, and the HD83 is a little more dynamic than the Earmax Pro, without so much of the soft, syrupy single-ended sound of the Earmax. People who like the classic tube sound may prefer the Earmax.

I still prefer my solid state amps to the HD83, particularly the Maxed Out Home and Hart Kit (http://users.classicfm.net/williamshart/), but the HD83 is without doubt a very fine amp, and excellent value. It sounds great with the Sennheiser 600s (which is what I use with it), and I would recommend it as being in the same class as the other top headphone amps out there.

One qualification I will add is that I found it extremely difficult to build, and had to have a professional finish it for me. But then I am a complete klutz with a soldering iron, so your experience may be completely different.

 

[sheadlee]

Ross,

Thanks for your helpful information...I am appreciative.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

It is certainly much better than the X-Cans (v1 or 2) (but so are most things)

That's a pretty bold statement, Ross

If you mean "most high-end headphones amps cost more than the X-CANv2, so they should be better" I would probably agree. But for my ears, the X-CANv2 is the best thing I've heard under $300, especially for Senn 580/600.

 

[Ross]

It was intended to be a provocative statement.

I owned the X-Cans v1 and I've heard the v2. I thought both sounded bad. I'm happy for other people to take a different view, but that was my opinion.

I've also heard a number of other Musical Fidelity products and thought they all sounded very ordinary. In my view, Musical Fidelity spend more time and money on the cosmetics of their equipment than on good engineering or parts, which is why they replace every model in their range just about every year. As you can see, I am not a fan of Musical Fidelity.

 

[mirkot]

I am currently using (borrowed) X-Can V1 + X-PSU and I don't like it at all. It sounds OK on its own, when you think in terms of bass rsponse, high extension, dynamics etc. The "only" problem is that it destroys the music. I can not listen to it more than half an hour. It is simply annoying. I am using HD600 with it.

 

[aeberbach]

A great little amp - I built it on the PCB and then rebuilt it wired point-to-point and it was even better. Perhaps it could be improved further with silver-wound output transformers but at the price it is extremely hard to beat.

 

[wordsworth]

I did give some though to getting th WAD 83 amp when I saw it in Hi Fi world magazine. But now I have a Williams hart Chiarra amp and I love it and wouldn't trade it for any amp.

Wordsworth

Edited: Only just realised how old this thread is