2. analog
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Any good tube headphones and headphone amps for vinyl playback?

I have a pretty good analog setup: SME deck, Koetsu cart, Pass Labs phono preamp.  I'm not sure if this is a thing that many people do, but I'm interested in listening to vinyl exclusively through headphones.  If I connect a tube headphone amp to my phono stage to listen with headphones, will it be too noisy and not worth it?  Most headphone listeners use digital playback which makes sense.  Does anyone have any good experience with listening to good vinyl playback via headphones that is quiet?
tyan42
davehg
85 posts
 
I use a Woo WA5 and a WA22 headphone amp. The WA5 is awesome, and mates well with my Manley Chinook and VPI Prime, and works amazing as an integrated amp too. Every headphone I own sound amazing on it. 
The WA22 is great as a headphone only amp but it needs a balanced source and balanced headphone cables. 
No noise issues with either one.
tyan42 OP
75 posts
 
I suppose my budget is flexible, but I’d like to spend no more than 2K on both amp and headphones. I like the tube sound as I use a VAC and Harbeth monitors.  I’m flexible though, but I’ve always preferred tubes.  
maxson
81 posts
 
You owe it to yourself to try a Stax setup. Not cheap--especially good tube options--and could be too revealing of surface noise. But the immersive clarity can't be beat. True, digital sounds great--better than on speakers--but vinyl is even more beguiling.
big_greg
6,687 posts
 
The only tubed headphone amp I've owned is the one in my preamp, so I won't make any recommendations there, other than to say I would give the Schiit Mjolnir 2 some consideration.  I owned the first one and it did a lot of things right.

If you like the Harbeth sound, you might like Hifiman, Audeze, or Sony MDR-Z1R headphones.  They are all close to neutral with nice detail, good mids, and maybe a little on the "warm" side.
big_greg
6,687 posts
 
Echo Audio in Portland has a pair of Sennheiser HD 800 headphones for sale for 700 bucks. They won't last long. There are more analytical than Harbeth speakers but are very nice headphones and very comfortable.
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