So … what sort of coloration are you looking for?
SPL’s amplifiers are pretty neutral, so that’s not the path you want. Can’t speak to the Aune, but in general such devices also follow a flat/neutral/clinical delivery.
The Aune uses JFETs as input transistors for a (in their words) “rich and mellow sound like the vacuum tube.” My opinion is, if you want tube sound get tubes. Maybe try a Schiit Vali 3 for starters? It’s a hybrid but it’s cheap, so @M542 could even play around with some tube rolling and stay well under budget.
Have a different thought about that, specifically that there is a role for both in the same system. Use the PEQ to “idealize” the transducer (headphone in this case). So, get it set so that top-notch recordings sound great for that headphone. Then use the Lokius to deal with those not-so-top-notch recordings.
Vali 3 + some tubes + Lokius would still be well under a grand, too. Just a thought.
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Considering the fact that you want to add some “color” to your sound and already have the RME as a neutral amp, I would refrain from using the very neutral and rather cool sounding SPL.
My preferred solution is usually to use class A amplifiers and use them as a supplement to a clean and neutral amplifier.
Considering that you also want to drive IEMs, the aune S17
and the Singxer SA-1 2nd Gen. (with more power) are a very good choice,
they work flawlessly even with very sensitive in-ears.
The idea of a tube amplifier cannot really be dismissed, however, as there is a very interesting model with the xDuoo TA20 Plus,
which also plays IEMs very cleanly, but with umpfff.
Alternatively, a Nitsch Pietus Maximus would be an interesting alternative,
which would be an upgraded version of the Schiit, but may sound a little “dirty” for some in-ears.
So there are plenty of options for designing your sound worlds in the most flexible way possible.
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Thanks for the great advice.
Playing around with tubes looks like a nice idea.
Vali 3 seems like solid choice, I will look more into that.
In that case maybe SPL isn’t the right amp for me.
Thank you for letting me know.
Aune seems to be a less neutral and colored amp from what many people said.
Wow, thank you for a detailed advice.
It seems Aune and Schiit as people has mentioned here is the way to go.
I will looked them up and if in doubt I will ask again here.
I’m not even sure I’d call the rme neutral, it could be adding its own color of its own, who really knows. But I agree the amp on the rme is lackluster in quality, and I don’t think eq is going to fix any of that…
I lump amps into a few rough categories: (1) clean, neutral solid state, (2) warm, full-bodied Class A solid state (e.g., the RebelAmp in @Lothar_Wolf’s photo; Aune seems similar but I have no experience with them), (3) cleanish/dryish tube amps, and (4) heavily colored or “wet” tube amps. Most tube amps add harmonics, while others and/or roll off the treble, boost the bass, sound thick and creamy, or do something else to the sound.
Both the SPL and RME fall into category #1. I own this type of amp but rarely use them or choose them.
The Vali 3 is a good choice for testing the waters with tube amps. Be aware that tube amp prices go up very, very high and the tubes themselves cost a lot you move up the performance scale. IMO these can be worth the price.
That’s why @pennstac recommended the Schiit Lokius. It has just 6 knobs and is very quick and easy to tweak without thinking.
Some pink frogs. I suggest that you not lick them.
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Hi Michael, have you already received the aune S17 and if so, what are your experiences with your headphone portfolio?
Lothar - thank you for asking.
Yes, I have received and been using the Aune for a couple of weeks now. I would estimate that I have had the it running for approximately 25 hours which is half the suggested burn-in time. The bottom line for me is that I am very happy I purchased it. It is very easy to operate (which is important for me). It seems to have plenty of oomph and the sound is full and warm which is what I wanted. It is not the equivalent of a tube amplifier (as Lou Ford said in our earlier correspondence “if you want a tube sound, buy tubes”). The amplifier has a 50 MA power mode and a 100 MA power mode. I don’t find these 2 modes to be all that different, although the 100 has a bit more of the kind of warm sound that I like and consequently I will likely leave it in the 100 mode all the time. That mode uses more energy and causes the amplifier to get hotter, but I have had no problem so far with the fact that it does get hot. I’m curious to see if the sound changes at all as it gets fully burned in. But for now I guess the test is that I really look forward to turning it on and listening with it. And I have no complaints about what I think is a very reasonable price.
I am fortunate enough to have a country place and so I have two locations and can buy twice as many devices (fortunate?). The primary headphones I use where I am now are the Hifiman Ananda, the Grado RS2 and the Ibasso SR 1and they all sound good with this amplifier, particularly the Ananda.
At some point, I plan to buy a full tube amplifier, likely one of the Felix Audio amplifiers such as the Elise and see what happens when I pair it with my ZMF Aeolus and Meze Empyrean headphones.
Again, thank you for the suggestion. If anything changes, I’ll post again. Michael
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Nice to read that you are happy with your choice.
I really like the sound of the Schiit Vali 2++. Very clean (maybe a bit too clean for a tube amp) and works great stand-alone out of my Bifrost 2/64 or as a preamp into My Jotenheim 2 amp. Awesome value at $99. I did end up replacing the Topping A90 with the Schiit Jotenheim 2 a couple of weeks ago. I did get dinged for the restocking 20% fee at APOS because I procrastinated doing the return of the A90. I believe you have 2 weeks to make the return fee free, Totally my bad. They approved the return with no issues.
If I was setting up a budget headphone listening stack, i would definitely consider the Vali 2++.
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Or perhaps the Vali 3
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I’m sure the Vali 3 is great though I’ve never heard it. I like all of the Schiit products I’ve had, Modius, Bifrost 2/64, Jot 1, Jot 2, Vali 2++. Not top of the line but very good to me and i feel a great value for the pricepoint.
The only thing i hate and it is consistant across all of their prodcts is they put the on / off switch in the back. Can be a PITA.
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Ha! And it’s no different with the Vali 3… I’ve also noticed that the switch is physically smaller than on the Jot, so not quite as easy to flip
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Here is a very interesting headphone amplifier that can do things that I have never seen in any other amplifier.
First of all, if you own a DC E3, here is the most perfect combination “that I have found so far” for these headphones.
The headphones unfold now their full potential, which they had previously shown but could never really show.
Whoever had the feeling that deep bass was not present = e-vóila here we are, DC drivers tend to be a bit sluggish = forget it.
This Cayin gives the E3 so much drive that I am very excited to see whether these headphones will not give the ZMF Caldera Closed, which will be arriving at my place shortly, a fair fight.
The switchable hyper mode is also very remarkable.
The E3, which in high-gain mode at around 1 o’clock produces a precise but completely relaxed sound, becomes an aggressive beast when the hyper mode is switched on, as the mids (particularly voices) immediately jump right in your face.
But if I turn the volume control back to around 11 o’clock, I get the relaxation back, but the respective voices are served to me crystal clear and everything around them fades unobtrusively into the background without being lost at all.
This means that every tiny detail is still there, but it is not thrown HiFiman’esc in your face, but rather served in a relaxed manner.
This does cause a certain addictive factor, because the E3 is certainly one of the most comfortable headphones, this factor coupled with the sound quality.…….it’s hard to put the headphones down.
—————
The iHA-8 can also help with another hobby of mine, namely cooking.
The device does actually get hot, not warm or very warm, no, hot.
The 12AU7 tubes on my TA-22 do not get as hot as this amplifier.
That’s good too, then I can prepare my food right at my workplace
and no longer have to go into the kitchen to do it……
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At least the Vali 2++ is on the top shelf of my rack (because of the tube). A little easier to get to. I definitely keep the tube amp turned off when not using it. The Bifrost and the Jot are usually on most of the time as all of the sound from my desktop runs through them. I just purchased some large, thin, silicone heatsink pads to put on top of the cases as they both run a bit hot, especially the BF 2. We’ll see how they work.
I sometimes put silicone pads or other heat shields UNDER a device, but never on top or in direct contact with the surfaces (i.e. only below the feet). If you are stacking, there’s no obvious way to keep the heat sources separate, so put the cooler device on the bottom or use mini shelves.
Electronics are often designed to vent heat passively through the top holes. Heat rises. A silicone pad can trap the rising heat and may cause overheating.
Each device is on its own plexiglass
shelf in a small homemade rack. I was planning on putting the pads on the top, my thinking, pehaps naively, that heat rises so the top would be hotter than the bottom. My plan was to not cover any holes on the tops of any devices. Maybe I will buy one of those fancy thermometers to check the heat levels
I think you’ll see much better heat dissipation (= cooler temps) if you can get more space between the shelves – give the hot air an easier route out of the rack.
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