Best bang for buck desktop headphone amplifier under or around $200

[Bjpenn88]

Hi all I could find a list of all the reviews for headphone amps, not sure if there is one? I have some Mr Speakers Aeon RT on order and looking for a good, reasonably priced headphone amp to drive them. I currently have a Motu M2 audio interface to connect to

 

[Blumlein 88]

Will the JDS Labs Atom do the trick? $99

It looks like it probably will do the job.

Amir's review of the JDS amp.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ents-of-new-jds-labs-atom-headphone-amp.5262/

Amir's review of the Aeon phones.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-audio-aeon-rt-review-closed-headphone.19393/

 

[Lupin]

Monoprice Monolith Liquid Spark
Measures pretty well and people say they like the sound.

Review:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...of-monoprice-liquid-spark-headphone-amp.5224/

 

[Shazb0t]

Schiit Magnius. Go with a balanced setup and enjoy! I hope you picked the zero up charge balanced cable when you ordered!

 

[Bjpenn88]

Schiit Magnius. Go with a balanced setup and enjoy! I hope you picked the zero up charge balanced cable when you ordered!

Thank you. I went for the 1/4” 2m VIVO cable as it is apparently a better quality cable than the "dummer" balanced. However I was a bit unsure which way to go. The Vivo balanced cable was like $200 more extra. Do you think balanced is more worth it than the upgrade from dummer to vivo?

 

[Lupin]

Go with a balanced setup

Balanced is not per definition better than SE.
Don't see the point in the Magnius just for the sake of balanced.

 

[Shazb0t]

Balanced is not per definition better than SE.
Don't see the point in the Magnius just for the sake of balanced.

Balanced is lower noise and increased power. I would take that over the "improvement" of the up charged cable. Best of both worlds, order the VIVO and reterminate it with a nice Neutrik or equivalent balanced connector, then buy the Magnius. Win win!

 

[Jimbob54]

Review index: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Audio_Equipment_Reviews/

Select the various head amp options in the drop down for "device type" . The Aeon RT , especially if you are going to use some EQ, will require a decent bit of oomph, so nothing low powered. The JDS Atom would see you right though.

 

[Blank Verse]

I just bought a second hand JDS O2 + ODAC locally for less than $100 (less than $80, actually) that is in mint condition, and it must be one of the best deals I have ever scored. This thing is amazingly good. Another thing that attracts me is the fact that if some component should break it should be easy to fix, since the OPAMPS are socketed and the rest of the components are soldered through the PCB.

JDS Labs doesn't manufacture these anymore, but in the states you can still get them from Mayflower Electronics, though the price for a new unit is around $240.