Future proof amp

[AbbyAomi]

Hello! I'm sorry if this is a question that has been answered, but I've spent the last several days looking at options and am slowly becoming overwhelmed keeping track of all the pros and cons! I'm trying to create a good setup that I can upgrade piece by piece. I'm interested primarily in headphones, with a mild interest in IEMS, with my endgame being a nice set of "summit-fi" open backs. I'm presently considering the Hifiman Shangri-La Mini.

From what I've read, I understand that "high end" discrete DACS are mostly snake oil, with the exception of certain features like streaming or balanced outputs XLR outs.
I've heard that amps can be much more influential on the sound, especially when we're talking about tube amps, but even aside from that certain headphones require an absurd amount of drive.
The only features I really want from this setup is to be able to drive (eventually) a nice pair of electrostatics and everything up till then.



TL;DR
I'm looking to build a "future proof" mid range setup that's based on objective measurement, with none of the guff, but it's hard to find specifically what I'm looking for. Any recommendations?

 

[staticV3]

Estats need a separate Amp which cannot drive any other kind of headphone.

For Dynamic/Planar/AMT headphones, a Topping L30II or JDS Atom Amp 2 is honestly more than sufficient and will allow you to experience the full sound quality.

 

[solderdude]

Hello! I'm sorry if this is a question that has been answered, but I've spent the last several days looking at options and am slowly becoming overwhelmed keeping track of all the pros and cons! I'm trying to create a good setup that I can upgrade piece by piece. I'm interested primarily in headphones, with a mild interest in IEMS, with my endgame being a nice set of "summit-fi" open backs. I'm presently considering the Hifiman Shangri-La Mini.

From what I've read, I understand that "high end" discrete DACS are mostly snake oil, with the exception of certain features like streaming or balanced outputs XLR outs.
I've heard that amps can be much more influential on the sound, especially when we're talking about tube amps, but even aside from that certain headphones require an absurd amount of drive.
The only features I really want from this setup is to be able to drive (eventually) a nice pair of electrostatics and everything up till then.



TL;DR
I'm looking to build a "future proof" mid range setup that's based on objective measurement, with none of the guff, but it's hard to find specifically what I'm looking for. Any recommendations?

when looking for something to tie you over while slowly upgrading over the years and want a minimal investment perhaps EHA5 ?

But since you want something future proof you might need to look into e-stat amps 10x more expensive than that one.

 

[AbbyAomi]

Estats need a separate Amp which cannot drive any other kind of headphone.

For Dynamic/Planar/AMT headphones, a Topping L30II or JDS Atom Amp 2 is honestly more than sufficient and will allow you to experience the full sound quality.

I know that estats need electrifiers, I was under the impression that you needed a sufficiently hot signal going into them though? Or was that a mistaken impression?

 

[DVDdoug]

a nice pair of electrostatics and everything up till then.

Unless you have a particular headphone that you've heard and you like, electrostatics are not necessarily better than dynamic or planar headphones. In a blind listening test you probably wouldn't choose an electrostatic, and there's a good chance that your favorite headphone would be under $500 USD.

...I haven't read all of the reviews here but I think the "best review" was for the Dan Clark Stealth (planar) which is $4000. BUT there are plenty of "recommended" headphones for a couple hundred dollars and lots of very expensive "not recommended" headphones.

Understanding Headphone Measurements (video)

I was under the impression that you needed a sufficiently hot signal going into them though? Or was that a mistaken impression?

They need a DC bias "charge" or "static" voltage. It's "static" because no DC current flows. Then, they need very high signal voltage because of their high impedance. Typically, you need more signal than you get from a power amplifier for a speaker amplifier (but less current because of the high impedance).

 

[AbbyAomi]

Unless you have a particular headphone that you've heard and you like, electrostatics are not necessarily better than dynamic or planar headphones. In a blind listening test you probably wouldn't choose an electrostatic, and there's a good chance that your favorite headphone would be under $500 USD.

...I haven't read all of the reviews here but I think the "best review" was for the Dan Clark Stealth (planar) which is $4000. BUT there are plenty of "recommended" headphones for a couple hundred dollars and lots of very expensive "not recommended" headphones.

Understanding Headphone Measurements (video)



They need a DC bias "charge" or "static" voltage. It's "static" because no DC current flows. Then, they need very high signal voltage because of their high impedance. Typically, you need more signal than you get from a power amplifier for a speaker amplifier (but less current because of the high impedance).

I've listened to a decent number of headphones, the only driver type I actually haven't listened to yet is electrostatics! I do plan on finding some to listen to before I dedicate toooooo much money, but even if I'm not particularly fond of the sound I intend on having at least one of each major technology that I enjoy. I've absolutely loved my HD600s, and quite enjoyed my Focal Lensys so far. I got some listening on a pair of Hifiman Anandas, but not enough to really get familiar with the sound. I appreciate the cautionary words, but I'm pretty deadset on trying everything from the bottom to the top, eventually.

 

[AbbyAomi]

Unless you have a particular headphone that you've heard and you like, electrostatics are not necessarily better than dynamic or planar headphones. In a blind listening test you probably wouldn't choose an electrostatic, and there's a good chance that your favorite headphone would be under $500 USD.

...I haven't read all of the reviews here but I think the "best review" was for the Dan Clark Stealth (planar) which is $4000. BUT there are plenty of "recommended" headphones for a couple hundred dollars and lots of very expensive "not recommended" headphones.

Understanding Headphone Measurements (video)



They need a DC bias "charge" or "static" voltage. It's "static" because no DC current flows. Then, they need very high signal voltage because of their high impedance. Typically, you need more signal than you get from a power amplifier for a speaker amplifier (but less current because of the high impedance).

Also! To clarify, you can typically just have an output dac go straight into the electrostatic amp? There's no need for another amp in the chain? This specific topic is hard to search for some reason.

 

[staticV3]

I know that estats need electrifiers, I was under the impression that you needed a sufficiently hot signal going into them though? Or was that a mistaken impression?

To drive Estats, you can either use an Estat Amplifier which takes a regular Line input like any other Amp, or you can use an Energizer which needs a high level speaker/Amp signal.

 

[AbbyAomi]

To drive Estats, you can either use an Estat Amplifier which takes a regular Line input like any other Amp, or you can use an Energizer which needs a high level speaker/Amp signal.

That explains my confusion, my impression was that Energizers and Estat Amps where one and the same. Thank you!