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Headphone amp

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dan323
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Afternoon all,
Any ideas if the cheap headphone amps from China on the bay are any good?

idc
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RE: Headphone amp

Hi, FiiO certainly has a very good reputation and having had a scan through what is available now, the cool valve amp listed as "Pure Class-A Audiophile Headphone Hifi Amplifier" also has a good reputation. Lastly if you fancy an amp in an Altoids tin, since they are usually made by the seller, look for their feedback to assess how well they make them.

 

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GeoffreyW
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RE: Headphone amp

If you want an amp for home/office, I've been very happy with my Little Dot Mk3, and the Mk1 is also well regarded. For portable use Fiio amps are very well regarded. As are Firestrone Fubar amps. Good luck with your search. You'll need to check what inputs the amp has, though, depending on your expected usage. My Fiio E7 portable headphone amp is also a DAC, with USB input, so I'm using it from my laptop into my main system.

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eggontoast
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RE: Headphone amp

dan323 wrote:
Afternoon all, Any ideas if the cheap headphone amps from China on the bay are any good?
The Little Dot 1+ and the FiiO E7 & E9 combo make cracking headphone amps for the price IMO.

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dan323
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RE: Headphone amp

Good afternoon,

Thanks for the info. I already have a Fubar 4 upstairs for the computer. So what I am after something that will form part of the Rega system including dac downstairs so i am trying to stay away from a dac and digital inputs.

Are the little dots better value than something such as a project head amp?

dan323
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RE: Headphone amp

I think is it a shootout between a Little Dot 2 or Fiio E9...... Which would you go for??

eggontoast
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RE: Headphone amp

What cans do you have ?

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dan323
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RE: Headphone amp

Currently i have a pair of Sennheiser 565 which will soon be upgraded to 650's.

Big Nads and Woofer
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RE: Headphone amp

What about something from the uk?

http://www.templeaudio.net/xc3.html

 

 

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eggontoast
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RE: Headphone amp

dan323 wrote:

Currently i have a pair of Sennheiser 565 which will soon be upgraded to 650's.

I have previously run some HD-650's from a FiiO e7 & e9 and a little dot 1+ and both were good at driving them. The little dot 2 is slightly different to the hybrid 1+ in being all valve, but the all valve little dots tend to be more fussy with low impedance cans.

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Sonos > M-DAC, Beyerdynamic A1, FiiO E17/E9, HLLY DMK-IV, STAX Lambdas, Denon AH-D5000, Sennheiser HD-600, Beyerdynamic DT770, MCA customs - Magnum V4's, Sennheiser HD-265 linear, Sennheiser CX300-II.

dan323
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RE: Headphone amp

Good afternoon all,

The reason I was looking to China was purely due to cost as I was looking to spend less than £100.

Big Nads, thanks for the suggestion but cost is slightly more than I wanted to spend.

Eggs- thanks for the info. It seems that i would be best with the Fiio?

 

idc
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RE: Headphone amp

My FiiO E5 will drive all bar one of my headphones, the bass boost is well controlled and it is very well made for the price. I have not read of any reliability issues.

 

WHF like them too cheer

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eggontoast
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RE: Headphone amp

dan323 wrote:

Eggs- thanks for the info. It seems that i would be best with the Fiio?

 

Not necessarily, the HD-650's are 300 ohms so either amplifier would do. Personally, if it were me, I'd go for a little dot 1+ because it looks nice as well as sounding good. You can also tweak it with valve & op-amp rolling etc.

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Sonos > M-DAC, Beyerdynamic A1, FiiO E17/E9, HLLY DMK-IV, STAX Lambdas, Denon AH-D5000, Sennheiser HD-600, Beyerdynamic DT770, MCA customs - Magnum V4's, Sennheiser HD-265 linear, Sennheiser CX300-II.

dan323
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RE: Headphone amp

Thanks for the info, i will let you know what i go for!!

Graham_Thomas
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RE: Headphone amp

Any news Dan? It's gone a little quiet on here recently. IDC hasn't posted much about his multiple headphones! Smile

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idc
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RE: Headphone amp

I have not added to my collection for sometime now. The headphones I am after are all going for silly money. I bught my AKG K340s (original, not the earbuds) for £75 and there is one set for sale for £160 and I have seen them go for up to £250. 

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Internet - laptop - DAC - amp - lots of headphones.

http://idc1966.blogspot.co.uk/

"A music lover will stop what he's doing and stay glued to a favorite piece of music even if it's coming over a 3" speaker or a public-address system..." - Ken Rockwell