Which headphone amp you own?

SteveFord · « **Reply #80 on:** 2 Oct 2011, 03:45 pm »

There's some really nice stuff on here.
The tubes are breaking in on my "new" Jolida and I'm really pleased with my purchase which was made here on AC.
The Scotch tape over the really bright blue LEDs looks like hell so maybe a drop of clear nail polish would do it?
It doesn't look like they ever made a 120V version for the US market which I think was a mistake.

adydula · « **Reply #81 on:** 8 Oct 2011, 12:46 am »

Schiit Lyr with EH6922's and a pair of Audeze LCD2's...The amp is wonderful has more than enough power to drive most ANY set of cans out there....

You would have to spend a lot of money to do better.....

Alex

eclein · « **Reply #82 on:** 8 Oct 2011, 02:10 am »

Alex-after I get my Schiit Bifrost in I'm picking up a Lyr next for my HE-5LE's...right now I'm using an AV receiver or my Grant DAC-09 as amps but I really need a dedicated amp....I have the MP-301MK2 from Musical Paradise(tube amp speakers and cans) and it works fine but the Lyr I'm told by my audio dealer just makes the HE's really come to life....I ordered one with upgraded tubes but that number doesn't ring a bell. I think the tubes I got are GE but I'm not 100% sure.
Ed

eclein · « **Reply #83 on:** 11 Oct 2011, 02:20 pm »

I gotta say the Musical Paradise amp is surprisingly good with my HE-5LE's. I have that baby outfitted with Mullard matched pairs in both positions and it gets plenty of gain and the sound stage is big, really big. I hear things that sounded like a nothing sound before that has a bit of detail and actually fits into the song I'm hearing. So I'm holding up on the Lyr. I am going to try using my Virtue TWO.2 as a headphone amp with the adapter that hifiman sells that turns the speaker outputs into a nice balanced? or lo-z? headphone plug the the HE's come with as a supplied extra cable. I'm told by like 5 people at head-fi that use it that way that its the way to go...so I saved my self some major dollars. These cans are really starting to open up more and more and the enjoyment factor is way up there!!!!!

bobNL · « **Reply #84 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 08:08 pm »

Another vote here for the Lehman headphone amp. Use it with my Grado GS 1000's and it sound truely awsome. Tried a few, such as the Graham Slee, but none came even close. Never heard the Sennheiser hd800 through it, but would love to.

Cheers,
Bob

SteveFord · « **Reply #85 on:** 24 Oct 2011, 08:53 pm »

Diamond Dog,
Did that Manley come in?

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #86 on:** 24 Oct 2011, 09:05 pm »

Quote from: SteveFord on 24 Oct 2011, 08:53 pm

Diamond Dog,
Did that Manley come in?

Hi Steve: I heard from Albert Schippitz @ Manley that it was scheduled to ship ( last ) Friday so I'm thinking it should show up here late this week.

D.D.

Scottdazzle · « **Reply #87 on:** 24 Oct 2011, 10:28 pm »

I have a Modwright LS 100 preamp with a tube output class A discrete headphone amp on order. I can't wait for it to arrive!

Noseyears · « **Reply #88 on:** 26 Oct 2011, 12:19 am »

Guys anyone know about the HA-160DS? its an amp/dac, priced around $890. Im wondering how will this compare to the Bitfrost + Lyr combo? which have a similar price.

DaveNote · « **Reply #89 on:** 26 Oct 2011, 01:08 am »

Quote from: Noseyears on 26 Oct 2011, 12:19 am

Guys anyone know about the HA-160DS? its an amp/dac, priced around $890. Im wondering how will this compare to the Bitfrost + Lyr combo? which have a similar price.

Do a search on the web. I remember reading a review of this piece that was glowing.

Dave

DaveNote · « **Reply #90 on:** 27 Oct 2011, 11:51 am »

Quote from: DaveNote on 26 Oct 2011, 01:08 am

Do a search on the web. I remember reading a review of this piece that was glowing.

Dave

I was wrong. Sorry. This is a new unit. I was thinking of the earlier model.

krikor · « **Reply #91 on:** 29 Oct 2011, 03:05 pm »

Oops, I got a little carried away with the little JDS Labs cMoyBB amps. In addition to the fully built Altoids unit I already had I ordered a couple extra boards, had JDS set them up for use with various impedance cans and put them in my own tins:

Altoids Tin for low impedance IEMs (16 ohms) I use when traveling for isolation, a very cheap pair of Skull Candy Ink'd I picked up for $9 on sale at Staples but sound remarkably good for that price and really seal out external noise - surprised I haven't gotten stopped with that tin going through airport security
Zingos Tin for medium impedance cans like my Koss Porta Pros (60 ohms) that I use at work and are still portable enough to carry on trips - good sounding, light weight, comfortable and I can hear around me when the phone rings, someone knocks or comes in the room, etc.
Cleartop Tin for high impedance cans like my Beyerdynamic 990s (600 ohms), requires a more robust power supply than just a 9V battery, so I put the amp in this tiny tin and use an outboard supply (basic variable one for now, but I've got an 18v linear kit from Welborne Labs to be built yet) - perfect amp for my nightstand being fed from Squeezebox or Netflix on an iPad and looks great in the dark with the blue LED shining through the clear top

I also have four different opamps to swap out in the amps (they are socketed) so I essentially have up to 12 different amps to play around with. Haven't done any serious comparisons with the opamps just yet. Figure I've spent about $150 total for all the amps/opamps, but it's been well worth it thus far for all the use and variation they provide... lots o fun.

dwk · « **Reply #92 on:** 2 Nov 2011, 09:12 pm »

Picked up a Schiit Lyr to go with my K701. Even with only a few hours on the tubes (6BZ7) it's sounding very nice. I agree that the build quality on this is unexpected at the price. My current source (Steinberg MR816X) sounds very good through the Lyr, although I have to admit I'm curious about the Bifrost if only because I think the 2 components would look pretty sharp stacked together.

eclein · « **Reply #93 on:** 2 Nov 2011, 10:07 pm »

krikor--GOOD STUFF!!! I dig the tins for the cans, man!!!

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #94 on:** 2 Nov 2011, 10:56 pm »

Quote from: SteveFord on 24 Oct 2011, 08:53 pm

Diamond Dog,
Did that Manley come in?

Steve: Manley 300B is in the house!

D.D.

SteveFord · « **Reply #95 on:** 13 Nov 2011, 09:46 pm »

Review on the Manley once it's burned in some, please.
I'm mostly interested in it as a preamp for the main system and wonder if it might not be too "euphonic"?

Bear in mind I actually watched "This Is Spinal Tap" in honor of 11/11/11.
It's even stupider than I remembered it being.

lextek · « **Reply #96 on:** 24 Nov 2011, 05:44 am »

Headroom Total Bithead and Schiit Valhalla now.......

shandy · « **Reply #97 on:** 25 Nov 2011, 02:38 am »

Hi. I am new to the forum, am just now having more time to spend here, what a lovely place from what I have been reading so far.

I have a Meier corda stepdance with the external 15v energizer battery mod which gives oodles of power for my LCD rev1's and Etymotic ER4S's.

Any day now I should be getting the RSA SR71-B as I want to try balanced. Have also just ordered some Toxic cables balanced cable for the LCD's so I am looking forward to what that will do. Have ordered with it an adaptor so I can hear the cable with the stepdance as well.

Have loved the stepdance, it does everything so well, especially with the external battery modification which significantly improves performance to desktop standards I feel having compared it to some good mains amps.

Noseyears · « **Reply #98 on:** 26 Nov 2011, 01:37 am »

Quote from: DaveNote on 27 Oct 2011, 11:51 am

I was wrong. Sorry. This is a new unit. I was thinking of the earlier model.

Its ok dave, i found one at headfonia. Looks pretty interesting...i wonder how it will pair the new lcd-3's?

slwiser · « **Reply #99 on:** 26 Nov 2011, 08:41 pm »

SPL Phonitor

Yamamoto HA-02

Fostex HP-P1 Dac/Amp for iPhone