Appreciate all the suggestions, but my issue with buying a separate headphone amp is if I add the cost of that to what I might get for selling the Van Alstine I could just get another amp. Since posting this I have looked at used integrated amp options in my price range like the Cambridge CXA81, the Arcam SA20, or Audiolab 6000A. What research I have done suggests they might work with the ARs.
Van Alstine Amp Replacement
It has been some time since I was last on these pages, but they seem a good place to ask a question that is puzzling me. I am currently running an old Van Alstine Omegastar 240 amp with my souped up Dynaco preamp into AR3X and AR 2AX speakers. An old, even ancient outfit by modern standards, but it is what it is.
We moved to new quarters and my wife is not a fan of music played at anything other than whisper levels so I am looking to use headphones more. I have two pairs, one a Sony Pro model and the other the infamous Bose noise-cancelling phones. I have a headphone DAC, but the Dynaco won't drive it, so I am looking at options. I could spend on a separate headphone amp, but am thinking more about ditching the Van Alstine and picking up an amp with a headphone jack.
I am finding a lot of the basic amps I look at do not have headphone jacks. I am not interested in do-it-all amps with internal DACs, etc. Just a good basic amp that will drive my ARs, which require a bit of power to sound good. I know pro amps are anathema on these pages, but In the past based on recommendations on the AR forum i have used pro amps (QSC) with some good results, but sold the QSCs for the Van Alstine. Before that I had a NAD 3020 that was stolen in a burglary. I had conversations with Frank Van Alstine about upgrades to the Omegastar, but at the time the price was too steep.
So here are my options right now as I see them: just bite the bullet and get a headphone amp (although I am not sure if the Dynaco will drive them); 2) replace the Van Astine with a better amp that has a headphone jack; 3) just pick up a used cheap receiver (probably end up being one of those Japanese brands whose sound I hate) that I can hook into the Dynaco and use just as a headphone amp.
Option two seems the best, but having not been in the game for a while I am wondering what amps are possible. As you can see by what I have owned, I am partial to good basic equipment that emphasizes good sound, not bells and whistles which is why I shy away from Japanese stuff because they seem to do the opposite. I don't need multichannel, surround sound just a good basic stereo amp with a headphone jack. I would not be adverse to DIY or kit options as I am pretty good with a soldering iron and know my way around electronics.
Something around $500 would be the sweet spot although I could go higher, but anything around $1,000 would start to get steep. I realize that is slumming country for many folks here, but I would at least see if anyone had any ideas.
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