Headphone Amps Vs Arcam A32

[admin_exported]

I am looking at getting a headphone amp, options are

musical fidelity Xcan V2 from Ebay £130 ish

Pro-ject head box MK 2 £89

Creek obh 11 £120 ish

What do you guys think ?

Any others around £150ish

How will these compare with the headphone stage in my Arcam A32 ? Is it worth the upgrade ?

Thanks

 

[matengawhat]

check out the little dot kit on ebay - just make sure you buy from david - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Little-Dot-MK-III-Headphone-Tube-Amplifier-Pre-Amp_W0QQitemZ200351529436QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2ea5e1b9dc&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1683%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

its a lot better that tne pro-ject - also a works as a pretty good pre amp - you can also change the valves to alter the sound to your tastes/music

 

[idc]

Had a quick look on ebay and there are three X-CANV2s and one V3 for sale at the moment. Having owned an X-CANS, modded X-CANS and the V8, they are all very good, well made and sound great. The Musical Fidelity sound is an emphasis on the mid range, clarity, to be 'musical' and true to the original recording. The approach to bass is particularly an emphasis on clarity and so at first you may be disappointed with the apparent lack of bass. But this is because it does not thud and dominate the rest of the music. you will notice every strike of the drums, particularly the kick drum.

How worthwhile an upgrade it will be will depend on how often you listen to headphones and what headphones you use. If you are an occasional user, it is just for convenient quiet times and you will be using a £100 odd set of headphones then the headphone amp will just be a bit of luxury. Otherwise a dedicated headphone amp will be better at driving the headphones, create a wider soundstage, greater separation between instruments and make extended listening more enjoyable and less tiring.

 

[Anonymous]

I know its outside your budget, but if you can find the extra 50 pounds, consider the Graham Slee Novo. This really is an outstanding piece of equipment, offering significantly better quality than the MF and Project alternatives.