Okay what Headphone Amp with Grado PS1000

[howiebrou]

I am considering taking the plunge and getting a pair of Grado PS1000 cans. To my ears they have the right combo of detail and warmth and those salad bowl muffins fit my ears perfectly. Some like the Sennheiser HD800 feel more comfortable initially but make me too hot after a while.

Can anyone recommend a good headphone amp to go with it? I have not decided where to put it so it could be fed from a coaxial digital from my Sooloos or a USB from my iMAC or analogue inputs from my CH Precision so I guess something with a DAC and analogue inputs would make sense.

The stuff from Resonnance Labs looks interesting seeing as iwas founded by the ex ESS Sabre Chip folks.

Thoughts?

Budget is up to 5k but preferably not more than 2k.

Thanks

howie

[djwhog]

Woo Audio WA-6SE with Sophia Princess & matched pair of 6GL7/6EM tubes has power to drive about anything you can find.

I run the dac through my preamp, then use the analog connections from there to the woo amp.

[howiebrou]

The Grados are only 32ohm. Will the Woo Audio be too powerful?

Howie

[JemHadar]

I ordered a Sugden Masterclass HA4... If I'm not mistaken it was originally designed for Grado headphones...but works equally well for a wide range of cans.
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It is a pure class A design. I was also looking for a DAC HA combo...the only one that came close was the Weiss DAC202...but too expensive for what I needed...so I abandoned the combo idea and went for analog only. I have been playing with a Sugden demo unit for several weeks now...and for its price it offers great value.

[howiebrou]

Originally Posted by Jem666

I ordered a Sugden Masterclass HA4... If I'm not mistaken it was originally designed for Grado headphones...but works equally well for a wide range of cans.
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Attachment 33205
It is a pure class A design. I was also looking for a DAC HA combo...the only one that came close was the Weiss DAC202...but too expensive for what I needed...so I abandoned the combo idea and went for analog only. I have been playing with a Sugden demo unit for several weeks now...and for its price it offers great value.

Thanks! I will look into it. The Woo audio stuff looks pretty neat too.

howie

[djwhog]

Never to powerfull, they have a high and low impedance port. They make other models as well too

[Robert_Anderson]

Originally Posted by howiebrou

I am considering taking the plunge and getting a pair of Grado PS1000 cans. To my ears they have the right combo of detail and warmth and those salad bowl muffins fit my ears perfectly. Some like the Sennheiser HD800 feel more comfortable initially but make me too hot after a while.

Can anyone recommend a good headphone amp to go with it? I have not decided where to put it so it could be fed from a coaxial digital from my Sooloos or a USB from my iMAC or analogue inputs from my CH Precision so I guess something with a DAC and analogue inputs would make sense.

The stuff from Resonnance Labs looks interesting seeing as iwas founded by the ex ESS Sabre Chip folks.

Thoughts?

Budget is up to 5k but preferably not more than 2k.

Thanks

howie

Bryston BHA-1 w/ power supply
Cavalli Audio Liquid Fire
EAR HP-4

[howiebrou]

There are just so many headphone amp dads out there now it's unbelievable and fun too!

[adhesiv]

Still under development but shipping soon are the geek pulse and geek out (shipping now). There's some polarizing comments on the web right now but a lot of that is just a marketing smear campaign in my opinion. Part time audiophile ranked the Geek Out as one of the best (portable) headphone amps that seems to give standard HA a run for their money. They are also a DAC that are DSD and DXD compatible. You'd probably be fine with the Geek Out 450 but the 720 might work well too. The number = mW output.

[Masterlu]

Another vote for the Bryston BHA-1 w/ power supply, it sounds simply amazing.