I'm wanting a headphone amp....

T

Trevor_BD77

Active Member
I been doing some research and it seems JDS Labs Atom is one of the best in it's price range and so I'm leaning towards that.

My headphones are Hifiman HE-4XX, my DAC is Emo TA-100 integrated amp.

I'm considering down the road to go with a separate dac & amp or get an Outlaw RR2160 for more power since the Emo doesn't put out a lot of power.

I would like to upgrade my Energy RC-10's to something better and front ported or sealed since they sit on my desk and I would prefer to wall mount them and then maybe add a sub.
 
Register to hide this ad
I'm probably not the best person to comment because I have neither the atom nor the 4xx headphones but I think the atom is a bit light on power for a big pair of planars.

Again, no experience but the guys who run planars seem to want balanced amplification for more power.

There are a lot of balanced headphone amps. I suggest surfing down some reviews.
 
I'm using a pair of HE-4XX with a Little Dot MKII ($150@Amazon). It's an all tube OTL amplifier with adjustable gain (3 settings). It's driven by a Topping D-10 DAC from a laptop using MusicBee. The adjustable gain makes it suitable for almost any headphones. The sound is very good to me. I've lost any desire to "upgrade".
 
JoeESP9 said:
I'm using a pair of HE-4XX with a Little Dot MKII ($150@Amazon). It's an all tube OTL amplifier with adjustable gain (3 settings). It's driven by a Topping D-10 DAC from a laptop using MusicBee. The adjustable gain makes it suitable for almost any headphones. The sound is very good to me. I've lost any desire to "upgrade".
Click to expand...

I don't think I want to get into tube amps but thanks for the suggestion.
 
So... I was trying to be vague to avoid the "Buy what I have because it's great and who cares if your headphones and tastes don't align with my ideas." thing but I've watched a ton of YouTube reviews of headphone amps lately and I can tell you watching YT reviews of amps is a rabbit hole you can fall into and not leave until you're bankrupt three years later. Let me try to save you some time.

It seems the best amplifier is generally agreed to be the THX 789 from Drop which was recently replaced at the top, barely, by the Monoprice THX 887. I have not heard either of these amplifiers. I've also never heard a set of planar headphones. I'm just relaying what I hear....

Below these two offerings are a myriad of what I'm going to call "more niche products from smaller brands". All of the lesser offerings seem to be very good for general use with the JDS Labs Atom being the current best of this tranche of amps.

If you were running dynamic headphones, like me, I wouldn't have bothered to respond. From what I can tell, you can buy an Atom and never need to upgrade your amplifier because it's approximately perfect, within it's capabilities.

The reason I question the Atom is because reviewers have said the big Hifiman planars need a lot of power to make them perform properly. The guys who run these headphones seem to want the THX amps and balanced cables. Again, I have no experience here. I am simply relaying some research so take it for what it is.

BTW, I'm running a Topping A50. I've only had it for a couple of weeks but its been fabulous with my various pair of dynamic headphones. One day, I'd like to get a pair of planars and that may force me to upgrade amplification, although the A50 can push 2.2 Watts into a balanced output so I hope it will take me well into the future.

Lastly, I'd like to publicly confess to loving Alobar's Supreme 600. If I could have sex with an integrated amp, it would be a Supreme 600. The cuts and electrical burns would be worth it.
 
Last edited:
TomB19 said:
So... I was trying to be vague to avoid the "Buy what I have because it's great and who cares if your headphones and tastes don't align with my ideas." thing but I've watched a ton of YouTube reviews of headphone amps lately and I can tell you watching YT reviews of amps is a rabbit hole you can fall into and not leave until you're bankrupt three years later. Let me try to save you some time.

It seems the best amplifier is generally agreed to be the THX 789 from Drop which was recently replaced at the top, barely, by the Monoprice THX 887. I have not heard either of these amplifiers. I've also never heard a set of planar headphones. I'm just relaying what I hear....

Below these two offerings are a myriad of what I'm going to call "more niche products from smaller brands". All of the lesser offerings seem to be very good for general use with the JDS Labs Atom being the current best of this tranche of amps.

If you were running dynamic headphones, like me, I wouldn't have bothered to respond. From what I can tell, you can buy an Atom and never need to upgrade your amplifier because it's approximately perfect, within it's capabilities.

The reason I question the Atom is because reviewers have said the big Hifiman planars need a lot of power to make them perform properly. The guys who run these headphones seem to want the THX amps and balanced cables. Again, I have no experience here. I am simply relaying some research so take it for what it is.

BTW, I'm running a Topping A50. I've only had it for a couple of weeks but its been fabulous with my various pair of dynamic headphones. One day, I'd like to get a pair of planars and that may force me to upgrade amplification.

Lastly, I'd like to publicly confess to loving Alobar's Supreme 600. If I could have sex with an integrated amp, it would be a Supreme 600. The cuts and electrical burns would be worth it.
Click to expand...

That THX amp is $400, way beyond what I would spend. The most I would spend would be $250 as I had considered an Emo A-100 but in the end I just didn't want to spend that much.

But I went ahead and purchased the Atom.
 
TomB19 said:
Lastly, I'd like to publicly confess to loving Alobar's Supreme 600. If I could have sex with an integrated amp, it would be a Supreme 600. The cuts and electrical burns would be worth it.
Click to expand...

Actually what you are seeing in the photo is the Kenwood 700C preamp, and just in view at the bottom of the picture is the 700M power amp. I bought those new in 1975! Been reworked by Echowars about 5 years ago .. Should be good for another 45 years with any luck. Wish I could say the same thing about me!
 
Even better!

Makes me want to up the priority on restoring my KA-7300 to operation. I've fallen down a rabbit hole of Yamaha gear from the 80s and kind of liking it but the old KW was epic.
 
TomB19 said:
Even better!

Makes me want to up the priority on restoring my KA-7300 to operation. I've fallen down a rabbit hole of Yamaha gear from the 80s and kind of liking it but the old KW was epic.
Click to expand...

I have a 6030 that I added a wood case around made from spalted maple.The front right corner was so soft that when I ran my trim router on it it took a chuck out of it, but now that it has finish on it and sat for some time it is pretty dense.

kenwood1.jpeg kenwood2.jpeg
 
While I don't have a Schiit Magni I do have their Modi DAC. I'm very impressed with the performance of that so if I was in the market for a head amp I'd consider it.

That spalted maple case is gorgeous. Bought my wife a ring box 31 years ago made of that wood so it's special to me.
 
Trevor_BD77 said:
That THX amp is $400, way beyond what I would spend. The most I would spend would be $250 as I had considered an Emo A-100 but in the end I just didn't want to spend that much.

But I went ahead and purchased the Atom.
Click to expand...
I owned several different makes over the years but I recently bought a Bellari HA540 MK2 because it uses a 12ax7 tube and I have an assortment of those. I'm currently using a Telefunken smooth plate but it's fun to roll tubes. I really love it, plenty of power for any headphone, class A amp, made in Salt Lake City. You can find them new for a couple of hundred dollars. I've owned amps that cost more but this one stays.
 
The Schiit Heresy (which I actually ordered for myself this morning, lol) measures very very VERY close to the THX stuff. The Atom measures very well as well, but the Heresy has more power as well as sturdier construction. Personally, I can't think of a really meaningful reason to go for anything other than the Heresy under about $4-500...at around the $100 mark US it's pretty incredible.
 
Emotiva BasX A-100. Put the jumpers in and it will drive any headphone into smoking overload. OTOH it's a clean, dynamic, great sounding amp. I love mine.
 
I will be buying one of these when it comes back in stock.. class A for $500
d45e76c813c2789bb0ee2999ff176ceaa15da81e.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom