[chippyteaforme]

Hi all,

Should get my AKG K701 early next week, and am looking to get a second headphone amp with which to use them.

Currently I'm running a stock Little Dot 2 Tube amp, from China. Cheap enough, and once it's warmed up and the tubes have stopped ringing like bloody church bells, I'm impressed.

However, I'm now looking for another amp - something without vacuum tubes. Portability isn't an issue, and I'm looking for the best sound quality I can get for £100 - and ideally quite a bit less than that, considering the LD was only £45 + P&P. Power is also not much of an issue as the AKGs are apparently 62ohm models, and my other cans (HD595) are only 50ohm.

Basically I'm going to see which works better with both cans - tube or non-tube. Then I'll probably sell both and put the cash towards a better amp. I know it's probably not the most financially sensible option, but it means getting to experience different equipment, and I think it'll be fun

Thanks in advance all!

[chippyteaforme]

Actually, I just remembered something major which might make a big difference as to what I should get.

I was going to get an external sound card, but realised that you can probably get some external amp / sound card combos. Nothing flash needed in the sound card department - I only really use the PC for music and the internet, no gaming (well, old SNES games and stuff, but I don't need loads of audio extensions, 5.1, anything like that!)

Bearing in mind I was looking at spending money on an external sound card (albeit second hand) I can factor some more cash into the amp equation. I'd assume that an amp with SC built in could be used purely as an amp as well, without needing to be connected to a PC?

[godzilla1]

I picked up a £30 creative xmod from pc world. Not a headphone amp per se (though it will drive phones and a battery would make it portable). Suprisingly, It made a notable difference to the SQ of my mothers surround system. It should sound better when run in series with the PC's own sound card. I cant put the xmod properly through its paces yet, as i need an external power supply which will bypass the USB as the source.


Heres a review

Initially, we were a tad skeptical of Creative’s much-hyped Xmod, a plug-and-play sound enhancer that connects to a notebook’s USB port for upconverting digital audio to surpass CD quality. But our suspicions were soon stymied after firing up this ingenious device. Whether we were listening using headphones or a set of 2.1 speakers, movies and music sounded clearer and crisper. The X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer restores the sound elements lost during compression, and the X-Fi CMSS 3D re-creates surround sound with nine virtual speakers.

We enjoyed clear highs, punchy lows, and how the Xmod’s CMSS 3D placed vocals in a different area than standard earbuds or headphones do. Vocals seemed to come from an area in front of us instead of from the ear, which opens the soundscape. Despite the impressive sound quality, which is marred by a faint hissing, our only other complaint is that the candy-bar–sized device requires an AC adapter for power when connected to an MP3 player. Still, the benefits of the Xmod outweigh its shortcomings, and we’d rather listen to audio with it than without

The claims made by creative could no doubt be considered as bizzare, but my own ears suggested a notable improvement in SQ. I just need to get an external USB power supply to see what the xmod is really about.




It could be quite good as an external sound card [edit: not as an amp]. It requires no drivers either.