[McPanse]

Okay, so I've built a low-budget system around a Trends TA-10.1 amp (unmod), a Citypulse 7.2 DAC, a Pioneer universal player, an Airport Express streaming Apple Lossless files, and some Boston Acoustics VR-M50 bookshelf speakers.

I've been enjoying my Grado SR-60s through the Citypulse's built-in headphone amp, but know I could do better.


I'm leaning towards buying a pair of Denon D2000 closed cans. I also still have the option of returning my Citypulse for a different DAC and/or headphone amp.

I'm looking for some quality after hours listening when the fam is in bed. Any advice out there on what I should/should not buy in the $300 to $700 range?

[santacore]

The Denons are great phones, highly recommended. I picked up a pair of the AH-D2000's recently and I like them so much that I'm thinking about selling my AKG K701's and my Sennheiser HD650's. You mentioned wanting to play phones at night. If noise is a big issue you might want to look at "in ear monitors". I've found all the regular headphones bleed a fair amount into the room.

As for amps, the usual suspects work. Little Dot seems to be the low price leader. I would also look into a used Woo Audio amp or perhaps a Channel Islands. Any of these should satisfy you for 6 months or so until you get the upgrade bug again.

[cryoparts]

Hi,

I have a pair of the Denon 2000's and 5000's and really like them (to me the 2000 and 5000 sound very similar), in fact I am listening to some Tori Amos through the 2000's right now...  I also have re-cabled Senn 600 and 650's and re-cabled Beyer 990's (among many others...) and the Denon's hang right in there with all of them.

The Denon's are good for late night listening as they don't "leak" as much sound as open back cans, so you can be in the same room with someone who is sleeping and listen without bothering them. 

I really enjoy the sound of them with my Little Dot's (MKIVSE and II) driving them.  I like the Little Dot line of amps and think they offer a really good value and bang for the buck.  Plus, David is great to deal with.  I would go so far as to say that if Little Dot went through dealers instead of selling direct, I would offer them to my customers, that's how much I like these little, inexpensive amps.

Also, another to consider is the Trafomatic Audio Experience Head One.  I am going to get one of those in here to listen to, they look like they have the goods.  Vista Audio has a Circle here, they import the Trafomatic gear.

Another amp to consider that doesn't get much play is the Shangling PH-3000 head amp.  It is a killer little amp for $400.

Disclaimer--I sell Shangling, Sennheiser and Denon.

Peace,

Lee

Okay, so I've built a low-budget system around a Trends TA-10.1 amp (unmod), a Citypulse 7.2 DAC, a Pioneer universal player, an Airport Express streaming Apple Lossless files, and some Boston Acoustics VR-M50 bookshelf speakers.

I've been enjoying my Grado SR-60s through the Citypulse's built-in headphone amp, but know I could do better.


I'm leaning towards buying a pair of Denon D2000 closed cans. I also still have the option of returning my Citypulse for a different DAC and/or headphone amp.

I'm looking for some quality after hours listening when the fam is in bed. Any advice out there on what I should/should not buy in the $300 to $700 range?

[ecramer]

Hi,

I have a pair of the Denon 2000's and 5000's and really like them (to me the 2000 and 5000 sound very similar), in fact I am listening to some Tori Amos through the 2000's right now...  I also have re-cabled Senn 600 and 650's and re-cabled Beyer 990's (among many others...) and the Denon's hang right in there with all of them.

The Denon's are good for late night listening as they don't "leak" as much sound as open back cans, so you can be in the same room with someone who is sleeping and listen without bothering them. 

I really enjoy the sound of them with my Little Dot's (MKIVSE and II) driving them.  I like the Little Dot line of amps and think they offer a really good value and bang for the buck.  Plus, David is great to deal with.  I would go so far as to say that if Little Dot went through dealers instead of selling direct, I would offer them to my customers, that's how much I like these little, inexpensive amps.

Also, another to consider is the Trafomatic Audio Experience Head One.  I am going to get one of those in here to listen to, they look like they have the goods.  Vista Audio has a Circle here, they import the Trafomatic gear.

Another amp to consider that doesn't get much play is the Shangling PH-3000 head amp.  It is a killer little amp for $400.

Disclaimer--I sell Shangling, Sennheiser and Denon.

Peace,

Lee

Okay, so I've built a low-budget system around a Trends TA-10.1 amp (unmod), a Citypulse 7.2 DAC, a Pioneer universal player, an Airport Express streaming Apple Lossless files, and some Boston Acoustics VR-M50 bookshelf speakers.

I've been enjoying my Grado SR-60s through the Citypulse's built-in headphone amp, but know I could do better.


I'm leaning towards buying a pair of Denon D2000 closed cans. I also still have the option of returning my Citypulse for a different DAC and/or headphone amp.

I'm looking for some quality after hours listening when the fam is in bed. Any advice out there on what I should/should not buy in the $300 to $700 range?

and where does the  Zhaolu's 2.5 and 3 fit in for headphone amps??

[McPanse]

and where does the  Zhaolu's 2.5 and 3 fit in for headphone amps??

I had a 2.5 in the house at the same time as the 7.2 and have to say the upgraded headphone amp AudioMagus offers for the 2.5 sounded very good to me. Might have been better than the 7.2 but hard to say given that I never did a true A/B comparison. I liked the 2.5 quite a bit, especially the fact that it would take a toslink signal from my Airport Express, something the 7.2 can't do (there's a thread on this issue at the AudioMagus forum). But I like the overall functionality of the 7.2 better so I am hanging on to it until AudioMagus nails down the specs for their new MagiDac, which is supposed to be very Mac-friendly, according to the guys there.

But I'm not sure it will have a headphone amp, hence my query here.

If noise is a big issue you might want to look at "in ear monitors".

My late night listening is done in a different room, so a little leak is not a big deal. A little noise isolation would be good. I'm hoping the -10dB isolation the Denon 2000s offer will be enough to drown out the typical night noises around here (dishwasher rattling away in the kitchen, the dogs' nails clicking across the floor).

Re: the "in ear monitors" -- I have a pair of Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pros that I use on planes, trains and at the gym. Love them. But the Grados are a more comfortable listen at home.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I will check them out. Meanwhile, has anybody heard the headphone amps Shanling sells for around $400 (U.S.)?  The amp is often shown paired with the PCD300A CD player, which also has a headphone jack.

[cryoparts]

and where does the  Zhaolu's 2.5 and 3 fit in for headphone amps??

Ed,

The Zhaolu D3 does not have a headphone amp;  it is strictly a DAC.

the Zhaolu 2.5C comes with a basic headphone amp that is just OK.  However, for $60 extra you can upgrade the head amp to a much better designed and sounding amp.  It really sounds pretty good, nice and neutral sounding, perhaps just a bit "front row", which is OK for most cans.  I use a heavily modded 2.5C with upgraded head amp on one of my headphone rigs and like it quite a bit.

Disclaimer--I sell Zhaolu products.

Peace,

Lee

[cryoparts]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I will check them out. Meanwhile, has anybody heard the headphone amps Shanling sells for around $400 (U.S.)?  The amp is often shown paired with the PCD300A CD player, which also has a headphone jack.

Yes.  It is very good, indeed.  Especially for the price.  The built head-amp in the CD3000 CD player is OK, the PH3000 (the dedicated amp) is much better than the built in head amp in the CD player.  However, I sell Shanling, so call me biased. 

Peace,

Lee

[chadh]

My apologies if this isn't helpful, but if you have $700 to spend then you might find this worth considering.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1224348625



The asking price is $750.  I have no affiliation with the seller.  I'm just a guy who thinks this headphone amp would be lovely.

Chad

[chadh]

Here are a couple of other options from Audiogon:

1.  Eastern Electric Minimax CD player: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1224334681

Hmm, it seems this one has sold.  But when it was released, all sorts of reviews raved about the wonderful headphone amplifier built in.

2.  Melos SHA-1:  http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/auc.pl?ampstube&1220406471

Pre amp AND awesome headphone amplifier.

Chad

[dorokusai]

Here are a couple of other options from Audiogon:

1.  Eastern Electric Minimax CD player: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1224334681

Hmm, it seems this one has sold.  But when it was released, all sorts of reviews raved about the wonderful headphone amplifier built in.

2.  Melos SHA-1:  http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/auc.pl?ampstube&1220406471

Pre amp AND awesome headphone amplifier.

Chad

The Melos is outstanding! The Earmax shouldn't even get a second look. Just an opinion

Mark

[2gumby2]

I recommend checking out the Audio-Technica headphones. I have the ATH-A900 headphones and not only do they sound great, they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. Also, take a look at the Ray Samuels Audio headphone amps (www.raysamuelsaudio.com). He has several models at varying price points. I owned his Raptor headphone amp and I don't think a better quality product could be found.

[McPanse]

I wound up ordering a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-880s despite the mixed reviews they've received. Amazon.com's $169 price was just too good to pass up. If I hate them, I can always return them.

Now about an amp.

I've got two amps here at home: a HeadRoom Total Airhead and the Citypulse 7.2 DAC with a built-in headphone amp. I've been researching standalone headphone amps and would be interested in opinions.

* I understand tubes probably complement the DT-880s better than a solid state amp, but I prefer the convenience and cooler operating temperatures solid states offer.

* Amp has got to have a loop or preout since I intend to put it in between a DAC and a stereo amp.

* I'd prefer to buy from a U.S. dealer.

* I'm willing to spend up to $900 but would prefer to stay in the $300 t0 $500 range.

Among the amps I'm considering:

*Gilmore Lite ($399) and GS-1 amp/preamp ($899)

*Headroom Desktop Amp ($699) or Millet Hybrid ($599)

* Little Dot MK III, IV, V ($159 to $399)

* Shanling PH100 ($400) -- Russian tubes, though. How easy will those be to find? 

* Firestone Little Country III ($500)

* Stello HP 100 ($595 + $85 shipping)

* CIAudio VHP-2 ($399)

* Musical Fidelity X-CANv8 ($549)
 
* Pro-Ject Head Box SE ($199) -- two headphone jacks, three sets of RCA inputs, and RCA output.

Anybody heard these? Heard them with the DT-880s?

[cryoparts]

* Little Dot MK III, IV, V ($159 to $399)

Very nice, inexpensive amps.  I like the IVSE the best with Mullard CV138 drivers.  No US dealer, but David at Little Dot is easy to deal with.

* Shanling PH100 ($400) -- Russian tubes, though. How easy will those be to find? 

The PH100 is a solid state amp.  FYI--The PH100 is a "grey market" item, the PH1000 is the US version as imported by Music Hall. 

Same with the PH300, the PH3000A is the official US import.  The PH3000A is the tube head amp.

Peace,

Lee

[McPanse]

Thanks, Lee. Got my Shanlings mixed up. The one with the tubes -- how hard is it to find replacement tubes? How often do tubes need to be replaced? With these lower-end tube amps I'm considering, what do folks have to spend on tubes annually, semi-annually, or whatever to keep in service?

[cryoparts]

Thanks, Lee. Got my Shanlings mixed up. The one with the tubes -- how hard is it to find replacement tubes? How often do tubes need to be replaced? With these lower-end tube amps I'm considering, what do folks have to spend on tubes annually, semi-annually, or whatever to keep in service?

Hmmm...the tubes that the Shanling PH3000A uses (6N16B) are supposed to be good for tens of thousands of hours as they are only used in the preamplifier circuit.  Or, so I've heard.

The tubes the Little Dot's use are readily available on eBay and from popular tube vendors.

Peace,

Lee