Headphone Amp

[The Swedish Chef]

right back again from a self imposed hifi fora absence :shocked: (more music less chat)

ihave an open plan house and have a problem listening to music whilst anybody elseis in the housedue tosignificant noise pollution, (watching tv for example, or using the phone). short of installing a few walls and some doors i have been considering a headphone setup, the question is can i get one and what kind of experience do you get with headphones?

i currently using a wadia 20/25 combo straight into a belcanto amp and have no headphone out (i think, im writing this at work), so how do i integrate separate amp into the system? (mr coherent answers please?)

thanks

pk

[barty]

musical fidelity do a nice one . the X CAN i think its called. just simply connect to another source output on your amp with rca i/c

[The Swedish Chef]

trouble is im not sure if the wadia has source ouputs? only digital source inputs

[Papa Lazarou]

barty wrote:

musical fidelity do a nice one . the X CAN i think its called. just simply connect to another source output on your amp with rca i/c

Avoid like the plague, you can do much better for less money (the Rega Ear is much cheaper and way better IME).

For a little bit more dosh also consider: ANT Amber, Headamp Gilmore Lite, Graham Slee Solo, Lehmann Black Cube. I also think Trichord Research have launched a Headphone amp.

[barty]

you would connect the headphone amp to your amplifier noy your cd player . has that got source outputs with rca

[hifiwigwam]

Connect a Rega Ear to the Tape loop output of your pre amp and be happy.

I love mine, coupled with some Beyer Dynamic Cans.

You get a lot of HiFi for not a lot of money in the headphone world, IMO.

[Testure]

I believe all the Belcanto power amps have both RCA & XLR inputs, and so does the Wadia DAC. Are you currently runningRCA IC's between the DAC and the power amp.If so what you could do is use the RCA output from the dac to the headphone amp and then run XLR (more cost unfortunately ;)) to the Belcanto.

Cheers Testy

[The Swedish Chef]

Testure wrote:

I believe all the Belcanto power amps have both RCA & XLR inputs, and so does the Wadia DAC. Are you currently runningRCA IC's between the DAC and the power amp.If so what you could do is use the RCA output from the dac to the headphone amp and then run XLR (more cost unfortunately ;)) to the Belcanto.

Cheers Testy

that was my initial thinking but im not sure i can turn on/off the rca/xlr ouputs at will:Not Sure:

must rtfm when i get home

[earl of sodbury]

If you only have digital outputs -a lot of "pro" DACs have a headphone amp built in[icehockeyboy] including the 20 bit NOS one I have for sale cheaply at pres., PM for details! [/icehockeyboy]

[Davewhityetagain]

Graham Slee Solo

Very nice bought one.......... took some warming up/burning in but sounds very nice now even with Grado 60's

[Hawk]

Davewhityetagain wrote:

Graham Slee Solo

Very nice bought one.......... took some warming up/burning in but sounds very nice now even with Grado 60's

The Graham Slee Solo is a great amp, as is Papa's Gilmore.. Stax also make some stunning sounding headphone rigs too..

How much are you looking to spend??



Hawk

[The Swedish Chef]

graham slee link

not sure about cost yet, i will need to factor in phone as well as amp, (providingi can find a way to hook an amp up)

[Hawk]

I currently use Grado RS1s with the Solo and to my ears its a good exciting combination. Ive also used Senn HD650's with a variety of cables but ultimately found them a bit lacking. That said others may prefer the slightly more laid back senn sound..

Hawk

[Sid and Coke]

Musical Fidelity is the brand that everybody seems to love to hate these days . The MF X-Can series of amps are great little budget efforts, I've been using one for a few years now and thorougly enjoy it coupled to my Beyer-Dynamic DT150's.

The are are plenty of good headphone amps to be had for less than £200. Ideally you should find a dealer who will allow you to demo at home for a week or so. It reallyis the only way to see if a product works for you.

Everybody has their own private favorite brands that they both like and dislike , so take all views with a pinch of salt, go and have a listen and make your own mind up as to which works best for you.

[The Swedish Chef]

sound advise sid, although i love these unknown brands coming out the woodwork

[The Swedish Chef]

right then, looks like the only way to use a headphone amp in my system at the moment is to connect it to the RCA outputs from the dac/pre and turn of the power amp so i don't get any sound from the main speakers. a hassle but not too bad.

so the next question is what kinda experience do you get when listening with headphone?

[musicbox]

Did you check the headphone review thread...

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum7/156-2.html

valves + headphones = happiness for me.

[The Swedish Chef]

thats one seriously good review with tons of info, many thanks for the link and to the authors of the post. bedtime reading tonight sorted