'Forced' to set up a headphone rig

[manisandher]

My two teenage boys were becoming increasingly vocal about my late-evening listening habits. (No doubt my choice of music didn't help.) So, I had no choice but to set up a headphone rig.

Tried various permutations with an assortment of gear, including great-measuring and powerful solid state amps, but nothing really satisfied. Ended up with a Kevin Gilmore design 'Grounded Grid' valve amp feeding Stax SR-X9000 headphones:

No doubt not the best-measuring or accurate, but by far the best-sounding to me. Valves and electrostatics just seem to do something 'special'. (The amps in my speaker systems are all solid state.)

Mani.

 

[DVDdoug]

but by far the best-sounding to me.

That's the most important thing! It's your music for your enjoyment!

I'm not a fan of tubes but they are high-voltage and high impedance so they can be a good match for electrostatic headphones. Not necessarily better than solid state, but perhaps better & easier than tubes driving a lower impedance load (which generally requires an output transformer).