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Headphone Amplifier Recommendations and Analysis

VanNeumann

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In an attempt to rise above the subjective and marketing-oriented reviews on the web, I would like to put together a list of good (and bad) mobile, headphone/desktop, and full-sized amplifiers; and related testing data in a spreadsheet that I will later post on ASR. The primary goal of this thread is to find amplifiers that offer great value and fidelity; and, therefore, very exotic and expensive suggestions may not be as useful unless you think otherwise and will share those insights.

Given that there are many excellent DAC reviews on ASR and many have shown weaknesses regardless of their price, I ask that the experienced and engineer oriented members provide similar insights about amplifiers:

(1) What mobile, desktop or stereo amplifiers do you like or dislike, and why? (This could include DAC/AMPS)
(2) Do you have any testing data or know of a web site with such data (please provide URL or data)?
(3) Have you found any issues with any particular amp?
(4) Are there any features (I/O, pre-amp, pass-through, tone control, etc.) that you have found useful?

I hope to get this thread started on the right foot with some Audio Critic humor and a very preliminary list of amplifiers.

Many of you know The Audio Critic (Peter Aczel was a very practical and scientific minded audiophile and critic who passed away recently) and his dislike of marketing “flummery.” Here is some of his relevant insights that may make you smile.


A. The Audio Critic (http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/audio_critic_web1.htm#acl. Definitely worth reading his many articles):

Peter Aczel’s 2006 review of the Sauring Audio SLC-600 Amplifier:
Tweako/weirdo amplifier design is alive and well and living in Reno. The Soaring Audio SLC-A300 soared briefly at the January 2004 CES, after which I would have expected it to glide listlessly to earth, but judging from the SA website it is apparently still aloft and winging it. The theory (or shall I call it justification?) on which the design is based is so vague, so ambiguously presented, so devoid of scientific plainspokenness that I must be careful lest my well-known fondness for bashing technobabble get out of hand.

The SA party line is that an inventor, one Jan Coyle, got together with an EE professor, namely Dr. Bill Avery, and a Golden Ear, Daniel Kolbet, who can hear the difference between resistors. The happy triangulation of these talents produced, after years of experimentation, the patented Signal Loss Compensator circuit, which ends the agony of frustration with deficient sound. Hidden details emerge, the perceived dynamic range expands, and “digital grit” due to the 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz sampling rate (what—you can’t hear it?) is eliminated. The explanation of both the problems and the solution, on the website and in the literature, is so secretively allusive, noncommittal, and devious that it’s not worth repeating…”


Fall 2000. Issue 26. Reviews of Audio Electronics:
“…Here I just want to emphasize once again that in engineering, as in other fields, good thinking costs no more than bad thinking. Good measurements are proof of good thinking; that's why we emphasize them, whether "you can hear the difference" or not. Maybe you can't hear 0.05% THD, but 0.005% is just as easy to achieve with good thinking and a lot more reassuring. Besides, if you cascade four or five of those devices with not-so-great measurements . . . who knows?”

Spring 1997. Issue 24, The Audio Critic
What about the amplifier?

“…Vastly exaggerated in importance by the audiophile press and high-end audio dealers. In controlled double-blind listening tests, no one has ever (yes, ever!) heard a difference between two amplifiers with high input impedance, low output impedance, flat response, low distortion, and low noise, when operated at precisely matched levels (±0.1 dB) and not clipped. Of course, the larger your room and the less efficient your speakers, the more watts you need to avoid clipping.”

B. Preliminary list of inexpensive amplifiers

List of inexpensive amplifiers.jpg
 

Sal1950

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Spring 1997. Issue 24, The Audio Critic
What about the amplifier?

“…Vastly exaggerated in importance by the audiophile press and high-end audio dealers. In controlled double-blind listening tests, no one has ever (yes, ever!) heard a difference between two amplifiers with high input impedance, low output impedance, flat response, low distortion, and low noise, when operated at precisely matched levels (±0.1 dB) and not clipped. Of course, the larger your room and the less efficient your speakers, the more watts you need to avoid clipping.”
Gotta love Peter ;)
I'm not sure that his statement about DBT of amps has changed in the following 21 years. If there have been some listening tests with positive results I'd love if someone would link them. It's MHO that, yes, properly designed amps when combined with properly designed source and load components have been highly transparent for close to 3 decades now.
But I'm no engineer so I'll leave the rest to the more educated here.
 
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VanNeumann

VanNeumann

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The Aune AMPS and DACs look nice. They could definitely use an proper English speaker to write for the website, however. Does any one have any thoughts on the Schiit Magni 3, JDS El Amp and O2 Amp, Topping A30, or Burson amps?
 

amirm

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I don't have any recommendations yet but if you click on my signature you see the equipment that is upcoming for review. The one I have done the most tests on is the Schiit Magni 3 vs JDS Labs O2. Not yet done so nothing to report :). But that data should come out first.
 
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VanNeumann

VanNeumann

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Amir, I definitely look forward to those reviews, and to learn of the types of tests that you chose to run. It doesn't seem like many members have inputs on amplifiers. Of course, it is possible the Thread title was not very compelling either. Cheers.
 

Sal1950

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The one I have done the most tests on is the Schiit Magni 3 vs JDS Labs O2. Not yet done so nothing to report :). But that data should come out first.
Teaser :)
 

amirm

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Amir, I definitely look forward to those reviews, and to learn of the types of tests that you chose to run. It doesn't seem like many members have inputs on amplifiers. Of course, it is possible the Thread title was not very compelling either. Cheers.
It should say headphone amplifier to attract more attention. You can edit the thread title or I can do it.
 

dat yeti

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The Aune AMPS and DACs look nice. They could definitely use an proper English speaker to write for the website, however. Does any one have any thoughts on the Schiit Magni 3, JDS El Amp and O2 Amp, Topping A30, or Burson amps?
Own the O2 from mayflower, 1x and 3.3x gain. Own a topping A30. Very nice amps, recommend highly. In the future I plan to swap a burson opamp into a topping A30 and use another A30 I have to do an A/B comparison of opamps and see if they make a noticeable difference. Can't comment on the others on your list.
 
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VanNeumann

VanNeumann

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Amir, change the thread title to what you think is most clear.

Dat Yeti, your idea of comparing two different opamps with the A30 is excellent. Would give a good idea on whether such changes are significant.
 

dat yeti

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Amir, change the thread title to what you think is most clear.

Dat Yeti, your idea of comparing two different opamps with the A30 is excellent. Would give a good idea on whether such changes are significant.
That's what I'm curious about. Considering the majority of audio talk online being biased bs, I am skeptical whether it will make a subtle change at best, but willing to try. Want to find a nice A/B switcher to use with other solid state amps too to compare apples and oranges. Only decent candidate found so far is from sescom and they don't seem worth the price to me currently.
 

amirm

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cjfrbw

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Strange, I bought this headphone amp on ebay for 127 dollars delivered. It uses JFET input and push pull MOSFET in an attractive package. I didn't buy it originally for headphone use, but as a gain stage for part of my audio system.

However, after running it in, it is one of the sweetest sounding headphone amps I have heard, with absolutely no "solid state" character. I have no idea of the specs except for the blurb on ebay, which is hard to understand due to translation problems.

I have some pretty nice headphone amps, including a Manley Neo 300b preamp. This little solid state fella isn't embarrassed and I have found myself listening to it a lot in another location with Sony Z1R headphones.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Finished-JFET-Single-ended-class-A-Stereo-Headphone-amp-Hifi-preamplifier-/122750947478?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=41375&meid=f31d9496032f4c41a790ac6716edd170&pid=100033&rk=6&rkt=8&sd=192034614546&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=FTCQweInTenb8BZ%2Fkn%2FlHcd7A7E%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I guess it shows that there are still sonic bargains to be had.

"Full-separation components of the JFET input single-ended full-field tube amp, with headphone amp and preamp function, up to 40V power supply voltage and 6A high current power field tube output, Driving power is strong!!

Circuit input using Fairchild's junction field tube , high input impedance makes the input weak signal capture capability is very strong, directly reflected is the details of the rich, and this tube of the internal resistance is smaller than Toshiba The K170 resistance is also small, the big dynamic real reduction, especially low frequency very helpful. It is worth mentioning that the power supply is applied to the regulator electronic filter, coupled with left and right channel independent inductance CLC filter circuit, low ripple power output will enable the amplifier output background clean resolution is good."
 

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Wombat

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Nice little package.

Did the manufacturer suggest run-in?
 

cjfrbw

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I have just run it in in the course of using it. It's gotten better with time and use. Probably has around 100 hours now. It is mostly fatigue free, and can go loud without distortion or glare. Very smooth. From the pix, the insides look to be of decent quality, and the case is nice.

No DAC, just amp. No balanced option, which seems to be the rage with the headphone mavens.
 

Sal1950

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I guess it shows that there are still sonic bargains to be had.
Like power amps, the technology to produce transparent headphone amplification has been known for a long time, so the ability to design a good amp should be easy peasy.
Unfortunately the width of input/output standards in the headphone/amp world seems to be even wider than with speakers. Impedance's and power/sensitivity of the design of both make it almost mandatory the buyer either has some knowledge on the subject, or someone with integrity he can refer to..
Finding that "integrity" is the hard part. Most want you to believe in some Magic Dust in the designs and the sound of wire.. LOL
 

cjfrbw

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I pride myself on my crappy wires. I drew a hard line on the cable hysteria, but if that's the way some individuals want to spend their dough, that's their concern.

I just can't stand it, though, when every audio discussion goes into an endless hole of cable finessing and fussing, what a dead end.

I do still maintain a certain superstitious fondness for antique technologies.

This little amp drives my old, beat up Sennheiser HD 580 @ 300 ohms flawlessly. I wish I had better specs on it.
 
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VanNeumann

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Cjfrbw, which amp were you referring to?

Also, here is Peter Aczel (The Audio Critics) thoughts on the cable hysteria (in his usual funny and acerbic style):

"Logically this is not the lie to start with because cables are accessories, not pri- mary audio components. But it is the hugest, dirtiest, most cynical, most in- telligence-insulting and, above all, most fraudulently profitable lie in audio, and therefore must go to the head of the list. The lie is that high-priced speaker cables and interconnects sound better than the standard, run-of-the-mill (say, Radio Shack) ones. It is a lie that has been exposed, shamed, and refuted over and over again by every genuine authority under the sun, but the tweako audio cultists hate authority and the innocents can't distinguish it from self-serving charlatanry.

The simple truth is that resistance, inductance, and capacitance (R, L, and C) are the only cable parameters that affect performance in the range below radio frequencies. The signal has no idea whether it is being transmitted through cheap or expensive RLC. Yes, you have to pay a little more than rock bottom for decent plugs, shielding, in- sulation, etc., to avoid reliability prob- lems, and you have to pay attention to resistance in longer connections. In basic electrical performance, however, a nice pair of straightened-out wire coat hangers with the ends scraped is not a whit inferior to a $2000 gee-whiz miracle cable. Nor is 16-gauge lamp cord at 18¢ a foot. Ultrahigh-priced cables are the biggest scam in con- sumer electronics, and the cowardly surrender of nearly all audio publica- tions to the pressures of the cable mar- keters is truly depressing to behold.

(For an in-depth examination of fact and fiction in speaker cables and audio interconnects, see Issues No. 16 and No. 17.)"​
 

Sal1950

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The headphone jack of 1970's solid state receivers
seems to be all the rage in some circles lately. :confused:o_O

Also, here is Peter Aczel (The Audio Critics) thoughts on the cable hysteria (in his usual funny and acerbic style):
I use the this Peter Aczel quote as my signature on a couple magic dust believer sites. Drives some phools crazy. :eek::D

"The gullibility of audiophiles is what astonishes me the most, even after all these years. How is it possible, how did it ever happen, that they trust fairy-tale purveyors and mystic gurus more than reliable sources of scientific information? "
 
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