Which headphone amp?

[lee_car]

what headphone amps are available? it will be used with HD595's is the project headbox se any good? where can you buy headphone amps from?

cheers lee

[StevieDvd]

There are plenty of headphone amps around, a small amount from the UK or Europe and a great deal from the US.

Which ones to go for need more info from you first:

What's your budget?
What equipment will be used to drive the headphone amp (Ipod, CD player, DVD player or higher-end equipment like CD players costing more than my car)/
Type of music you listen to?
Whether you want to use a PC as a sound source?
Commercial or diy type?

Recommendations will vary from a cmoy (about £25-£30) for simple portable to hundreds of pounds for better portable and 'kick-ass' home-user ones.

See the sticky at the top of the thread for some background info on decision making as well. Spending now on cheap stuff may be regretted later if it's not what you want and you end up spending more later.

Heck, you may not even want one if your own ears can't detect the difference between using one and not using one!!

Steve

[lee_car]

hi steve thanks for the reply

my budget would be upto about £150 (dont mind second hand either)
ill be using for now, a ipod through docking station thing, denon av amp, possibly a decent cd player in the near future, i dont really want it for out side use just at home so dont really want a portable type.
i mainly listen to rock, indie and some r&b and i may use the pc for gaming at night also would prefer commercial to DIY

thanks lee

Originally Posted by StevieDvd

There are plenty of headphone amps around, a small amount from the UK or Europe and a great deal from the US.

Which ones to go for need more info from you first:

What's your budget?
What equipment will be used to drive the headphone amp (Ipod, CD player, DVD player or higher-end equipment like CD players costing more than my car)/
Type of music you listen to?
Whether you want to use a PC as a sound source?
Commercial or diy type?

Recommendations will vary from a cmoy (about £25-£30) for simple portable to hundreds of pounds for better portable and 'kick-ass' home-user ones.

See the sticky at the top of the thread for some background info on decision making as well. Spending now on cheap stuff may be regretted later if it's not what you want and you end up spending more later.

Heck, you may not even want one if your own ears can't detect the difference between using one and not using one!!

Steve

[StevieDvd]

Sorry for not responding earlier. i was sort of hoping a few others may have piped in as well.

In the price range you mention you are at the top of the budget range but short of the reasonable desktop type unless a second-hand one crops up for sale. I had thought a couple of nice ones were due to be advertised here soon - I've just sold such an amp here myself.

There is another thread discussing the launch of a small amp in your price range but as I've stated there I can't advise you on it as I've never seen or heard it personally. But if the offer of a 7 day money back meets your approval you could be one of the first to try one.

Your best bet would be to have a look over at head-fi as the turnover in equipment due to upgrades is much higher and if you find an amp in your price range there will be plenty of folk you can ask for an opinion of it.

Steve

[alexs2]

My apologies for not adding my 2p's worth earlier also.....in your price range you should be able to look at the Creek,Amber,and also used examples of the MF X-Cans,all of which will perform well at that price point.

[pbirkett]

Originally Posted by StevieDvd

Your best bet would be to have a look over at head-fi as the turnover in equipment due to upgrades is much higher and if you find an amp in your price range there will be plenty of folk you can ask for an opinion of it.

Agreed.

Theres not that many truly good amps out there for £150 or less new.

[doctorjuggles]

I want to tread carefully here, because I'm not sure what the policy here would be, but I'm selling a Headsave Classic on another site that would be well within your price range.

I'll let others help you decide on the quality of this amp, as I'm already scared I might be overstepping the mark. Mods, feel absolutely free to delete this post if it's out of order.

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by doctorjuggles

I want to tread carefully here, because I'm not sure what the policy here would be, but I'm selling a Headsave Classic on another site that would be well within your price range.

I'll let others help you decide on the quality of this amp, as I'm already scared I might be overstepping the mark. Mods, feel absolutely free to delete this post if it's out of order.

I think the rules are fairly clear,in that items for sale if advertised here,should be in the correct forum,and should only be advertised here,if you intend to sell via the AVForums.

If you decide to sell it here,then you should abide by those rules,but pointing someone to an ad elsewhere is something you should ask one of the trading mods about.

[pbirkett]

Originally Posted by doctorjuggles

I want to tread carefully here, because I'm not sure what the policy here would be, but I'm selling a Headsave Classic on another site that would be well within your price range.

I'll let others help you decide on the quality of this amp, as I'm already scared I might be overstepping the mark. Mods, feel absolutely free to delete this post if it's out of order.

Thats a great little amp for the cash, you wont do much better than that if the price is right.

If you can find an ANT Amber for £150 or less that would be a totally stonking buy, but the chances of that are slim, as they are pretty rare to say the least.

And no, I aint selling mine. I'd rather lop off my nuts than part with that. (ok slight exagerration)

[doctorjuggles]

Originally Posted by alexs2

I think the rules are fairly clear,in that items for sale if advertised here,should be in the correct forum,and should only be advertised here,if you intend to sell via the AVForums.

If you decide to sell it here,then you should abide by those rules,but pointing someone to an ad elsewhere is something you should ask one of the trading mods about.

Okay, thanks alexs2. The rules are clear enough if you're selling something, but if someone else is asking (say, in a wanted thread) then the rules say nothing about advertising elsewhere, so I was just unsure about this case.

Sorry lee_car, can't help you in here. Good luck finding something though.