To valve amp or not to valve amp... fatman vs icon audio. Budget £500 + good cans around £100-150

[admin_exported]

Running mp3's through my Onkyo & new Kef IQ5SE's sound is really nice mainly due to speakers I think but there's an always an upgrade right! I am seriously considering the Icon audio stereo 25 @£500 http://www.iconaudio.com/Stereo25.html but am concerned I'm just chasing the next gadjet & that sound improvement will be marginal.

I also considered the fatman i-tube stuff but really not knowledgable on valve amps to understand difference in performance I can expect.

I also want a really good pair of cans too for getting the detail out of the music when kids are in bed... budget <£150 any recommendations/good advice gratefully received.

Any test piece pointers for audio auditions or general great listening also welcome.

 

[Anonymous]

Apologies if too many threads in one place - newbie! I see the last point re. test pieces is on this thread: http://whathifi.com/forums/t/136599.aspx

Russ

 

[chebby]

I used to have a Fatman iTube and frequently used it as a headphone amp with Sennheiser HD-595 headphones. Great sound. (The predecessor to the iTube was designed primarily as a headphone amp.)

The iTube is a hybrid design. The power amp is Mosfet and the pre stage is valve.

Reasonable volumes levels were possible in a small room with efficient speakers. I used MA Bronze BR1's (90db)

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't heard that particular Icon Audio amplifier, but if it's half as good as the rest of their amp range it will be a super buy, they really do make music.