2. headphones
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AFFORDABLE (under $1K) Best SS and Tube Amps for HD600

Best SS Under $1K for HD600 (or similar load) __________________________________________________________

WHAMMY Class-A headphone amplifier w/ OPA2107 upgrade OR 2 OPA627 pro build ONLY $500-$600 PASS Design (similar to/ better than a dynalo- warm + clinical - choice of chip switches sound - these are two I like best- choices chips R infinite)
TCA HPA-1 ( Tom Christiansen Audio ) $899 (warm and clinical but not like WHAMMY

Gilmore Lite Mk1 or Mk2 (Like a Dynalo) $300-499 (nice- a bit warm/clear for SS)
Rupert Neve Designs RNHP $499 (clinical gain power)
neurochrome HP-1 Kit $500 (similar to DYNALO and TCA HPA-1)
Monolith by Monoprice THX AAA Balanced Headphone Amplifier featuring THX AAA 887 $399 (cheap and very good black velvet background- just nice warm sounding like WHAMMY or TCA or Gilmore)
Emotiva BasX A-100 Flex with jumpers activated for full headphone power $229 (gobs of raw power no real special sound except its fun to open the HD600 with this much raw power for cheap)


Best Tube Under $1K for HD600 (or similar load)
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Quicksilver headphone amp $899 (probably best looking of all these and sounding)
Bottlehead Crack w/speedball and upgraded power cord by them Professionally build ($800) (HD600+this is like peanut butter and jelly - everyone agrees this is nirvana for HD600)

TOR AUDIO Roger $560 (amazing like Crack without speedball/power cable) DIY Bottlehead Crack w/speedball $400+ 90 for cable + 8 hours time and no where same build as above
Bottlead Crackatwoa 800-$944 KIT ONLY qualifies here under $1K BUT you could get pro built for ($1700+)
Schitt Valhalla $349Schitt
Schitt Mjolnir $849
Woo WA3 Headphone Amplifier $599 (no longer made - find on used market or wait for ver2)Woo WA6 Version 2 $699
Woo Fireflies with DAC 2nd gen $999 Starving Student II Headphone Amplifier $229+ 8hrs buildTOR NICK Headphone Tube Amp $480 (wood w/tubes)
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Im probably missing a bunch but this is my short list! Please join in...
Honorable mention OVER $2500 probably no one EVER heard of: Toolshed Amps The Darling HEAD AMP made in USA $2595
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shkong78's avatar
shkong78
1,463 posts
 

Although I had enjoyed Raal Sr1a driven by Jot R for the last three months for open and exciting sound, sometimes it got close to hot.


I got Freya+ to tame the sound of Sr1a.


I skipped stock JJ tubes and inserted Nos Amperex 6sn7 gtb in gain stage and Sylvania gtb on buffer stage into Freya.



Sr1a driven by Freya and Jot R sounds much more musical to me than driven by Jot R.



Out of curiosity, I am driving HD 800s out of Rca output of Freya using "Hosa TPR-257" adapter bought from Amazon.


Wow, Freya+ is also a killer amp for HD 800s.


I had driven HD 800s by headphone output of Dave and HMS.


It sounds transparent but with one note bass.



But with Freya in the chain after Dave, HD 800s sounds almost perfect with nice soundstage, clean details and full and textured bass.


It may also work well Hd600.
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,462 posts
 
The Quicksilver is awesome !!!!    I've had it for a couple of months now and it is addictive.  I listen to phones like never before.  Well worth the price, as it is built just like their full size amps just 2/3 the size.  I have their Mid Monos and I bought the headphone amp sight unseen for that reason alone.  ... kick ass for the money.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,599 posts
 
@oddiofyl Do you need a separate preamp for the Quicksilver? I'm seriously considering it. What DAC are you using with it?
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,462 posts
 
Hi

Right now it's connected to the tape out of my c-j preamp,  I did this to allow all of my sources to appear at the QS RCA input.  I'm using a NAD M51 DAC.

I first connected it to my phone via a Audioquest Forest 1/8 Stereo to RCA and even that sounded great.    I am using Grado RS2e and Klipsch HP 3.  The other night I found a pair of AKG k240 in my closet.  They were the 600 Ohm Monitor version.  I forgot I had these.  I've had them since 1982 or so ething like that.   They were in the box and put away because I never had a headphone Jack that could power them.  I plugged them in and was surprised how good they sounded.  Drove them no problem.  Same holds true for any phone you plug in,  it makes any phone sound it's best in my opinion
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,462 posts
 
I also have the Neve and it is an excellent amp but not in the same league as the QS
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