Are Headphone amps worth the expense?

Are you into DIY?

Try building a CMOY headphone amp. Strictly low cost and fun. The good news is you can than 'roll opamps' and test the different ones available.

I use OPA2134s as a good compromise.

Very good amp when properly built. Not as good as the 'best' but no more than 5% of the cost.

http://tangentsoft.net/audio/cmoy-tutorial/

Some specialized headphone amplifiers simulate crosstalk between channels making sound appear in front and not inside of the head. It cross-feeds portion of delayed sound to the other ear - the same way that it happens when listening to speakers. I had sound card with this option and it was great. It is also possible in analog domain - I have link to Headphone Amp project with cross-feed somewhere. I remember seeing headphones that have built in crosstalk (tube) from one cup to another - but don't remember the name.

I found the link: http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/projects/meier_prj.htm

That's what I didn't like about phones...it always seemed like the sound was coming from the sides or actually behind you instead of in front of you the way speakers sound. Maybe I need to research amps and find a decent one with crosstalk. Anybody have suggestions?

Headphone.com(headroom products) Meier-audio headphone amps also use cross talk.