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Headphone Amp Recommendation

1940 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by MGBPUFF, Jul 13, 2021

minatophase3

Discussion Starter · Jun 27, 2021

I am looking to add a headphone amp to my main stereo system and am not sure what to get. I plan on using my headphones only about 10% of the time, so they will not see a tremendous amount of use but I want it to sound good. I will be sitting about 10 feet away from where the headphone amp will be. Here is my system:

Modwright KWA 150SE Amp
Modwright SWL 9.0 Preamp
Lumin T2 streamer/DAC
Senheiser HD6XX

I have 2 ways I can connect the headphone amp, either via RCA to the SWL 9.0 preamp through the tape out OR via XLR directly tot he Lumin T2. I am leaning connecting directly to the Lumin as I wouldn't need to turn on the Preamp and since it has tubes I figure no need to power them if they are not being used.

I see that most headphone amps do not come with a remote so I had planned on setting the headphone amp at a certain level and then using the digital volume control from the Lumin T2 regardless of which way I connect it.

My budget is around $500 and here are a couple of options I am considering:

Topping A90
Schiit Asgard 3
Schiit Jotunheim

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your help.
Tim

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glangford

· #2 · Jun 28, 2021

If you are thinking of connecting via the XLR connections, then I'd also consider the Schiit Magnus at 199 bucks. It has XLR connections in the rear. The Asgard doesn't have XLR, so if that is how you want to connect I'd drop that one. If using RCAs the cheap Schiit Magni Hersey measures well, at 99 bucks.

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Snek Plowskin

· #3 · Jun 28, 2021

minatophase3 said:
I am looking to add a headphone amp to my main stereo system and am not sure what to get. I plan on using my headphones only about 10% of the time, so they will not see a tremendous amount of use but I want it to sound good. I will be sitting about 10 feet away from where the headphone amp will be. Here is my system:

Modwright KWA 150SE Amp
Modwright SWL 9.0 Preamp
Lumin T2 streamer/DAC
Senheiser HD6XX

I have 2 ways I can connect the headphone amp, either via RCA to the SWL 9.0 preamp through the tape out OR via XLR directly tot he Lumin T2. I am leaning connecting directly to the Lumin as I wouldn't need to turn on the Preamp and since it has tubes I figure no need to power them if they are not being used.

I see that most headphone amps do not come with a remote so I had planned on setting the headphone amp at a certain level and then using the digital volume control from the Lumin T2 regardless of which way I connect it.

My budget is around $500 and here are a couple of options I am considering:

Topping A90
Schiit Asgard 3
Schiit Jotunheim

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your help.
Tim

I have the same cans, sound great, I think they would partner perfectly with this, I intend to buy one later this year, almost did 2 months ago but bought an Akai Force instead.

GUSTARD H16 Ultra High Performance Balanced Headphone Amplifier & Pre

GUSTARD H16 High Resolution OLED Display XLR/RCA Balanced Headphone Amplifier Pre Amplifier Audiophile Store, Australia Stock, Authorised Resellers, Local Warranty, Full Support Analog input:One set of RCA standard input, typical input sensitivity:2Vrms; input impedance 4.7kΩOne set of XLR...

www.audiophile-store.com.au

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minatophase3

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 28, 2021

glangford said:
If you are thinking of connecting via the XLR connections, then I'd also consider the Schiit Magnus at 199 bucks. It has XLR connections in the rear. The Asgard doesn't have XLR, so if that is how you want to connect I'd drop that one. If using RCAs the cheap Schiit Magni Hersey measures well, at 99 bucks.

Thanks I will take a look at the Magnus as well!

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minatophase3

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 28, 2021

Snek Plowskin said:
I have the same cans, sound great, I think they would partner perfectly with this, I intend to buy one later this year, almost did 2 months ago but bought an Akai Force instead.

GUSTARD H16 Ultra High Performance Balanced Headphone Amplifier & Pre

GUSTARD H16 High Resolution OLED Display XLR/RCA Balanced Headphone Amplifier Pre Amplifier Audiophile Store, Australia Stock, Authorised Resellers, Local Warranty, Full Support Analog input:One set of RCA standard input, typical input sensitivity:2Vrms; input impedance 4.7kΩOne set of XLR...

www.audiophile-store.com.au

The Gustard looks pretty nice, will have to do some more research on it. It shows that it comes with a remote, that would be very nice to have! Thanks for mentioning this one.

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Snek Plowskin

· #6 · Jun 28, 2021

minatophase3 said:
The Gustard looks pretty nice, will have to do some more research on it. It shows that it comes with a remote, that would be very nice to have! Thanks for mentioning this one.

Not a problem, more importantly it's about the PSU, it seems better than the other 3, I am a firm believer that good PSU will always be better than a so so one.
Also it offers true balanced connectivity too.

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minatophase3

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 28, 2021

Snek Plowskin said:
Not a problem, more importantly it's about the PSU, it seems better than the other 3, I am a firm believer that good PSU will always be better than a so so one.
Also it offers true balanced connectivity too.

Maybe you can answer another question for me as I know very little about headphones. If I want to run with the balanced output option, is there a difference in sound quality of the 4.4, 3.5pro & XLR? Also, my HD6XX head phones have the standard 3.5 connector, do I need to replace the entire wiring from head phones to amp or can I get a balanced to 3.5 extension cable? I would assume it would need to be balanced all of the way but don't know. As I will be sitting 10-12 feet away from the amp an extension cable will be needed.

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Snek Plowskin

· #8 · Jun 28, 2021

minatophase3 said:
Maybe you can answer another question for me as I know very little about headphones. If I want to run with the balanced output option, is there a difference in sound quality of the 4.4, 3.5pro & XLR? Also, my HD6XX head phones have the standard 3.5 connector, do I need to replace the entire wiring from head phones to amp or can I get a balanced to 3.5 extension cable? I would assume it would need to be balanced all of the way but don't know. As I will be sitting 10-12 feet away from the amp an extension cable will be needed.

Yes you do need to have a different cable, the difference is better balance and sometimes better power output.
I will point you to an article that would explain things in detail.

Are Balanced Headphones Better?

What about balanced or single-ended headphones? We'll cover opamps and differential amps in relation to headphone connections.

www.moon-audio.com

Long and exhaustive, an XLR cable could be your cheapest option, but the balanced cables can be as expensive as the headphones, the beauty is that HPA (HeadPhone Amp) gives you scope to upgrade later if needed.
This was why I wanted it as I was going to run my Audio interface that cannot power my HD 6XX which I use for mastering, luckily I have another lower budget HPA that can, given the Gustard allows XLR inputs from my interface, it was perfect knowing I would not have any additional noise.

You do not need to get a balanced cable to start off with, just when you're ready for that rabbit hole, you can.

Hope this makes sense.

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minatophase3

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 28, 2021

Snek Plowskin said:
Yes you do need to have a different cable, the difference is better balance and sometimes better power output.
I will point you to an article that would explain things in detail.

Are Balanced Headphones Better?

What about balanced or single-ended headphones? We'll cover opamps and differential amps in relation to headphone connections.

www.moon-audio.com

Long and exhaustive, an XLR cable could be your cheapest option, but the balanced cables can be as expensive as the headphones, the beauty is that HPA (HeadPhone Amp) gives you scope to upgrade later if needed.
This was why I wanted it as I was going to run my Audio interface that cannot power my HD 6XX which I use for mastering, luckily I have another lower budget HPA that can, given the Gustard allows XLR inputs from my interface, it was perfect knowing I would not have any additional noise.

You do not need to get a balanced cable to start off with, just when you're ready for that rabbit hole, you can.

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for the link!

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MGBPUFF

· #10 · Jul 13, 2021 (Edited)

Very interesting as I just purchased Drop-Sennheiser HD-6XX headphones and the iFi Zen Stream, Zen DAC V2, and Zen Can Signature. This Zen Can amp was designed especially for the HD-6XX phones with special emphasis circuits. The entire stack is very up to date with USB-3, balanced outputs and MQA full decoding streaming. IF you purchase from Drop, they have a balanced cable that replaces the original unbalanced cable, but it is an option. There are equivalent cables on Amazon also. This is a nice little stack to sit off in a corner and enjoy hi-res sound. The Zen Stream connects directly to the internet via iPhone. It's very convenient to use.

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