[FireGuy]

NuForce UDac2 with Senn HD 555

[ajzepp]

Jan Meier (Meier Audio) loves those little NuForce amps...heard they are huge bang for the buck.


Hibuck: Nice on the Woo gear!!!!

[opnly bafld]

Grommes PHI-26 ~ don't listen with headphones very often, so I'm glad it is also an integrated.

[minimus]

Woo WA22, Luxman P1-u, Blue Circle Hat Peed Thingee, Singlepower Extreme rebuilt by Bolder Cable, Meier Move, Original Master.

Most of the amps I listed above are no longer in my possession.  I sold the Woo WA22, the Luxman P1-u, and the Meier Move.  I had to throw out the Singlpower Extreme, as the amp only worked for a short period after Bolder's rebuild.  These amps were all replaced by an Eddie Current Super 7.  The Super 7 is the best headphone amp I have ever owned by a country mile.  Craig Uthus, the driving force behind Eddie Current, deserves his cult following.  If you can swing $1600 or so for a headphone amp, you will not be disappointed.  (According to Craig, the $3800 Balancing Act is better than the Super 7, but is honest enough to say that the differences are not major and are governed by the law of diminishing returns.)

I honestly have a hard time these days getting enthusiastic about my speaker rig -- which has some pretty pricey components -- so enthralled am I listening to the combo of the Super 7 and my JH Audio JH16 custom IEM's.  The sound quality is supremely satisfying.  Enveloping mid-range presence and warmth, incredible speed and transparency, awesome bass impact and detail.  Listening to my Sehring 703 floorstanding speakers, which only go down to 35Hz just cannot touch the Super 7.  (A good headphone rig can really undermine satisfaction in speaker rigs, unless you have a dedicated room and can source speakers that are truly full-range.)  I am not sure how much I would have to spend on speakers to match the satisfaction I get out of the Super 7.  I suspect I would have to spend more than $10K on speakers -- maybe, Marten Djangos, Acoustic Zen Crescendos, a used set of Magico V3s, a mid-sized speaker from Evolution Acoustics  -- to end up with a system that is as satisfying as my $3,000 headphone rig.  Any recommendations on full-range speakers that don't cost a fortune, have a reasonable modest physical footprint, and can rival a headphone rig would be much appreciated.

[MttBsh]

Hi Minimus - I really appreciate your recommendation of the Eddie Current Super 7. I did some research on Head Fi and many reported that the amp needs some pretty spendy tube upgrades to come close to the Balancing Act - have you done that or are your impressions above based on the stock tubes? Also, any idea how this amp might mate with the ( high impedence) Beyerdynamic T1s? (I recently bought a pair). I was leaning towards a Woo but would go for a Super 7 if it's a good match.

Thank you!

[ajzepp]

I honestly have a hard time these days getting enthusiastic about my speaker rig -- which has some pretty pricey components

I never thought in a million years I'd feel that way, but I do...I have beautiful Magnepan 3.6s that I truly love, but for music I've used my headphones almost exclusively over the last 6 months or so. I like being able to just sit or go wherever I want and still have amazing sound...I don't have to worry about sitting in the sweet spot solely for the purpose of enjoying  music. I can lay in bed, listen while I surf online, listen on the go, etc. Headphones have won me over for sure.

[minimus]

Hi MttBush,

The Super 7 sounds excellent with the stock tubes, full stop.  If you decide to upgrade the tubes, the most important one is the single input tube.  For that tube, I bought a 6F8G-->6SN7 tube adaptor off eBay and a few 6F8G tubes as well.  My favorite 6F8G tube is the Tung Sol Round Plate, which has become ridiculously expensive.  But some inexpensive 6F8Gs also sound great, including RCA, National Union, Raytheon, etc.  Those can be bought for as little as $20 each, so with tube adaptor, you are talking about an extra $60. 

Rolling the six output tubes in the amp affects the sound less than the single input tube, but if you want to replace them, go with NOS RCAs.  Those are also pretty inexpensive if you are patient and buy in pairs from eBay.  (Craig Uthus also says that the tubes in the amp do not have to be perfectly matched, so you don't have to spend a lot of money for matched pairs.) 

Bottom line: you don't have to spend a fortune on NOS tubes.  Some folks on Head-Fi can be a little snobby about tubes, hence the comments about having to spend a lot on NOS tubes to get the Super 7 to sound good.  Those comments seem to come from people who had never heard the amp, let alone own it.

As far as the choice between Woo and Eddie Current, I would go with Eddie Current.  The Woo 22 is a good amp with great build quality, but the Super 7 is in a different league in terms of sound quality.  Once I got the Super 7, I never really spent much time listening to the Woo again.  I initially kept it as a back-up amp, but after 6 months of disuse, I decided to just sell it.  I found the Woo 22 to be less involving than the Super 7.  I also did not like the fact that the Woo 22 was pretty immune to tube rolling.  I couldn't tell the difference in the slightest between stock tubes and a variety of NOS tubes.

I briefly tried the Beyer T1s through a loan from the Cable Company...I thought they were pretty good, but honestly I am addicted to the JH16s.  I own a pair of LCD-2 rev. 2s that I never use because I so much prefer the JH16s.  I sent the T1s back to the Cable Company after about two days, because they too suffered in comparison to the JH16s.   

If you really like the T1s, one new option to consider is an OTL design -- the Eddie Current Zana Deux, the Woo WA2, or the Decware CSP2.  In my experience, high impedance cans sound really good when driven by an OTL amp.  And OTLs as a rule are often less expensive than transformer coupled headphone amps.  (The one exception is the Zana Deux, which is over $2K).  Decware offers a trial period, so the CSP2 might be a low risk option.

Finally, if you go with the Super 7, you should be aware that Craig has run sales on the amp fairly regularly.  He may have one on now.  If not, you can ask if he will sell you one at a discount below the full retail price...that would be a way to save yourself a couple of hundred bucks and use the savings to buy tubes later, if you get the itch to do some tube rolling.

[minimus]

I never thought in a million years I'd feel that way, but I do...I have beautiful Magnepan 3.6s that I truly love, but for music I've used my headphones almost exclusively over the last 6 months or so. I like being able to just sit or go wherever I want and still have amazing sound...I don't have to worry about sitting in the sweet spot solely for the purpose of enjoying  music. I can lay in bed, listen while I surf online, listen on the go, etc. Headphones have won me over for sure.

Good to know I am not alone.  Although I am not a big fan of the writing style of 6Moons.com, the editor Srajan Ebaen has written on numerous occassions that a $4,000 investment in headphones and amp can yield better sound than a $25,000 investment in speakers.  Good headphones are linear over a much wider frequency range than most speakers.  You also aren't dealing with room interactions.  And you aren't bothering the wife, kids, or neighbors when you listen to headphones. 

Still, there most be speakers out there that can provide as satisfying an experience as a good headphone rig at reasonable prices.  I would just hate to spend $15K on Marten Djangos or Acoustic Zen Crescendos and then find myself preferring my $3000 headphone setup.

[LostInPA]

I have the Chazz2, an OTL headphone amp from www.diyhifisupply.com.  This is an item that they sell fully assembled only.  I found this circuit to be unsuitable with 32 ohm Grado GS1000 (since sold), adequate with 62 ohm AKG K702, and excellent with 600 ohm Beyerdynamic T1.  I use  the MK V solid state headphone amp from www.littledot.net for the AKG's.   I think that both of these headphone amps are high value products. 

[bjski]

Bryston BHA-1
Iqube
Nuforce
Fiio
Headphones HiFiman 500 which only the Bryston can drive. It will play with the Iqube but it just misses the mark in all phases where the Sennhieser is fine.
Sennhieser 650
Shure 535

[charmerci]

Any recommendations on full-range speakers that don't cost a fortune, have a reasonable modest physical footprint, and can rival a headphone rig would be much appreciated.

Head on over to the Salk forum - http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=g4mg1jkb7vg3trh9jevrph2gnbbdimg7&board=82.0

[wisnon]

Anybody use the iFi iCan?

[charmerci]

Jan Meier (Meier Audio) loves those little NuForce amps...heard they are huge bang for the buck.

If anyone wants to buy one, I'll sell ya mine - hardly used. PM me.

[eclein]

I dig my little Asgard especially now with the Amperiors. I'm also now pretty much full time headphones, I now find myself surfing headphone shops and reviews online instead of the same with speakers. A friend sent me a note earlier about the JBL sale on Amazon today and it didn't even phase me. I'm consistently finding deals on low priced iems, I probably have 20 pair right now until my kids come visit, that usually cuts them back again....LOL. I love all the different sounds I find......its a blast.
 

[brooklyn]

I never thought in a million years I'd feel that way, but I do...I have beautiful Magnepan 3.6s that I truly love, but for music I've used my headphones almost exclusively over the last 6 months or so. I like being able to just sit or go wherever I want and still have amazing sound...I don't have to worry about sitting in the sweet spot solely for the purpose of enjoying  music. I can lay in bed, listen while I surf online, listen on the go, etc. Headphones have won me over for sure.

Even though I love my audio system, I only get to listen to it when I visit home every few weeks. That said, I still often wonder why we spend so much on expensive gear for a 2 foot perfect block of sound in our listening rooms.

I'm ready to start updating my computer audio system which is almost zero at the moment.

"What to buy"?

[JoshK]

Not to totally derail this thread, but if you travel a lot and are home not much, I'd want to incorporate my family as much as possible in the listening experience, thus down with the isolationist headphone setup.

Not to suggest what you should do, but that would be my thinking.

[ajzepp]

Not to totally derail this thread, but if you travel a lot and are home not much, I'd want to incorporate my family as much as possible in the listening experience, thus down with the isolationist headphone setup.

Not to suggest what you should do, but that would be my thinking.

Splitters? 

[ajzepp]

Even though I love my audio system, I only get to listen to it when I visit home every few weeks. That said, I still often wonder why we spend so much on expensive gear for a 2 foot perfect block of sound in our listening rooms.

I'm ready to start updating my computer audio system which is almost zero at the moment.

"What to buy"?

Mini-Maggies! 

[brooklyn]

Not to totally derail this thread, but if you travel a lot and are home not much, I'd want to incorporate my family as much as possible in the listening experience, thus down with the isolationist headphone setup.

Not to suggest what you should do, but that would be my thinking.

No one but me and my neighbor listens to my audio system, my wife listens in the car only,
otherwise, a great idea.

[SteveFord]

The Mini Maggies would be my first choice, too.
What I actually have is a vintage set up: HK tube tuner, NAD integrated, Stax Sigma headphones.
The Mini Maggies sound better by a large margin but I do like the goofy looking old Sigmas too much not to use them.