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What headphone amp to buy-Sennheiser HD 600?

Well, thanks to the kindness and patience of my fellow A'gon-izers, the hook-up "problem" for the headphone amp I have is solved. The amp is a Ramsey SHA 1. The phones are Sennheiser HD 600. I had remembered that amp sounding great. Now I'm spoiled by the new speakers I have, and even though the signal path to the amp is thru the Dodson DAC, I still think it sounds........not so great. Decent I suppose, but harsh on the upper end, yet without the mitigating detail, and you know, just.....unsatisfactory.

OK, OK, so here's the question(s): What's a great, fairly cheap (like, at LEAST less than a grand) headphone amp? Sonically, I want EVERYTHING!!!! (Except soundstage, that has never happened for me with any headphones, ever, I'm pretty sure not even with the expensive Stax I heard a few years ago).
It MUST have: Tight, deep, fast, smooth, tonally correct, musical bass, shimmering, non-fatiguing, emminently smooth yet ultra detailed highs, great midbass punch with no boom or softness whatsoever, midrange that is totally natural, smooth, detailed, and lacking any hint whatsoever of grain or electronic amplification artifact in the upper registers. It should sound great on ALL program material, from classical to rock to bluegrass to new age to jazz, anything and everything.

Other than those relatively modest criteria, there are no other performance demands. :)))

So, fire away!
mdhoover
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
Marco:

Thanks for the advice. There will certainly be a learning curve with this, that's for sure! Duane had me try a tube preamp a little over a year ago on my system that had a B&K ST 140 amp, Paradigm Studio 100 V3's, and the Rel Storm 3. The tube amp was anemic in the bass with that setup, so I returned it. (See footnote) Anyway, I haven't tried tubes since, but will be doing so with these Stax Lamda Pro's, and their associated vacuum tube amp.

FOOTNOTE: It's the ONLY time I can remember Duane not correctly predicting whether I'd like or dislike some audio thing--not a bad track record for Duane, huh? This has been true even for things he didn't personally sell!
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Duane sounds like a good friend to have. I had a B&K EX140 which is the dual-mono version of yours. It is most definitely a kinder gentler version of SS with a softness that many folks like to call "tube-like" while still delivering the SS goods (you mention that tighter bass line). There are SS amps that can do all that even better. I'm really enjoying my simple Portal Panache, which puts out the same amount of power. Though I wouldn't call it soft or warm, it is very engaging and enjoyable. So I haven't given up on SS stuff altogether. I've never heard the Stax, but I know they have a reputation of being a very unique headphone. Let us know what you think.

Marco
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Md- The 300 sei is a 300b-based, single ended integrated amp with a headphone jack. The 300b output tubes are expensive but it has great midrange and since I mostly listen to acoustic instrumentation and voice, its a good match. The AKGs have a very unique "form factor" that some people cannot abide and which generally are driven straight off speaker outputs of low power amplifiers (4-10wpc) due to their very high impedence.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Ah, sorry I missed that you might be rolling 300B's. WhooHaaa, then you are talking some bucks. Still many amps using those tubes are auto-biased as well. Actually I've recently been doing a bit of rolling in my 300B amps and have really been initially very impressed with the new Svetlana tubes that are only around $240 pair from CONUS in Canada. They offer more detail, clarity and impact in the midrange on my rig, at the expense of some of the overall balance, and do-everything-right of the WE 300B's that I've grown accostomed too. I wasn't at all fond of the TJ meshplates...just overall too soft. I could happily live with the Svets. WE's still rule to my ears, but not such a clear winner in comparison with the new Svets. Yes, rolling tubes in a 300B amp can be an expensive endeavor.

Marco
vicks7
182 posts
 
Consider also the Singlepower range of headphone amps or the headroom amps for a lower budget.
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