Head amplifier for my turntable

[vivid.joy]

I have a pro-ject turntable that's currently hooked up to the same sound system I use for my TV. I'd like to have the option of listening to my records with through a dedicated headphone amplifier while my wife is watching TV for example.

My gear:
* Pro-Ject Primary Turntable
* Pro-Ject Phono Box MM
* Moondrop Blessing 2 IEMs
* Meze Audio 99 Classics

Both the 99 Classics and Blessing 2 are quite sensitive, super easy to drive. I'm looking for something under €100, pure head amplifier, no dac/bluetooth.

I considered a secondhand Pro-Ject Head Box S2, as it would be a nice match for the turntable and preamp, but I was discouraged by the reviews. Does anybody have any recommendations?

 

[staticV3]

Hi @vivid.joy! Welcome to ASR.

In Europe, some of the best headphone amplifiers at about 100€ are the SMSL SH-6, Sabaj A10h, and Sabaj A20h.

Edit: the iFi Zen Air Can may also be worth looking into.

And if you'd like to have some tone controls to play around with, take a look at the Fosi SK01.

Fosi Audio SK-01 Headphone Amplifier Review

This is a review, listening test and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio SK-01 Headphone amp and preamplifier. It is was sent to me by the company and costs US $80. You can quickly see what distinguishes the SK-01 from myriad of other headphone amps: inclusion of tone control and loudness...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Sabaj A10h Review (Headphone Amplifier)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sabaj A10h headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and cots US $120 on Amazon including Prime shipping. Note: without asking, the company made a generous donation to the forum prior to this review. As you can imagine, such can't...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[vivid.joy]

Thank you for the pointers! I'm looking into each of those.

 

[mc.god]

Hi @vivid.joy! Welcome to ASR.

In Europe, some of the best headphone amplifiers at about 100€ are the SMSL SH-6, Sabaj A10h, and Sabaj A20h.

Edit: the iFi Zen Air Can may also be worth looking into.

And if you'd like to have some tone controls to play around with, take a look at the Fosi SK01.

Fosi Audio SK-01 Headphone Amplifier Review

This is a review, listening test and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio SK-01 Headphone amp and preamplifier. It is was sent to me by the company and costs US $80. You can quickly see what distinguishes the SK-01 from myriad of other headphone amps: inclusion of tone control and loudness...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Sabaj A10h Review (Headphone Amplifier)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sabaj A10h headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and cots US $120 on Amazon including Prime shipping. Note: without asking, the company made a generous donation to the forum prior to this review. As you can imagine, such can't...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Unfortunately Sabaj A10h is no more available for about 6 months now, same goes for the SMSL SH6.
For max €100 I'd go 100% with Sabaj A20h
It doesn't have negative gain useful with high sensitive headphones and iems but it's relay volume control ensures perfect channel balance even at very low levels so it should be perfect anyway, unless you need pre-outs, since it lacks them.

 

[staticV3]

Unfortunately Sabaj A10h is no more available for about 6 months now

The A10h is currently available on Audiophonics and on Amazon.de:
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/SABAJ-A10h-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/
https://www.audiophonics.fr/fr/ampl...cateur-casque-class-ab-1w-32-ohm-p-15761.html

same goes for the SMSL SH6

https://linsoul.de/products/smsl-sh-6?variant=44583874330929

 

[mc.god]

The A10h is currently available on Audiophonics and on Amazon.de:
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/SABAJ-A10h-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/
https://www.audiophonics.fr/fr/ampl...cateur-casque-class-ab-1w-32-ohm-p-15761.html

Oh nice, didn't check at amazon.de, very tempted to get a second unit...
For the price +shipping at audiophonics then I'd rather go for an L30 II from amazon

https://linsoul.de/products/smsl-sh-6?variant=44583874330929

Ok but he wants to stay under €100

 

[NTK]

Phono pre's usually have fairly low output voltage. The Project Phono Box MM has an output of 0.5 V @ 5 mV input, 1 kHz.

I'd recommend the SMSL over the Sabaj because the high gain settings of the SMSL SH-6 is 15.5 dB vs 9 dB of the Sabaj A10H.

 

[mc.god]

Phono pre's usually have fairly low output voltage. The Project Phono Box MM has an output of 0.5 V @ 5 mV input, 1 kHz.

I'd recommend the SMSL over the Sabaj because the high gain settings of the SMSL SH-6 is 15.5 dB vs 9 dB of the Sabaj A10H.

Good point.
Anyway if i try to order SH-6 from linsoul.de it says it will ship only to Germany, while it's sold out at linsoul.com, so it depends on where the op lives.

 

[mc.god]

Better looking, please note that Sabaj A10h at amazon.de are used items.

 

[vivid.joy]

Better looking, please note that Sabaj A10h at amazon.de are used items.

I don't mind that at all.

Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions! I found a good deal on my local "ebay" here in the Netherlands for an SH-6 + SU-6 combo, never used, for €200.