I need a very powerful and reliable amp

[KeithPhantom]

Hey all, just asking around for recommendations for headphone amps. I have some headphones that need some juice and my A90D went bust. Requirements are:

1. Must be reliable. I’ve had 2 different Topping amps and they both have failed. Please recommend a brand that is reliable and has good support. I can pay some extra for this.

2. Must do 500mW+ on 300ohm and 4W+ on <32ohm. I have headphones that need the power and my music has very low average volumes. I am also using negative preamp for EQ.

3. Balanced in/out. My sources have bad ground loops.

4. Budget is $1,000-2,000.

Open to recommendations.

 

[Human Bass]

Gustard H26. 9.6watts 32ohms, 1.5watts 300ohms. 1150usd.

 

[JSmith]

2. Must do 500mW+ on 300ohm and 4W+ on <32ohm. I have headphones that need the power and my music has very low average volumes. I am also using negative preamp for EQ.

3. Balanced in/out. My sources have bad ground loops.

Schiit Midgard Balanced Headphone Amp Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Schiit Midgard balanced headphone amplifier and preamp. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While I am not a fan of the symbols Schiit uses instead of proper labels, there are only two to learn which is no big...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[DVDdoug]

I have headphones that need the power and my music has very low average volumes. I am also using negative preamp for EQ.

That's mostly an indication that you need more gain rather than power, unless you need headroom for the peaks on the tracks with low average volume.

Or if you have a all-in-one DAC & amp, you usually don't have "extra gain" so the digital has to hit 0dB before you can get full power.

 

[KeithPhantom]

Appreciate the response.

Gustard H26. 9.6watts 32ohms, 1.5watts 300ohms. 1150usd.

Looks great. seems to come from Shenzhen. Since Topping also are manufactured there, is the support/reliability/warranty good with Gustard?

 

[KeithPhantom]

Schiit Midgard Balanced Headphone Amp Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Schiit Midgard balanced headphone amplifier and preamp. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While I am not a fan of the symbols Schiit uses instead of proper labels, there are only two to learn which is no big...

www.audiosciencereview.com

View attachment 382477View attachment 382478


JSmith

Thanks, almost forgot the Midgard exists. I had a good experience with an Asgard and Schiit is US-based.

 

[JSmith]

Thanks, almost forgot the Midgard exists.

No worries and definitely one of the better choices for your power requirements and balanced in/out available. I've not seen any major failure reports on this either, in comparison anyway to some other brands.


JSmith

 

[Dunring]

JDS Labs has the best support of the Atom 2 has enough power. I don't think I've ever seen a Schiit product in the not working category and I scan for audio gear to buy every day.
Apos has terrific warranty support out of California for brands they sell. The Midguard might be the safe bet if you stick with the balanced side for best performance. I have the new SMSL H400 and with the standby mode it runs cooler than other models. Time will tell, but with JDS Labs or Schiit it's a big advantage having them right here locally for support.

 

[Anthony LoFi]

Hi Keith,
Check out the gear review page on this site.
Amir has tested over 100+ headphone amps with full reviews and recommendations.
Its a standard excel format so click on the type column to arrange all listings in alphabetical order, then click on all in bottom right page box then just scroll down to see all the headphone amps that have all the buying info I think you would need.

 

[Human Bass]

Appreciate the response.

Looks great. seems to come from Shenzhen. Since Topping also are manufactured there, is the support/reliability/warranty good with Gustard?

They are more of a luxury brand the Topping. I would recommend to e-mail them. But well, massive power it deliveries

 

[KeithPhantom]

JDS Labs has the best support of the Atom 2 has enough power. I don't think I've ever seen a Schiit product in the not working category and I scan for audio gear to buy every day.
Apos has terrific warranty support out of California for brands they sell. The Midguard might be the safe bet if you stick with the balanced side for best performance. I have the new SMSL H400 and with the standby mode it runs cooler than other models. Time will tell, but with JDS Labs or Schiit it's a big advantage having them right here locally for support.

Thanks, I like the JDS but the Element amp only has about ~2W on 32ohm with the boost package, unless I’m missing something.

 

[KeithPhantom]

They are more of a luxury brand the Topping. I would recommend to e-mail them. But well, massive power it deliveries

Great. I’ll shoot an email to them about the support options but the H26 looks good.

 

[gwing]

I really like my Yulong Aurora. Good DAC, well made, powerful class A headphone amp/pre-amp, balanced.

It'll do 4A on 32Ohm for you but max 375 mW at 300Ohm. review

 

[Roland68]

Hey all, just asking around for recommendations for headphone amps. I have some headphones that need some juice and my A90D went bust. Requirements are:

1. Must be reliable. I’ve had 2 different Topping amps and they both have failed. Please recommend a brand that is reliable and has good support. I can pay some extra for this.

2. Must do 500mW+ on 300ohm and 4W+ on <32ohm. I have headphones that need the power and my music has very low average volumes. I am also using negative preamp for EQ.

3. Balanced in/out. My sources have bad ground loops.

4. Budget is $1,000-2,000.

Open to recommendations.

The durability and reliability of Violectric and Lake People are hard to beat. They are also easy and inexpensive to repair.
It is also worth buying used.