Question What headphone amp

themoid

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Morning all,

Thinking of getting a headphone amp to work with my MF MSi which does not have a headphone out.

I know nothing at all about headphone amps having never had one before, so not sure where to start.

Perhaps a budget of £200 ish ? Does that get me something that will sound decent ?

What should I be looking at ?

Cheers
Stu
 
The Rega Ear is good little amp but works best with headphones with higher ohm loadings. You could also look at the amps from Schiit, best look at the US site. For a entry level amp the Project Head is a very good, I auditioned headphones connected to one and it's fine with low ohm loadings.



Over your budget but a really top knotch amp is the Lehmann Rhinelander. Will easily drive the most difficult of headphones.


The Graham Slee Novo is another good amp.


Personally I'd go for the Rhinelander as I'm already a Lehmann Linear user and they are so well made in Germany and will last for years.
 
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Thanks gibbsy. Of course my initial budget thoughts is always an undershot.....The Rhinelander looks a good piece of kit. Probably more sensible to go in at a good level rather than cheaper and then look to upgrade.
 
Let us know what you think of it. I do like my Linear.
 
First impressions are very good. I presume that it will need some run-in time ?

Do you leave yours on all of the time ? Doesn't seem to get hot so should be ok i guess ?

Of course, this is making me think that i need an upgrade on my headphones :D:facepalm:
 
The Linear did get better over time. I do leave the amp on 24/7, it's designed to do so with the on/off switch just on the rear. It's connected to my Rega Elicit-R amp via the Elicit's dedicated line out and the Elicit is in use every day for HT by-pass to my Denon. The Linear in warm to the touch always.

My main headphones are Oppo PM1s, open back and Shure SRH 1540s, closed back.
 
How are you getting on with the Rhinelander?
 
Not a massive amount of listening to it so far, 2 or 3 late night binges. But what I've heard so far i really like the sound of. Of course I'm looking at new headphones to make the most of it......keeping an eye out for a pair of PM2s after reading the reviews, they sound super.
 
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I've recently purchased a ZEN CAN from which I then connect via the RCA output of the DAC. It sounds great!


Hey, that's nice to hear. What DAC are you using with it? Personally, the ZEN CAN is one of my favourite pieces of iFi kit. I've got it running at the mo with the ZEN DAC in my office as I work and it sounds fab. Nice size for an office set-up too. Enjoy your music.
 

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