There is a section on this forum for the Nectar Hive. It’s electrostatic so you can’t compare it price wise without considering an amplifier. The sound over most of the spectrum is indeed similar to the HE-560, but has better soundstage, micro dynamics and truly excellent bass (after break in). On other fora (forums?) it’s been compared to the STAX SR-007 MK II.
Looking for: a solid-state headphone amplifier powerful enough to drive everything up to and including the Hifiman Susvara (don’t have one, but not ruling it or its successor out)*.
Budget: $3,000 ish.
Key requirement besides power (and this is what this post is really about): it needs to be as beautiful and well built as something like a Technics SU-G700M2. Does such a thing exist in the realm of solid-state headphone amplifiers?
(I’ll concede that the upside-down/robot Peppa Pig aesthetic isn’t for everyone, but the vu meters are things of beauty, and my point about build quality still stands).
- Parenthetically, I heard the Susvara for the first time this weekend and was decidedly underwhelmed - perhaps it was the Burson it was connected to, with its finicky volume pot that turned the volume down when I tried to make small adjustments up. This aside, it sounded thin and slightly synthetic in direct comparisons with the Sennheiser HD 800S, and half asleep compared to the Hifiman Arya. Definitely not the moment of pant-shitting wonderment I was expecting. Oddly beguiling, though.
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I put the question to ChatGPT-4:
In the $2000 to $3000 price range, there are several beautiful solid-state headphone amplifiers that do not use tubes and do not include a DAC. Some options with attractive designs and high-quality performance are:
- Pass Labs HPA-1: The HPA-1 is known for its exceptional build quality, sleek design, and outstanding sound performance. It features a minimalist appearance with a clean front panel and a solid, sturdy construction.
- SPL Phonitor X: This headphone amplifier features a unique design with metering on the front panel, providing both a visually appealing and functional element. It offers a variety of sound-shaping options and balanced connections for improved audio performance.
- Benchmark HPA4: The HPA4 is a reference-quality headphone amplifier and line amplifier with a simple yet elegant design. It features a touchscreen display for easy navigation and control, and its sound performance is highly regarded.
- Bryston BHA-1: The BHA-1 has a simple, industrial design with a clean front panel and high-quality construction. It provides balanced and single-ended outputs and is known for its neutrality and precision in sound reproduction.
- Violectric HPA V281: The HPA V281 is a versatile and powerful headphone amplifier with a sleek and modern design. It features both balanced and unbalanced inputs/outputs and is known for its transparent sound signature.
Remember that personal preferences for design and sound signature play a significant role in choosing the perfect headphone amplifier. It’s essential to consider your specific needs and listen to different options before making a final decision.
I must add the caveat that ChatGPT-4 has no actual eyes. Although I also thought of the Phonitor and the Bryston.
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Dear ChatGPT,
Many thanks for these suggestions. I understand these are other people’s opinions drawn from a massive corpus rather than aesthetic judgements you have (personally/algorithmically?) made yourself, so I hope you won’t take offence when I say:
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The Pass Labs HPA-1 is well built, but the headphone socket and volume pot (or whatever it is surrounding it) are unutterably hideous.
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The Phonitor looks like a children’s cartoon of a high-end hifi product. More charitably, it leans pro audio rather than luxury consumer hifi. Then of course there’s the flaky decals and talk of the single-ended headphone socket going up in smoke…
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The Benchmark HPA-4 is more lab equipment than high-end hifi, and that logo.
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The Bryston BHA-1 looks military issue to me - a reassuring presence on a tour of duty of the Middle East perhaps, but an unwelcome brutalist monument in a domestic hifi setting.
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The Violectric V281 looks like it has been salvaged from a control panel at the No. 4 reactor at Chernobyl. That or an accomplished high school design technology project (‘Sebastian, you’ve excelled yourself!’)
Sorry to come over all Brian Sewell, but given what we’re expected to pay for this sort of stuff - and given the aesthetic refinement of some equivalent hifi products - I think we headfiers should be demanding better.
Yours sincerely,
BS
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Nicely done
All I had as a retort was …. Violectric V281– “sleek and modern” ….Really!!??
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Damn, amplifier burn
It’s getting lost on the distinction between physical beauty and audio beauty. It may pass if it said “beautiful sounding.” Maybe. I once contacted a Bryston dealer about demoing the BHA-1 and was warned off – “overpriced, not their best product.”
I’m afraid to my eyes this is another cartoon gothic lab project. I’m very aware that this is a minority (and probably unpopular) view.
Many thanks for the suggestions though, and sorry if my last reply seemed a bit churlish (even if it was addressed to ChatGPT). You’ve helped crystallise, 1. what my tastes are (minimalist and understated), and 2. that there may in fact be no shortage of beautiful headphone amplifiers in most people’s estimation.
My gut feeling is still that the build quality/industrial design (aesthetics aside) could and should be better, though - my recent experience with the Burson volume pot being a perfect case in point.
P.S. I should also add that your/ChatGPT’s suggestion of the Violectric 281 put me onto the model that has apparently superseded it - the 550. There has been a subtle but significant shift in design language between the generations, and the 550 is much closer to what I’m after.
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Most people seem to like the old school Macintosh signature style I have a Technics tuner that fits your esthetic. But clean 70s and 80s design is hard to find now. B&O used to have that look but they don’t, to my knowledge make headphone amps.
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Happy cake day pennstac!
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Happy cake day @pennstac !!! I have a recipe for prune cake you might like. 
( I actually do…and it’s one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. Textured like carrot cake but better imo)
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That will make it “textured” on the way out as well!
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But I don’t think I had a cake day. I think the thread is tangled. Still prunecake could be a plum recipe. The pits, even.
My Dad invented a drink using vodka and prune juice. He called it the Rushin’ Russian.
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Of course, the other (in my estimation) beautiful headphone amplifier deserving of a mention is the JDS Labs El Amp II+. I have an Element II, El Amp II and El DAC II, and the only reason for the itch to upgrade was the likelihood that they wouldn’t be able to drive a Susvara satisfactorily. A characteristically pleasant and informative exchange of emails with John Seaber at JDS later, and it transpires they are now offering Boost versions of the Element III and El Amp II+ with almost double the power at 32 ohms. Apparently, this is more than enough to drive the Susvara to dangerous listening levels.
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Yup, so buy a 70s design. Lots of them had nothing but dropping resistors from the speaker outputs to drive the headphone jack. Easily enough power for any headphone, and if you need more gain, it’s just a resistor swap.
Honestly, I don’t see the similarities between the Technics and the JDS Labs, so I have no idea what design aesthetic @reflect is seeking. But the Technics is certainly similar to some Marantz, Pioneer, and other 70s receivers.
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Too bad the Klipsch Heritage headphone amplifier is no longer in production. Look at this beautiful thing.
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