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Amp capable of powering a Modhouse Tungsten

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Jan 22, 2023
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Hi there everyone, I'm thinking about getting a Modhouse Tungsten. It's rated at 135 impedance with a sensitivity of 76. I'm looking for a powerful amplifier to drive it and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions? I'm open to any suggestions as long as it measures well and is under $1000.
 
Oof that's one voltage hungry headphone!

If you want to be on the safe side, consider the LA90 or LA90 Discrete. It can output ~21Vrms, which would push the Tungsten to 111dB SPL Peak.
Also consider the double-sided version of the Tungsten as that one is not quite as brutal to drive.
 
Alright, I was hoping to avoid the meme of powering headphones with speaker amps . Would one of the other topping speaker amps work similarly? Like the PA5II or PA7 plus?
 
Here's a complete breakdown of how loud each Topping Amp will go with a high impedance load:
Screenshot_20230926-164835_Sheets.png

A few notes:

-don't go overboard with the output power. You don't want to fry your headphones (and possibly your hearing) by accidentally knocking the volume knob out of position.

-look into the reliability before purchasing anything. I've read concerning stuff about the LA90D and A70 Pro in their respective review threads here. The other ones should be skimmed as well before purchase.

-more power generally means more hiss.

-I'd advise against all Topping power amps but the LA90D for high impedance loads for now, since I can't say with confidence that their switching noise and frequency response resonance already at 8Ω, won't cause any issues once loaded with 135Ω.
TP Topping RA3 Rackmount stereo amplifier balanced Frequency Response measurements.png Topping PA7 Plus Amplifier Balanced Frequency Response Measurement.png Topping PA5 II Stereo Amplifier Audio Balanced frequency response Measurement.png

Without those, the chart looks like this:
Screenshot_20230926-171258_Sheets.png
 
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Hmm I see what you mean about issues with the A70 pro and LA90D. The A70 pro does seems like the most promising for my use case, but it's too much a gamble with their ongoing QA issues. Maybe I'll wait out for the issues to be ironed out. Or I could take the gamble with a reputable dealer
 
Alright, I was hoping to avoid the meme of powering headphones with speaker amps .
You've chosen an "unusual" headphone. You need the voltage but not wattage or current.

20V RMS into 8-Ohms is 50 Watts. 20V into 135-Ohms is 3W. That's still a lot for a headphone but not demanding from a power amp.

-more power generally means more hiss.
But low-efficiency headphones make the noise quieter! ;)
 
Yeah... it's literally the only headphone I want that requires me to move to a full desktop amplifier . Everything else I have runs just fine off a NX7 and tanchjim space.
 
Yeah... it's literally the only headphone I want that requires me to move to a full desktop amplifier . Everything else I have runs just fine off a NX7 and tanchjim space.
I imagine you really like the headphones given all the hassle you have go through to drive it?
 
At modhouse they should learn the difference between sensitivity and efficiency.:)
Double sided magnets:
Efficiency = 78dB/mW
Sensitivity = 86dB/V
Single sided magnets:
Efficiency = 76dB/mW
Sensitivity = 85dB/V

To reach impressively loud levels (120dB peak SPL) = 50V (= 300W in 8ohm amp)
To reach loud levels (110dB peak) = 16V (= 30W in 8ohm amp)
To reach comfortable loud levels (100dB peak) = 5V (= headphone amp that can deliver 80mW in 300ohm/0.8W in 32ohm)
 
Hi there @Buddhistfoolish, did you ever get the Tungstens? This headphone has become a new fascination of mine, just watched this vid today:

Spoiler: at the end they use the A70 Pro and it seems like the most sensible choice. The other choices are speaker amps, a cheap Fosi V3 and an expensive integrated from Black Ice Audio, a tube amp. I would go with the A70 Pro, but too bad I can't afford the Tungstens. They're also currently all sold out, so oh well.
 
A70 Pro is easily my recommend for this. Violectric V281 is also known for being a voltage driven amp so that should work the Tungsten really well.
 
Hi there @Buddhistfoolish, did you ever get the Tungstens? This headphone has become a new fascination of mine, just watched this vid today:

Spoiler: at the end they use the A70 Pro and it seems like the most sensible choice. The other choices are speaker amps, a cheap Fosi V3 and an expensive integrated from Black Ice Audio, a tube amp. I would go with the A70 Pro, but too bad I can't afford the Tungstens. They're also currently all sold out, so oh well.
Haven't gotten them yet, but I've put in a pre order. So it's a waiting game at this point :confused:
 
Haven't gotten them yet, but I've put in a pre order. So it's a waiting game at this point :confused:
That's cool, you got your order in, not so easy right now. They're taking new orders on the 24th and will probably sell out quickly. Website shows 12 week lead time right now, but I'm sure it's gonna be worth the wait. I want them pretty bad but I'm gonna have to settle on my Argons which I adore.
 
At modhouse they should learn the difference between sensitivity and efficiency.:)
Double sided magnets:
Efficiency = 78dB/mW
Sensitivity = 86dB/V
Single sided magnets:
Efficiency = 76dB/mW
Sensitivity = 85dB/V

To reach impressively loud levels (120dB peak SPL) = 50V (= 300W in 8ohm amp)
To reach loud levels (110dB peak) = 16V (= 30W in 8ohm amp)
To reach comfortable loud levels (100dB peak) = 5V (= headphone amp that can deliver 80mW in 300ohm/0.8W in 32ohm)

We are so outnumbered by people who ignore Ohm’s law, we have no chance.

The Internet totally believes that even if an amp can get their headphones to loud levels, it still doesn’t mean the amp is powerful enough.

Sure, the amp has to have enough voltage swing to drive current into the headphones.
Sure, you have to have sufficient capacitance to handle transients.
Sure, you should reach your desired SPL with some headroom and certainly before clipping.

But, if it gets loud enough, has sufficient capacitance and doesn’t clip, YOU ARE GOOD.
 
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I haven't seen any measurements of these. Would be interesting. Maybe you could drop ship them to Amir directly?
 
I put in a pre-order for the double magnet version of the Tungsten. I have Schiit Modius and Magnius stack that I'll try it once I get it in a few months or so, I'll report back once I get it in.
 
I put in a pre-order for the double magnet version of the Tungsten. I have Schiit Modius and Magnius stack that I'll try it once I get it in a few months or so, I'll report back once I get it in.
Did you get your Tungstens yet?
 
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