Headphone amp < $200

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Dr. Metal MD, Aug 23, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Hey all,

    I recently purchased Hifiman 400i headphones. I love them, but they are a bit light on bass and can sound a bit thin when I turn the volume up when I power them with my SAE TWO P10 power amplifier while listening to vinyl. I am looking for an affordable headphone amp that hits above its price line to help fully power these cans.

    I am looking at a Bravo V2 or even a Magni 2. I almost solely listen to vinyl with these headphones. Turntable is a Technics 1200 with a Shure M97xE w/JICO SAS stylus.

    Any suggestions or reviews of either of the two aforementioned products would be greatly appreciated!
     
  2. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Well, I bought a Schiit Vali. It will get here Tuesday. I'll post what I think!
     
    Brudy and Rolltide like this.
  3. Ntotrar

    Ntotrar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tri-Cities TN
    Good choice. My experience with Schiit has been first rate.. Best of luck.
     
  4. Chooke

    Chooke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    Splungeworthy likes this.
  5. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I've only read glowing reviews of them, too. I can't wait to get it in. I really hope it fills the gaps sound-wise that I am missing by my cans being presumably under-powered.

    Thanks for the recommendation!
     
  6. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    That'll be a fun amp. It's a popular low cost amp for HiFiMan headphones.

    It will be interesting to find out how you find the Vali to sound compared to your SAE amp.
     
  7. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Glad to hear it's popular. On some of my more quiet LPs, when I turn it up to get it to an appropriate volume, it increases the distortion and I lose bass. I have been having to have my bass nob on my NAD 3020 turned all the way up to get the bass response I'm looking for, and even then I sometimes don't. The highs become thin and I lose the soundstage as well. I am desperately hoping the Vali fixes this issue. The SAE can get pretty warm after awhile, too. I like the idea of having a little amp to work just for my headphones whereas I can 'save' the SAE just for my Bose tower speakers, which they power wonderfully. I didn't have any issues powering my ATH M50s with the SAE TWO, but those are obviously much easier to drive. For the 400i, they are said to be 'easier to drive', but they have the same impendence as the HF 400s (35), which are known to not be terribly easy to drive. What I'm really hoping is that this isn't the 'nature' of planar orthos or Hifiman cans. I don't think so, because they begin to sound underpowered anyway. I can get the volume up high enough, but at a loss of detail and accurate sound reproduction.
     
  8. Jack Flannery

    Jack Flannery Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I haven't heard the Vali, but have 2 magni'/Modi combo's. Very good for the money.
     
    Dr. Metal MD likes this.
  9. slovell

    slovell Retired Mudshark

    Location:
    Chesnee, SC, USA
    Little Dot MKII, Matrix M-Stage
     
    I333I, black sheriff and Dr. Metal MD like this.
  10. Greg Carrier

    Greg Carrier Senior Member

    Location:
    Iowa City
    Love my Vali. Enjoy.
     
  11. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I saw the Little Dot and it got me excited, but out of my current price range. Thanks for the suggestions.

    Very glad to hear that! I can't wait for it to get here. I'm hoping it helps fill in the gaps I've been noticing while trying to drive my 400i's with my power amplifier.
     
  12. slovell

    slovell Retired Mudshark

    Location:
    Chesnee, SC, USA
    The Little Dot MKII can be had new for less than $200 on ebay. The Matrix can be found used for less than $200. Both have adjustable gain and plenty of it.
     
    black sheriff likes this.
  13. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Gotcha. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep my eyes peeled.
     
  14. reeler

    reeler Forum Resident

    The Headphone amp and portable media player market seems to offer a lot to choose from, and there's a lot to explore and listen to. Getting into it is a little like analog except instead of a stable of phono cartridges I have a stable of headphones. I have the Schitt Magni and that thing is a good little amp. I was just using it over the weekend to drive 600 ohm Beyer DT 880's and it has no problems. But if you're wanting to warm things up Schitt's designer has never been in the euphonic or warm camp, but it could just be that your cans are'nt getting enough juice, so a separate headphone amp is a good idea.
     
  15. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I am also hoping that the Vali, being a hybrid mini-tub and SS amp, will add to the warmth too. Yeah, my headphones can occasionally sound sparse and distant. I'm used to close-backed ATH M50s, and my HF400i's are my first open-back cans. However, they just sound like they could use the extra power. Glad to hear you like Schiit's products.
     
  16. black sheriff

    black sheriff Magic City

    The Little Dot MKII is what I have. Lots of tube-rolling options with this amp. Also being sold on Amazon for $199.

    From Amazon:
    • Little Dot MKII also gains the driver tube-rolling options from the rest of the MK-series with the ability to roll 6JI, WE403A/B, GE5654, M8100, CV4010, EF95, etc at its factory jumper setting, and with jumper pins shorted, EF92, CV131, and all equivalents and drop-in replacements.
    I've got a couple sets of tubes that I play around with. Lots of fun, very reliable and sounds very good.

    edit: My Little Dot easily powers my Sennheiser HD600's and also a pair of Yamaha YHD-1's.
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2015
    blutiga, Darksolstice and slovell like this.
  17. slovell

    slovell Retired Mudshark

    Location:
    Chesnee, SC, USA
    I just checked and both the Little Dot MKII and the Matrix M-Stage can be had new for under $200 on ebay. I have both and enjoy them very much. I generally use the Matrix with my Denon AH-2000's and the Little Dot with my HiFiMan 400's. The Matrix has been modified with the Tam Audio Class A conversion and Burr Brown opamps. I tube roll with the Little Dot often. IMHO the Matrix with the mods is quite the giant killer in the SS class and the Little Dot just sounds great for the money. I totally agree with everything black sheriff describes in his description of the Little Dot MKII. Either one is a killer budget headphone amp.
     
    blutiga and black sheriff like this.
  18. cjc

    cjc Senior Member

    Currently enjoying my Schiit Asgard 2 ($200 from Schiit) paired with my Hifiman HE-400's. It also drives my Audeze LCD-2 Fazor's quite well.
     
  19. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    I think you'll get what you're after with the Vali amp. I've heard (briefly) the Vali with HE-500 headphones. It does have the tube warmth thing and it helps tame treble nasties. It also has a somewhat compact soundstage. It's moving everything towards a direction you're after. Hopefully it's enough to do the trick for you.

    The amp does get microphonic when you plug the headphones in. You can avoid that by keeping a short headphone cable extension plugged in and plugging your headphones in to the extension rather than plugging directly in the amp. It's the physical jolt of plugging the headphones in the amp that causes the microphonics. Decoupling the headphone jack by using a short extension fixes that part of the problem.
     
  20. reeler

    reeler Forum Resident

    I'm going to try a Vali. This thing has 2 little tubes in there that used to be made mainly by Raytheon, and they are hard wired right to the board....that'll keep my crazy self from buying rare NOS tube types that probably cost more than the Vali itself.
     
  21. Vincent3

    Vincent3 Forum Resident

    I'm looking forward to reading how you like your Vali. I was considering it, but will probably get the Magni 2 Uber because of its output for speakers.
     
  22. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Thanks for the info. If the Vali doesn't do it for me, I'll definitely give this a shot. Sounds a great entry into true tube amps.

    Thanks for your suggestions. If the Vali doesn't work out for me, I'll definitely keep these in mind.

    Glad to hear you're enjoying your Schiit gear and that they power your LCD-2's well. Can't wait to get mine. I'll report back my findings likely later this evening after the post arrives.

    You're getting me even more excited. I've been having some trouble with sibilance with more recent recordings despite aligning my cart over and over again into perfection, at least from what my eyes can tell. Hopefully the Vali will help tame them. I really hope you're right! I'll let you know after I get it. Thanks for the heads-up on the microphonics. I've never heard that term before, but your explanation is enough for me.

    Ha, I'm the same way! I have to seriously stop spending money on my gear for awhile now. A ton of upgrades in a short time.... Let us know what you think of the Vali!

    I will be using my dedicated power amp to power my Bose towers, which it does that beautifully. So, I just need something solely for headphones. I wish the Vali had input and output RCAs so that I don't have to plug in and out a lot if I want to switch between headphones and speakers, but I can't wait to get it in. I'll report later this evening my thoughts after it arrives and I get through a few LPs with it.
     
  23. RollinHard843

    RollinHard843 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX

    Does your amp/receiver have a "tape out" or "rec out" cable jacks in the back? My old amp does and thats where my Vali goes. I use a switch on front to go between "source" and "tape" depending on if i'm listening to headphones or speakers. Its a cool option, the integrated amp doesnt even have to have its power on for the vali to get its signal
     
  24. RollinHard843

    RollinHard843 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    PS: i love the vali. Its bass is lighter than my amp's headphone jack, but the quality of bass is much nicer and less bloated. I feel like hear details in all frequency levels, not just highs anymore.
     
    Dr. Metal MD likes this.
  25. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Nice! Thanks for the tip. It does have a tape rec. I'll try that.

    Do you know if this will work if I am listening to vinyl, too?

    It's here!!!! Going to get everything set up soon and check it out!
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine