Recommend a headphone amp for me?

[Rhbmcse]

Hi all,
I'd appreciate your input on this. I'm looking to purchase a set of headphones, wired, as yet undecided and need an amp in order to do so.

Use case is listening to vinyl on a rega planar p1+ via a sonos port. I'll be taking either rca outs or digital out from the port to feed the amp.

I appreciate this isn't an audiophile setup by a long stretch. Id still like to get something decent sounding enough though. My music is important to me or clearly, I wouldn't be here!

What would be your recommendation please? Obviously there's no point in spending a fortune for the setup I have.

Ideally some kind of remote volume control would be advantageous as the port out has to be set to fixed or I'm led to believe that the quality suffers considerably.

Also whether rca or digital out would be better would be useful advice from those with better knowledge than myself.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Rob.

 

[Gray]

You asked a similar question 8 months ago Rob.
I answered you, but don't know whether you read my reply or not 🤔

Anyway, maybe you're not limiting yourself to valve amps anymore.
Either way, for others to make some suggestions, perhaps you can say how much you want to spend - as prices vary considerably (with more expensive not necessarily meaning better).

 

[Rhbmcse]

You asked a similar question 8 months ago Rob.
I answered you, but don't know whether you read my reply or not 🤔

Anyway, maybe you're not limiting yourself to valve amps anymore.
Either way, for others to make some suggestions, perhaps you can say how much you want to spend - as prices vary considerably (with more expensive not necessarily meaning better).

Hi Gray,
Well spotted, indeed I did, and read your response thank you. I'm revisiting that exact question again, Christmas out of the way and all but yes, without the restriction of valves being in the equation. Based on your previous answer I'd love to now hear your recommendations as clearly, this particular itch has not been scratched yet, and needs to be!

Thanks again.

Rob.

 

[Rhbmcse]

Hi Gray,
Well spotted, indeed I did, and read your response thank you. I'm revisiting that exact question again, Christmas out of the way and all but yes, without the restriction of valves being in the equation. Based on your previous answer I'd love to now hear your recommendations as clearly, this particular itch has not been scratched yet, and needs to be!

Thanks again.

Rob.

Sorry, in respect of price, ideally up to the £400 bracket, maybe more if the difference is audible, given my meagre setup.

 

[Jasonovich]

I assume you're leaning towards tube headphone amp?

Well, I say this with total and absolute bias, I recommend highly XDUOO TA-66. I own these glow babies and I have even tube rolled it to sound even better.
Crazy insane price £250! (obviously more, if you choose to upgrade the tubes)
Check out link below.

Amazon.co.uk

Below tube rolled - this potentially gives option to customise the sound.

 

[Rhbmcse]

Ooh look at that. I was looking for tube initially. What did you upgrade it with? I'll take a serious look....

 

[Jasonovich]

Ooh look at that. I was looking for tube initially. What did you upgrade it with? I'll take a serious look....

😊👍
If tube rolling is something you might consider and you don't wish to narrow your options. I would suggest purchasing 6SL7 to 6N2 adapter converter for XDUOO TA-66. There are various adapters that allow you to use different tubes with the same voltage.
I replaced the original 6N2 with
PSVANE 6SL7 Vacuum Tube Art Series.
This tube is incredibly silent, I was getting very slight tube buzz with the 6N2 but this cured it completely.
It also brought noticeable improvement to the sound,

The original TA-66 tubes 6N2 (preamp) and 6N5P (buffer) are already good. Sometimes tube rolling doesn't always bring the desired outcome, not necessarily better but different, different tonality etc. Certain tubes have certain characteristics with the sound, Mullard tubes can sound lush and if you have a forward sounding speakers, this could tame them.
Potentially this could be a rabbit hole. I wouldn't rush into it, get as much info before you embark into the world of tube rolling.
The original buffer tube 6N5P, I swapped these for Sortek/Svetlana post war classic 6AS7s J wing. This was directly pin and voltage compatible tube, and adapter wasn't required.
The generic tubes on the TA-66 are already very good, so you may not to need to change them right away but the option is there when you decide to 🙂

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Sovtek 6AS7 Power Vacuum Tube​