Tube Amp for Grado Headphones

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King Icewind

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I use a pair of Grado RS2i headphones which are being powered by my receiver that I use for surround sound. They don't sound bad, but being Grados I thought they would pair well with a tube amp. I listen to a decent amount of vinyl (mainly disco and rock), otherwise, I mainly listen to dream and euro trance.

Does anyone have any tube amp recommendations? I suppose I would want a tube dac as well for use with my computer.

I was looking at the Hi-Fi Man EF2A Tube USB DAC Headphone Amp, or the Little Dot MK2 MKII 6J1 X2 6N6 X2. Pretty sure those have 6.25mm plugs for my headphones.

Thanks for any help.
 
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I don't have any experience with the pieces listed above, however, I do have a pair of Grados and recently purchased the Aune T1 USB Tube DAC/headphone amp and am loving it.

http://en.auneaudio.com/html/en_products/NewDesign/T-Series/154_20.html

The Aune T1 comes with a 6922EH tube that sounds fantastic and is built like a tank. In fact, the stock tube is exactly the tube for what you listen to. It also has +16db gain switches on the bottom. I paid $109 for mine through Massdrop. Also, there is a massive thread here regarding the device:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq

I ordered some more tubes for it yesterday to try (Amperex 7308 & Telefunken E88CC) from upscaleaudio. Tube rolling is addictive...;)

It may or may not appeal to you but I love it.
 
Looks interesting and it's in the right price range. Is there any correlation to the amount of tubes? Like is more tubes better? Like on the Little Dot MK2 MKII has 4 tubes. I would need to get a dac though.
 
I have not used the one you listed but I assume you have 2 power tubes and 2 driver tubes. I wouldn't view it as more tubes is better or anything like that. The more tubes you have will create tonal differences that you don't experience with one tube. It's not better or worse, just different because each tube will not be identical. It's just another layer in the chain.

With the AuneT1, you wouldn't need a DAC as it is an amp + USB Tube DAC combo. Please note that it is not a "tube amp". In order to use the DAC, you must use the usb connection. If you are just using the rca on the back and switch to "line", you are just using the amp. They are separate. For the price, it's damn nice.
 
Mapletree ear purist hd!

That and the Melos SHA-1 are known to be the best amps for Grados. I've personally never heard the Melos, but I will NEVER sell my Mapletree.. its fucking magical
 
blinx said:
I've personally never heard the Melos...
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Bought mine new in '93 & still have it. It's an excellent pre-amp & has done well with all the phones I've tried on it. I've read reports of reliability problems, but this one has been rock solid.
 
I might be a little biased here, but i'd recommend the Garage1217 Project Starlight hybrid amp, it can be bought pre-made or you can DIY it if you choose. It's built for low impedance headphones (great for Grados) but still has plenty of power for higher impedance and/or low sensitivity headphones. I use it to drive the cans in my sig and it works great. It's also got a ton of options for tube rolling as well as op-amp rolling.
 
TypeO said:
With the AuneT1, you wouldn't need a DAC as it is an amp + USB Tube DAC combo. Please note that it is not a "tube amp". In order to use the DAC, you must use the usb connection. If you are just using the rca on the back and switch to "line", you are just using the amp. They are separate. For the price, it's damn nice.
Click to expand...

I'm interested in the AuneT1- why do you state that it isn't a 'tube amp'? I can't find anything on the manufacturer's site to indicate that it uses a separate amp when switched to USB.
 
The Aune T1 has a tube dac as stated, the amp section is solid state. Meaning when using it via USB you will be utilizing the tube, but it can be bypassed if you have a source connected to the line-in of the unit.
 
mumyoryu said:
The Aune T1 has a tube dac as stated, the amp section is solid state. Meaning when using it via USB you will be utilizing the tube, but it can be bypassed if you have a source connected to the line-in of the unit.
Click to expand...

That's confusing as hell. It uses the tube to perform the digital-to-analog conversion, and then uses a solid-state amplifier?
 
It doesnt use the tube for conversion (that's the PCM1793's job), I think it's more likely a buffer to color the sound before it brings the signal to the headphone amp. That's just my guess though, I don't have the T1 myself so maybe someone else more experienced with the unit can chime in.

Either way the T1 seems like a nice little all-in-one package for the price, and you have the option of upgrading your amp down the road since it has a line out
 
Grimspoon said:
If you wanna go full custom / point-to-point wiring, I've been using a Mapletree Audio Design tube headphone amp for a few years with my Grados and wouldn't be satisfied with anything less.

http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/#headphone amps
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I just want to say, I wish I could afford to get one of those amps- that's a piece of history there! But even if I could afford one, getting the headphones and DAC to make proper use of it... or sources! I don't think Five Finger Death Punch is the proper material to evaluate such a fine instrument :).
 
mumyoryu said:
It doesnt use the tube for conversion (that's the PCM1793's job), I think it's more likely a buffer to color the sound before it brings the signal to the headphone amp. That's just my guess though, I don't have the T1 myself so maybe someone else more experienced with the unit can chime in.

Either way the T1 seems like a nice little all-in-one package for the price, and you have the option of upgrading your amp down the road since it has a line out
Click to expand...

That's better than what I was getting out of the linked sources, thanks!
 
Thank you for all the suggestions everyone! Has anyone ever messed with DIY kit?

Grimspoon said:
If you wanna go full custom / point-to-point wiring, I've been using a Mapletree Audio Design tube headphone amp for a few years with my Grados and wouldn't be satisfied with anything less.

http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/#headphone amps
Click to expand...

You have the Ear+ HD Super II or just the Ear+ HD? They look really nice, but unfortunately a bit too much for me at the moment. Maybe if I offer to redesign the website they will give me one. :cool:
 
mumyoryu said:
It doesnt use the tube for conversion (that's the PCM1793's job), I think it's more likely a buffer to color the sound before it brings the signal to the headphone amp. That's just my guess though, I don't have the T1 myself so maybe someone else more experienced with the unit can chime in.

Either way the T1 seems like a nice little all-in-one package for the price, and you have the option of upgrading your amp down the road since it has a line out
Click to expand...

Sorry for the delay. Surgery is a bitch. Anyway, you're right. It's a buffer tube, not a power tube so when you are buying tubes, you can simply buy the lower grade driver tubes instead since it's going to only act as a buffer. I personally love it for the $119 I paid new.

It was confusing as hell and I believe many believed it to be a tube amp. I think most saw the tube and was like, Oh, a tube amp! Not the case but rolling tubes has been fun. I have some modern equipment but I'm still stuck on the vintage gear from Sansui, Marantz, and Mcintosh. Good luck with whatever you buy, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
 
FWIW, the Melos is another hybrid, using tubes for voltage gain & transistors for a low-impedance output. If you really want a "tube sound," audition an OTL amp.
 
Ear+ HD High Definition Stereo Headphone Amplifier Just checked their prices...whoa! gone up since I bought mine. You can check with a WTB on the audio forum, see what pops up.
In my worthless opinion it's going to be hard to beat the synergy between the 2 without going up in price. Try used
 
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