Headphone amp recommendations

I need advice!
682

If you’re super happy with the sound, you definitely shouldn’t be made to feel like you need to upgrade, and I think the folks in this forum will generally have similar sentiments. Are (much) more expensive amps better? In general, yes. But that doesn’t mean it’s “worth it”. That is extremely subjective, and is a very personal decision based on your preferences, how much you notice the changes, and your wallet.

Everyone hits their limit in very different places, and with very few exceptions, there’s always something better that each of us can’t afford, or otherwise chooses to deem as requiring too much more money for the benefit.

To answer your question more directly, I have owned tube and solid state amps across a fairly wide range of price points (though, admittedly, I started at fairly high end for tubes) and have generally noticed and appreciated the upgrades. Keep in mind that tube amps can have very different flavors, even in the same price range.

If you want to explore tube amps in the $1,000-$2,000 range, you can check out offerings from Woo Audio, DNA (Starlett), Ampsandsound, Cayin, Bottlehead, and Feliks Audio, as just a few generally well regarded companies. You can also buy/sell some used amps if you want to explore and get a sense of what’s available without losing too much money for the benefit of trying a bunch of stuff (that’s what I did for a long time before buying my only new tube amp).

9 Likes
683

This is sound advice. I have been forcing myself to articulate in writing why I want an upgrade or additional headphone as opposed to relying on a general sense of desire.

Regards,
Vic

4 Likes
684

“Sound” advice? Sorry, I couldn’t let that one slip by!
“Value” was perfectly nailed in an earlier post. It’s realy easy to get sucked into the proverbial rabbit hole when it comes to audio equipment. It took me about 15 years to get to my “end game” audio system. “Going used” is a super way to go–especially on forums with trustworthy members such as this one.
My thought = take your time. Try out different things (tube/ss, open/closed, silver/copper, blah, blah blah.

Music enjoyment first, hardware second, IMHO.

Happy listening.

2 Likes
685

I purchased the $320 Xduoo TA-26, the $300 DarkVoice 336SE and the $550 Eufonika H5DS. What do these three amplifiers all have in common? These OTL amps share the same tube configuration of a 6AS7 power tube and 6SN7 driver tube. The Xduoo TA-26 is the only amplifier that I have ever returned in my three decades of collecting headphone amplification. I didn’t enjoy it’s relative tendency to deaden/neuter characteristic of tubes compared to the other two related amps. Nevertheless, these amplifiers achieve the same ballpark of performance and it is up to the individual to chose which one pleases them, and if they can live with the shortcomings of the $300 ones.
.
I also own the $1,000 Quicksilver Headphone Amplifier (not OTL) and the $1,200 Ray Samuels Emmeline II The Raptor OTL. The jump in three to four times the price yields a VERY pronounced increase of performance. Logically, a jump in five or ten times as much would yield even greater deviation of performance than what I am already hearing from my comparatively diminutive variation of price points.
.
That is not to say that the Darkvoice 336SE is a poor performer. For me, it all boils down to my intent. When listening to the 336SE, I seek an unsophisticated but overly wet tubish presentation. With my costlier tube amps my intentions align to a more refined presentation. Yes, if I were forced to just owning one amplifier I would of course choose The Raptor. However I VERY MUCH enjoy the 336SE. Nothing can squeeze micro-reverberations out of a tube like the 336SE.

4 Likes
686

i wonder if @Resolve would like to share some of his findings here or in a new thread from his amplifier blind testing. In one of his recent live streams, he mentioned something about finding it a bit difficult to identify headphones he previously thought were different.

687

For me the ta26s with the standard tubes was very bass heavy, even on my hd800s, had some noise on the tubes to… tube rolled em to svetlana 6h13c and EH 6sn7 gold, was way better after that. No more crackling, no more noise and the bass was not overly present, found a good middle ground and i’m pretty happy with the ta26s now. I rarely touch my A90 now… Hd800s really needs tubes, as i dont like it that much on a ss. But as you’ve said. Maybe the ta26s isnt even that good comparing it to your other tube amps. So I should def explore more options :wink:

688

thanks for the reply :wink: thinking i need to test it first then.
Will drive a good hour into France with my hd800s and ask them for a listening session.

1 Like
689

I absolutely LOVE Svetlana 6H13C!

Svetlana 6H13C + Sylvania Bad Boy 6SN7 = inordinately euphoric/holographic enveloped staging

1 Like
690

Bought the cayin ha-3a. Arriving Friday :stuck_out_tongue: very curious!

7 Likes
691

You got yourself a fabulous amp! Congrats!!

2 Likes
692

How have you found the Cayin ha 3a? I’m debating among the Cayin ha 3a, the Cayin ha 6a and the Feliks Elise. Any advice from you or anyone else who might read this would be much appreciated. Thanks.

693

The Cayin HA-3A is my preferred choice for planar headphones.

IMG_0876
IMG_08763024×4032 2.09 MB

It has an incredible amount of output power and is very fast and direct in its response, but can hardly be used above the 9 o’clock volume position.

IMG_0841
IMG_08415401×3676 2.59 MB

In conjunction with my HoloCyan2 and the Eversolo DMP-8 as a player, it is a very good choice.

:+1:

For dynamic drivers, I personally prefer the Felix Audio amplifier.

IMG_0905
IMG_09052691×3547 1.8 MB

It sounds more organic, is easier to control thanks to a higher volume tolerance range and has a wider reproduction area.

There is certainly still a lot that can be changed by changing the tubes, but in their delivery state, both are very appealing, very clean in their sound representation and absolutely recommendable.

:100:

6 Likes
694

Thanks for your reply. The more I think about it the more I think I will go with the Elise rather than the 3a since three of my four primary headphones are dynamic (ZMF Aeolus - 300 ohms); Hifiman Ananda - 25 ohms; Grado RS 1 - 38 ohms). The fourth is the Meze Empyrean ( the first version) - 32 ohms and a variety of planar. Also, the Elise can be used as a pre-amplifier while the 3a can’t. I’m hopeful that the Elise will work well as a pre-amplifier for my Atoll in100 [primarily neutral sounding) amplifier driving my Graham ls 6 speakers ( BBC- type speakers which are 8 ohms and 87 db’s impedance). Again, thanks very much for your thoughts.

2 Likes
695

I hope I’m not going too far :pray: if I can give you some advice based on your headphone portfolio and my personal experience with it.

Of course, the subjective perception of hearing is individual and different for everyone, so it might be presumptuous to give you advice here.

But in my experience, with the headphones you have, I would advise you against a Feliks tube amplifier.

IMG_0921
IMG_09215305×3899 2.86 MB

Why?

Well, there are better alternatives that highlight the sound characteristics of the individual headphones more clearly.

Only the Aeolus might have slight advantages over the Feliks, the rest of the headphones are - how can I articulate this without making a mistake - perhaps overwhelmed.

The Ananda loses its precision and airiness and seems comparatively “dull” in its reproduction.

The Grado has a tendency to pass on the distortion caused by the tubes on the Feliks (this is not the case with all tube amplifiers) 1:1 to the headphones and that is exactly how it sounds, impure.

The Emphy OG already has a rich sound, if you pair it with the Feliks it’s like Nutella bread with 3 tablespoons extra sugar

IMG_0923
IMG_09234032×3024 1.91 MB

and it definitely sounds like you’re listening to music through a pillow.

Now there is an outstanding individual solution for each of these headphones as far as the sound chain is concerned.

But there is also a recommendation that I would make that will drive all of your headphones very satisfactorily.

Namely the Aune S17 pro.

IMG_0922
IMG_09225302×1624 1010 KB

Why?

1.) Aune writes that this headphone amplifier should sound like a tube amplifier, well, it actually comes close, without the distortion, after a warm-up phase of around 20-30 minutes and a temperature of 45-50 degrees.

2.) With two connection options, you can connect two different DACs in front and thus change the sound considerably.

3.) The option to switch the operating mode between pure Class A and Class A/B gives you another opportunity to individually adjust the sound.

4.) As a pre-amp for your speakers, there is the same variety of sound options.

5.) You have the option of controlling everything via remote control.

This allows you to individually adjust your preferred settings for a variety of different headphones.

This works perfectly with your headphones and in the case of the Grado even outstandingly, Grado

IMG_0831
IMG_08314032×3024 2.77 MB

& Class A amping is

image

I have connected an r2r DAC and an AKM DAC to my S17 and am amazed at how well this amplifier is able to reproduce all the nuances that the respective components are able to reproduce.

In short: For your portfolio, I would personally clearly prefer the S17 to the Feliks Elise.

5 Likes
696

Thanks very much for this additional information. Since receiving it, I have read/looked at a bunch of reviews of the Aune, and I don’t recall seeing so many favorable and no unfavorable reviews for a component. Moreover for my purposes, with one exception (Passion for Sound said that he disagrees with all the reviews that say it sounds tube-like), They all say that the amplifier comes close to sounding like a tube amplifier. So I think I am convinced that this is the way I should go. A collateral reason for that is that I am older and not technologically proficient so while tube-rolling is fun for most, I don’t think it would be an enjoyable exercise for me.
The only significant negative pointed out in the reviews was that it gets very hot, partly because there is less ventilation than perhaps it could have… While there is an automatic adjustment in the amplifier that kicks in when it gets too hot, commenters have said that you can’t really go over two hours before that adjustment kicks in and the sound changes to less tube-like. So the choice for me seems to be to buy the amplifier now or wait till there is a new version that presumably will ameliorate this problem. But knowing myself I will likely wait a bit and then buy the current version.
Again, thank you very much for your suggestion and advice. I want to mention that I take your recommendations quite seriously since I have previously bought two components based on your recommendations and have liked them very much: the Questyle CMA 400i amplifier and the Ibasso SR 1 headphones.
So again, thanks.

4 Likes
697

I wouldn’t really consider this “temperature problem” to be too much of a problem.

Technically speaking, it is in the nature of a Class A amplifier that they reach higher temperatures than conventional devices.

Whatever aune has put into it, the S17 does indeed get a little warmer than other comparable models, but I have never had any problems with it so far, even after hours of listening and summer temperatures, the amplifier always maintained its temperature around 55 degrees Celsius inside that Amp and never changed mode. Outside it‘s about 35-40 degrees that’s OK.

I positioned the S17 open and freely so that the air circulates well, but this is something you have to consider with tube amplifiers anyway.

I assume that this is exactly what makes the S17 sound so silky and tube-like.

Part of the magic, so to speak.

So if you have space to set up the S17 openly, you don’t need to worry. :+1:

2 Likes
698

Of course I’m now feeling that adrenaline rush one gets when one is seriously considering/about to make a purchase. Thanks. (It’s a nice feeling, but too seductive).

699

Lothar - FYI - I thought you might want to know that shortly after we stopped corresponding this morning I ordered the Aune S17 Pro from Amazon. Such is human nature (or at least my human nature).
One last question if I could: can you make a suggestion for a dac that would pair well with this amplifier? I already own the Bifrost Multibit (Bimby) and the Questyle CMA 400i (which can be used both as an amplifier or a dac). If neither of those would be appropriate, can I ask what you use or what you might recommend? Possibly the Aune S9 Pro? Thanks.

3 Likes
700

Your two DACs are great “to begin with”, so you have two different tastes right from the start.

The AKM in the CMA400i is still a good DAC that plays cleanly, spatially and with commitment.

The Multibit in the Schiit is more like r2r in terms of sound and is therefore a good addition to the AKM.

If you really want to upgrade at some point, you can actually start with an r2r DAC.

My clear recommendation would be the Holo Cyan2, an outstanding DAC and comparatively “affordable” in terms of price.

The aune S9 is good, but I would think about upgrading my system to include a streamer at some point.

If you are considering that, I would consider upgrading the entire package and listening to Eversolo, an incredible bundle that has broadened my view of streaming.

The DMP-8 is not only far superior to a WiiM, Bluesound Node 130 or a PC in terms of sound, but also offers incredible combination possibilities thanks to its wide range of connections.

The built-in AKM is so well tuned that I would in good conscience describe it as the best implemented AKM currently.

But enough for now,

image

try out your existing DACs at first and you will certainly not be disappointed.

You can always upgrade later.:wink::sweat_smile:

3 Likes
701

I an loooking for a cheaper. tube preamp to sit between my Bifrost 2/64 and Topping A90. I would like to run balanced all the way.

My use case is i would like to be able to bypass the preamp with a switch so basically the signal will be processed by the DAC and amp only eliminating any tube influence.

I am doing this today running a little tube preamp using the SE connections on the DAC and amp.

I saw a little unit from Doak Audio that is a combo tube preamp and 7 band EQ that would be perfect if I could bypass it. Would turning the gain down to zero accomplish eliminating the tube influence on the signal? My knowledge of electronics is pretty minimal.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks