Hey all,
Cool to see a manufacturer like Modwright looking to get into the head-fi game! I have headphones right now (and desktop speakers...no loudspeakers yet) and I feel like high-end audio manufacturers who are starting to get into headphone gear are creating a bridge for adopters of their headphone-related gear to eventually have the option/gain the interest in looking at their even higher-end gear
outside of the headphone world (ie the speaker world)....and since headphones involve a large amount of young listeners, it brings with it the potential to draw in younger audio enthusiasts and get them "on your team" early on. Does this make sense?? If I liked what your gear made my music sound like with the headphone component you created, I'd feel more comfortable exploring
your options for speaker related gear. You would have built-up my trust as a consumer in this scenario and thus increased your chances of having a long-term customer
Anyway, I thought I'd offer something to this thread:
-I have Audeze LCD 2 headphones. That's it. I'm a one headphone kind of guy myself
-I have a Red Wine Audio Signature 16 Speaker/headphone amp (I LOVE it). Now, one of my favorite things about this amp is that it's a hybrid design. I feel like (with my amp in particular anyway) I don't have to worry about getting super expensive/rare tubes to make it sound it's best. That kind of stuff would keep me up at night (I know, it's sad but kinda true). This is a BIG turn-off for me! The simpler the better (for me) and if you can create an amp that's not SO tube-type (*expensive*) reliant then I think that is a huge plus. Some will disagree obviously. But having the option to roll tubes and change the flavor is sweet....again, as long as that's not a requirement to make it sound it's best.......which is subjective anyway so, yeah I know it's a tricky thing.
-Head-fi folks seem very interested in a product with some amount of flexibility so gain adjustability would be cool (as someone has mentioned already). New headphone amps seem to get minus points when they are in their lower-gain stages and they still emit some amount of noise when in use with IEM's. An amp that is powerful enough to use with the most power-hungry of headphones like the HE6's/K1000's, BUT can also be DEAD quite with IEM's would be a rare feat.
-I think a remote control is a PLUS, but not a necessity.
-If it's gonna use tubes, the easier the tubes are to access for tube rolling, the better..
-Some folks want XLR inputs....don't matter much to me but if you can include XLR and RCA inputs it
could be a bonus for some.
-Balanced balanced balanced. Folks want balanced headphone outputs. The 4 pin type is a bit more standard now. Include a 1/4 inch headphone out, WITH a balanced 4 pin one and that would be
super I think!
-For me, I wanted my headphone amp to also be a speaker amp so I could power my desktop speakers...I don't have space for both types. IF you were to consider such an option, then including a switch to mute the speakers when using headphones
is a must in my book!
-Being able to easily follow what position the volume knob is at is BIG for me because when I switch from speakers to headphones on my amp, the volume will either be too loud or too quiet and I'd like to glance at the volume knob and keep track of where it's at....hope that makes sense.
-Sure, a optional DAC would be awesome....lot's of folks want an amp/dac together these days.
-An amp that is modular in the sense that it's upgradeable (future proof) is ideal. Even the DAC section, if you go that route. Options are nice!
-2 inputs are minimum in my book. 3 is really great.
-Desktop appropriate size is great. Some big hulking piece of metal is reassuring to audiophiles in many ways. It give the impression of something being carved out of stone and long-lasting. But for headphone gear....getting the size down is better. But not too small! Then I automatically assume it won't be able to hold it's own sonically against similarly priced gear.
Hope some of this helps stir the pot
