Headphone Amp Analysis Paralysis--Advice Sought

[vladimirb0b]

I can tell you that HiFime Sabre 9018 USB DAC sounds good

 

Haven't done any measurements on it but the price is right

[Hailey]

I can tell you that HiFime Sabre 9018 USB DAC sounds good

 

Haven't done any measurements on it but the price is right

 

Thanks. I'm good on the DAC end (great, in fact). Just looking for an amp to drive HD800

[vladimirb0b]

Gotcha. But it does deserve mention to you (and the audio world) as something that can be used with phone (Android at least, not sure about Apple) or laptop on the go.

 

Do I gather that you are going to get rid of the HD700? I found a spectrum here Sennheiser HD700 Review that is really wonky. Couldn't find an HD800 one in a few minutes googling.

[Hailey]

I'm going to sell the HD700s, although I have enjoyed them enormously...they're far and away the best headphones I've ever tried. I'll put that toward the HD800s, and then search for the best amp I can find < $1k.

 

There, some clarity emerging.

 

Perhaps a good thing Music Direct appears to be staffed by clowns, after all...

[Priaptor]

My Liquid Carbon + HD800 combo is a head-fi endgame setup for me.

 

Yes it is a pretty amazing amp. While it doesn't have the flexibility of the iFi Pro it sounds amazing. So good I took advantage of their offer for the Liquid Gold.

 

I also really liked the iFi Pro but would give the LC the nod with the 800S.

[vladimirb0b]

Should it be balanced? If so, is it the "4-pin XLR" kind or some other format?

[Hailey]

Yes it is a pretty amazing amp. While it doesn't have the flexibility of the iFi Pro it sounds amazing. So good I took advantage of their offer for the Liquid Gold.

 

I also really liked the iFi Pro but would give the LC the nod with the 800S.

 

Alas, the Liquid Carbon is very hard to come by.

[Hailey]

Should it be balanced? If so, is it the "4-pin XLR" kind or some other format?

 

I'm dropping that for now. Single-ended is fine.

[vladimirb0b]

I'm dropping that for now. Single-ended is fine.

 

OK. For the record I would have recommended https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Headphone-Upgrade-Balance-ZY-055/dp/B00MTB71SW/ if necessary and Little Dot MK VII 7 Balanced Headphone Amp Amplifier | eBay Return would cost postage to china.

 

For SE I would mention the O2 headphone amp. You could probably unload one for a $30 loss.

[Hailey]

OK. For the record I would have recommended https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Headphone-Upgrade-Balance-ZY-055/dp/B00MTB71SW/ if necessary and Little Dot MK VII 7 Balanced Headphone Amp Amplifier | eBay Return would cost postage to china.

 

For SE I would mention the O2 headphone amp. You could probably unload one for a $30 loss.

 

Little Dot is an interesting option.

 

Just found out about the O2. Wow that is appealing.

 

Would it mate well with the HD800S?

[vladimirb0b]

The O2 costs just $130. If you don't like it, you are facing a restock fee of $26 or so vs selling it used for somewhere around $100. If you can find somewhere with free returns, good on ya.

[vladimirb0b]

I'm curious to know what was bad about your DAC's headphone amp

[Hailey]

I'm curious to know what was bad about your DAC's headphone amp

 

Nothing. It's quite good in certain circumstances but it does not mate well with high impedance headphones.

[Hailey]

The O2 costs just $130. If you don't like it, you are facing a restock fee of $26 or so vs selling it used for somewhere around $100. If you can find somewhere with free returns, good on ya.

 

Yes I think the O2 may be the way to go...

[davide256]

I need a headphone amp.

 

My headphones are Sennheiser HD700, although I'm thinking I might sell these and go for the HD800S.

 

My source is an Exogal Comet Plus.

 

I listen to classical music almost exclusively.

 

The headphones are on my head for about six hours every single workday. (It's how I get through my job--don't ask). So the quality of this amp is paramount: I'll be spending more time with it than I do with any human, living or dead.

 

Although I say "what?" a lot, I'm oddly picky about audio sound. Transparency is very dear to me, as is soundstage.

 

The Exogal is fully balanced and the HD700s cords swap out easily so I'm hung up on the idea of a balanced amp. But I can be talked out of it, for sure.

 

I can't spend more than $2k on it and look my barefoot children in the eye.

 

Well, I shouldn't spend more than $2k on it, anyway...

 

Thoughts, anyone?

 

Unless you want to spend $3k or more for a headphone amp, you really can't go wrong with the Microzotl 2. Other than its going to make you want to spend more money on even better headphones like Audeze LCD's.

[Hailey]

Unless you want to spend $3k or more for a headphone amp, you really can't go wrong with the Microzotl 2. Other than its going to make you want to spend more money on even better headphones like Audeze LCD's.

 

Interesting option for the next iteration.

 

For now, I'm thinking HD800S powered by...

 

http://headphone.guru/the-impressive-m-stage-hpa-3b-balanced-headphone-amplifier/

[vladimirb0b]

That amp quotes its output power at 0.01% THD+N. Which is an audible -80dB. I prefer lower distortion and noise, but to each his own.

[AudioTragic]

iFi vs Phonitor anyone?

 

Hi Hailey

 

Like you I use headphones for many hours at work each day. I have a SPL Phonitor 2 which I am very happy with. It sounds great with my Audeze LCD-XC. I run it from a Exasound e12 DAC. The Phonitor 2 has both balanced and single inputs and outputs.

 

SPL’s background is professional studio equipment and the SPL Phonitor 2 was designed for that environment. It works really well as a headphone amp.

 

I find it is better than the well regarded built-in headphone amplifier of the Chord Hugo (which I also own) and much better than the Oppo HA-1 which I tried. Generally it has more space, tighter bass and excellent transients. I bought it before the iFi iCan Pro so I cannot give you a direct comparison between those. You will find some very favourable reviews of the SPL Phonitor2 that give more details.

 

I will mention that a benefit of the Phonitor 2 is that it contains the most flexible cross feed controls that I am aware of. It is a personal taste whether you want cross feed controls (to reduce listening fatigue while listening to headphones particularly for long sessions). If you do the Phonitor 2 has a very flexible setup in that you can adjust a number of parameters individually, rather than simply having 2 or 3 presets and dial it up as much or turn it down to as little as you like. I use its cross feed all the time. One and a Half in another thread also said that once he used the Phonitor’s crossfeed he hasn’t switched it off. (See the thread: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f12-headphones-and-speakers/spl-phonitor-2-a-20232/ ) One and Half has now moved from an Audeze to LCD-3 to the HD800S, so you might pm him to ask how he finds the combination with the SPL Phonitor 2.

 

For what it is worth, I also really like the tactile feel of the large volume control knob. Sitting in my workspace, I use the volume control frequently during the day.

 

BHPhoto is currently selling the silver version of the SPL Phonitor 2 for $1,599

SPL Phonitor 2 Headphone Amplifier (Silver) SPLPHON2SL B&H Photo

 

A quirk with the Phonitor 2 has a quirk is that the balanced output is two 3 pin male XLR on the rear of the unit, rather than a 4 pin balanced output in the front. You can either have your headphone leads terminated to work with those outputs, or get a short converter from the two 3 pin XLR to a single 4 pin balanced plug (which is how I use it). SPL recently introduced a big brother, Phonitor X, which has a 4 pin XLR balanced output, but costs substantially more and loses one of the 3 cross feed controls (the centre reduction, which I find useful).

 

If you get a chance to try one out see how how it works with your headphones.

 

Regards

AudioTragic

[Kelly]

If I were looking for a balanced, solid state amp for the HD800S, the Violectric V281 would be one to investigate. They are offering 15% off now, so it comes in just under $2k. Unfortunately they are a bit hard to find in the US. Others have said the ifi iCAN Pro, that is a remarkable little amp with really cool features. I heard one at a head-fi meet with multiple other higher priced amps and thought it held its own very well.

[Iain]

The O2 costs just $130. If you don't like it, you are facing a restock fee of $26 or so vs selling it used for somewhere around $100. If you can find somewhere with free returns, good on ya.

B Stock is USD$99.00

 

https://www.jdslabs.com/store/#b-stock

[Hailey]

Hi Hailey

 

Like you I use headphones for many hours at work each day. I have a SPL Phonitor 2 which I am very happy with. It sounds great with my Audeze LCD-XC. I run it from a Exasound e12 DAC. The Phonitor 2 has both balanced and single inputs and outputs.

 

SPL’s background is professional studio equipment and the SPL Phonitor 2 was designed for that environment. It works really well as a headphone amp.

 

I find it is better than the well regarded built-in headphone amplifier of the Chord Hugo (which I also own) and much better than the Oppo HA-1 which I tried. Generally it has more space, tighter bass and excellent transients. I bought it before the iFi iCan Pro so I cannot give you a direct comparison between those. You will find some very favourable reviews of the SPL Phonitor2 that give more details.

 

I will mention that a benefit of the Phonitor 2 is that it contains the most flexible cross feed controls that I am aware of. It is a personal taste whether you want cross feed controls (to reduce listening fatigue while listening to headphones particularly for long sessions). If you do the Phonitor 2 has a very flexible setup in that you can adjust a number of parameters individually, rather than simply having 2 or 3 presets and dial it up as much or turn it down to as little as you like. I use its cross feed all the time. One and a Half in another thread also said that once he used the Phonitor’s crossfeed he hasn’t switched it off. (See the thread: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f12-headphones-and-speakers/spl-phonitor-2-a-20232/ ) One and Half has now moved from an Audeze to LCD-3 to the HD800S, so you might pm him to ask how he finds the combination with the SPL Phonitor 2.

 

For what it is worth, I also really like the tactile feel of the large volume control knob. Sitting in my workspace, I use the volume control frequently during the day.

 

BHPhoto is currently selling the silver version of the SPL Phonitor 2 for $1,599

SPL Phonitor 2 Headphone Amplifier (Silver) SPLPHON2SL B&H Photo

 

A quirk with the Phonitor 2 has a quirk is that the balanced output is two 3 pin male XLR on the rear of the unit, rather than a 4 pin balanced output in the front. You can either have your headphone leads terminated to work with those outputs, or get a short converter from the two 3 pin XLR to a single 4 pin balanced plug (which is how I use it). SPL recently introduced a big brother, Phonitor X, which has a 4 pin XLR balanced output, but costs substantially more and loses one of the 3 cross feed controls (the centre reduction, which I find useful).

 

If you get a chance to try one out see how how it works with your headphones.

 

Regards

AudioTragic

 

Thanks for that overview. I'm really intrigued by the Phonitor 2.

[Hailey]

If I were looking for a balanced, solid state amp for the HD800S, the Violectric V281 would be one to investigate. They are offering 15% off now, so it comes in just under $2k. Unfortunately they are a bit hard to find in the US. Others have said the ifi iCAN Pro, that is a remarkable little amp with really cool features. I heard one at a head-fi meet with multiple other higher priced amps and thought it held its own very well.

 

At this stage, probably aspirational for me. But down the road...

[Blake]

Yes it is a pretty amazing amp. While it doesn't have the flexibility of the iFi Pro it sounds amazing. So good I took advantage of their offer for the Liquid Gold.

 

I also really liked the iFi Pro but would give the LC the nod with the 800S.

 

Did your Liquid Gold arrive yet? If so, what are your thoughts about it? I'd imagine it is pretty awesome.