milesb4
New Head-Fier
Hello,
I’ve been pursuing hifi for the past roughly 25 years, and focusing on my loudspeaker-based system for that time. I’ve dabbled with dynamic headphones and IEMs in the past, but recently took the leap into planars, and bought a pair of Hifiman Arya Stealth Edition. I also bought a Monolith AAA TXH 887 amp and a balanced silver-coated cable, and that’s not a good combination. I get more engaging, fun, musical sound straight out of my Audioquest Dragonfly Red. For reference (and this might help give an idea of the kind of sound I enjoy), the rest of my system currently is:
-Naim CDS3 with Teddy Pardo XPS power supply
-Well Tempered Versalex turntable with DPS power supply
-Dynavector 20X2 low-output MC
-Pass Labs Aleph Ono phono preamp
-Bluesound Node N130 (plan to add an external DAC to this later this year)
-Naim NAC 82 preamp with Teddy Pardo HiCap and Naim NAPSC
-Naim NAP 150 power amp
-ProAc Studio 140 Mk. II speakers
-Most cabling is either Naim or Chord
It’s a very dynamic and lively system, lots of PRaT. It’s toe-tapping and really draws you into the music. Those are the kinds of qualities I’m looking for in an amp to drive the Arya SEs. I want to stick with solid state, just because I don’t have space in my setup to really give proper ventilation to tubes, and I don’t want to be tempted to spend tons of extra money hunting down rare NOS tubes. Smallish form factor is also a plus, but not a requirement. I will be driving the headphone amp with the record output from my preamp, which gives a lively enough signal that I had to reduce the output on the Bluesound Node to avoid over-driving the input of the Monolith.
I also have a pair of Etymotic ER4SR and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT150 (250 ohm) and it would be nice to be able to drive those well, too, but the primary concern is the Arya SE.
I would generally prefer to keep the headphone amp and DAC as separate units, unless there’s an integrated product that outperforms separates at its price. Keep in mind that when I say “outperforms,” the key here is an enjoyable, engaging, musical experience. The Monolith has really driven home that measurements aren’t necessarily a good predictor of the sound of an amp, and there are important measurements such as slew rate and damping factor that aren’t commonly performed in headphone amp reviews.
With all that said, and I don’t necessarily want to sway possible recommendations, but I so far have come across the following that seem to be contenders in a price range I’m fine with:
-Cayin iHA-6
-Lake People G108
-Musical Fidelity MX-HPA
-Maybe a Naim Headline 2, but then I’d have to buy another power supply
Am I missing something great? Is there something I should be hunting for used? Right now, I’d prefer not to go over about $1k USD for a headphone amp, unless there’s a phenomenal jump in sound quality and musical enjoyment in a product slightly above that mark. Also, I definitely appreciate anyone who can speak to system synergy with the Arya SE!
Thanks!
I’ve been pursuing hifi for the past roughly 25 years, and focusing on my loudspeaker-based system for that time. I’ve dabbled with dynamic headphones and IEMs in the past, but recently took the leap into planars, and bought a pair of Hifiman Arya Stealth Edition. I also bought a Monolith AAA TXH 887 amp and a balanced silver-coated cable, and that’s not a good combination. I get more engaging, fun, musical sound straight out of my Audioquest Dragonfly Red. For reference (and this might help give an idea of the kind of sound I enjoy), the rest of my system currently is:
-Naim CDS3 with Teddy Pardo XPS power supply
-Well Tempered Versalex turntable with DPS power supply
-Dynavector 20X2 low-output MC
-Pass Labs Aleph Ono phono preamp
-Bluesound Node N130 (plan to add an external DAC to this later this year)
-Naim NAC 82 preamp with Teddy Pardo HiCap and Naim NAPSC
-Naim NAP 150 power amp
-ProAc Studio 140 Mk. II speakers
-Most cabling is either Naim or Chord
It’s a very dynamic and lively system, lots of PRaT. It’s toe-tapping and really draws you into the music. Those are the kinds of qualities I’m looking for in an amp to drive the Arya SEs. I want to stick with solid state, just because I don’t have space in my setup to really give proper ventilation to tubes, and I don’t want to be tempted to spend tons of extra money hunting down rare NOS tubes. Smallish form factor is also a plus, but not a requirement. I will be driving the headphone amp with the record output from my preamp, which gives a lively enough signal that I had to reduce the output on the Bluesound Node to avoid over-driving the input of the Monolith.
I also have a pair of Etymotic ER4SR and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT150 (250 ohm) and it would be nice to be able to drive those well, too, but the primary concern is the Arya SE.
I would generally prefer to keep the headphone amp and DAC as separate units, unless there’s an integrated product that outperforms separates at its price. Keep in mind that when I say “outperforms,” the key here is an enjoyable, engaging, musical experience. The Monolith has really driven home that measurements aren’t necessarily a good predictor of the sound of an amp, and there are important measurements such as slew rate and damping factor that aren’t commonly performed in headphone amp reviews.
With all that said, and I don’t necessarily want to sway possible recommendations, but I so far have come across the following that seem to be contenders in a price range I’m fine with:
-Cayin iHA-6
-Lake People G108
-Musical Fidelity MX-HPA
-Maybe a Naim Headline 2, but then I’d have to buy another power supply
Am I missing something great? Is there something I should be hunting for used? Right now, I’d prefer not to go over about $1k USD for a headphone amp, unless there’s a phenomenal jump in sound quality and musical enjoyment in a product slightly above that mark. Also, I definitely appreciate anyone who can speak to system synergy with the Arya SE!
Thanks!
