Headphone amp

[dan323]

Afternoon all,
Any ideas if the cheap headphone amps from China on the bay are any good?

 

[idc]

Hi, FiiO certainly has a very good reputation and having had a scan through what is available now, the cool valve amp listed as "Pure Class-A Audiophile Headphone Hifi Amplifier" also has a good reputation. Lastly if you fancy an amp in an Altoids tin, since they are usually made by the seller, look for their feedback to assess how well they make them.

 

[GeoffreyW]

If you want an amp for home/office, I've been very happy with my Little Dot Mk3, and the Mk1 is also well regarded. For portable use Fiio amps are very well regarded. As are Firestrone Fubar amps. Good luck with your search. You'll need to check what inputs the amp has, though, depending on your expected usage. My Fiio E7 portable headphone amp is also a DAC, with USB input, so I'm using it from my laptop into my main system.

 

[eggontoast]

Afternoon all, Any ideas if the cheap headphone amps from China on the bay are any good?

The Little Dot 1+ and the FiiO E7 & E9 combo make cracking headphone amps for the price IMO.

 

[dan323]

Good afternoon,

Thanks for the info. I already have a Fubar 4 upstairs for the computer. So what I am after something that will form part of the Rega system including dac downstairs so i am trying to stay away from a dac and digital inputs.

Are the little dots better value than something such as a project head amp?

 

[dan323]

I think is it a shootout between a Little Dot 2 or Fiio E9...... Which would you go for??

 

[eggontoast]

What cans do you have ?

 

[dan323]

Currently i have a pair of Sennheiser 565 which will soon be upgraded to 650's.

 

[Big Nads and Woofer]

What about something from the uk?

http://www.templeaudio.net/xc3.html

 

[eggontoast]

Currently i have a pair of Sennheiser 565 which will soon be upgraded to 650's.

I have previously run some HD-650's from a FiiO e7 & e9 and a little dot 1+ and both were good at driving them. The little dot 2 is slightly different to the hybrid 1+ in being all valve, but the all valve little dots tend to be more fussy with low impedance cans.

 

[dan323]

Good afternoon all,

The reason I was looking to China was purely due to cost as I was looking to spend less than £100.

Big Nads, thanks for the suggestion but cost is slightly more than I wanted to spend.

Eggs- thanks for the info. It seems that i would be best with the Fiio?

 

[idc]

My FiiO E5 will drive all bar one of my headphones, the bass boost is well controlled and it is very well made for the price. I have not read of any reliability issues.

WHF like them too :cheer:

 

[eggontoast]

Eggs- thanks for the info. It seems that i would be best with the Fiio?

Not necessarily, the HD-650's are 300 ohms so either amplifier would do. Personally, if it were me, I'd go for a little dot 1+ because it looks nice as well as sounding good. You can also tweak it with valve & op-amp rolling etc.

 

[dan323]

Thanks for the info, i will let you know what i go for!!

 

[Anonymous]

Any news Dan? It's gone a little quiet on here recently. IDC hasn't posted much about his multiple headphones!

 

[idc]

I have not added to my collection for sometime now. The headphones I am after are all going for silly money. I bught my AKG K340s (original, not the earbuds) for £75 and there is one set for sale for £160 and I have seen them go for up to £250.

 

[Anonymous]

We still want your posts though!

Interested to know your thoughts on AKG K511 if you get the chance.

 

[dan323]

Good morning all,

In the end i went for a project headbox. While i was not thinking along these lines i popped into a shop!! I did also try the v-dac but this to me was only better when the additional power supply was added.

While there I tested some new headphones..... I can now discount all Grado's due to the way they fit or not which was the case for me!!

Sennheiser 650 for me!

 

[quadpatch]

Oh cool, I have always been curious about this one. Please let us know what you think of the headbox once you have had some time with it. I know what you mean about Grado's, I don't get on with the comfort one bit. The HD650 is amazingly comfy, I would love to have some of these, I'm sure you will enjoy them lots!!

 

[dan323]

How do the your AKG's compare to the 650's?

 

[quadpatch]

Well from testing the HD650 in the shop (the limit of my experience so far) I found the AKG had more crisp detail and a brighter overall sound that is really enjoyable. However I think there is much that the HD650 do better like soundstage, bass, comfort etc. In an ideal world I would like to have both and maybe one day I will.

The AKG was a no brainer for me at the time because I got it for £165. I was very lucky I know and in hindsight if the prices were the same (and I think they normally are) and I could only have one then I would probably choose the Sennheiser.

My trouble is now i have heard the HD800 and love it to bits, based on the reviews of the HD700 it could be my perfect headphone so if I can afford it I may just save up for that one and jump the HD650.

My next purchase however will probably be the Audiolab M-DAC because it improved quite a bit on my Yulong D100 which is insanely good already!