Headphone Amp question

Electronic Music Production // Dark Arts
CRDM
hmmmmmm...
Posts: 374
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:05 am
Headphone Amp question

Post by CRDM »

Hi Subsekters.

I have a quick question regarding headphone amps. So I have been in various accommodations over the last year and I'm looking to move abroad soon so I've been making music just with headphones and won't be getting any monitors again for a while.

I sold my focusrite 8i6 last year when having a clear out and now I'm interested if there is a budget usb headphone amp/dac that would be noticeably better than my on board laptop soundcard. My headphones are AKG 702, so they're 62ohm.

I don't have any experience with amps so I'm not sure what I may be lacking as I've never heard these headphones with a proper amp. I love the sound of the AKG 702, I'm just hoping there's a budget way to either get a better or deeper sound, or not have to raise the levels high and perhaps gain extra clarity as I'm very conscious of not playing loud levels.

I'm hoping to spend under £100 at the moment, the less the better and once I'm more set up in a new place I may invest in a decent usb sound card again with a good headphone output.

Resin
Pig
Posts: 118
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:55 pm
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Resin »

Can't help with USB, nor have I experience with your headphones. But I hear lots of good things about Schiit Magni. Other than that: If you're handy with soldering going DIY offers you a lot for little money. Most headphone amp circuits are very simple... even the high end ones.

User avatar
Mslwte
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 5903
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:32 pm
Contact:
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Mslwte »

these are supposed to be half decent.

https://www.rubadub.co.uk/pro-ject-head ... gJQc_D_BwE
https://soundcloud.com/mslwte
https://noizefacilityrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/subsekt909
https://www.facebook.com/subsekt909/
Lost to the Void wrote:Fuck off, get some tequila down ya neck and make some noise you cunt....

User avatar
terryfalafel
Component
Posts: 876
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:56 pm
Location: Amsterdam
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by terryfalafel »

+1 for Schiit Audio

User avatar
Pagan
Exampleless
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:48 pm
Location: Hellsinki
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Pagan »

Resin wrote:Can't help with USB, nor have I experience with your headphones. But I hear lots of good things about Schiit Magni. Other than that: If you're handy with soldering going DIY offers you a lot for little money. Most headphone amp circuits are very simple... even the high end ones.
I've almost completed an Objective 2 headphone amp from a kit and yes, it's really easy and would have been even easier with numbered parts. Identifying the resistors took longer than soldering the thing together. Spent an evening and half on it, got an ESD wristband now for the tender parts so will finish it during the weekend.

User avatar
Mslwte
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 5903
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:32 pm
Contact:
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Mslwte »

schitt audio?


lol. shit audio?
https://soundcloud.com/mslwte
https://noizefacilityrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/subsekt909
https://www.facebook.com/subsekt909/
Lost to the Void wrote:Fuck off, get some tequila down ya neck and make some noise you cunt....

CRDM
hmmmmmm...
Posts: 374
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:05 am
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by CRDM »

I don't solder so that's not something i'm interested in doing atm. Also it's got to be usb.

@ Mslwte thanks for the heads up on that pro-ject box. More than I'd want to spend at the moment but certainly something to consider for the future. I'd rather wait a bit and get something half decent like that later on. My thoughts were if there was something relatively cheap I could use for now that would be better than the laptop audio that would be ideal.

User avatar
Mslwte
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 5903
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:32 pm
Contact:
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Mslwte »

theres is absolutely no reason to buy anything that is cheap. get the right thing or not at all. just my opinion.
https://soundcloud.com/mslwte
https://noizefacilityrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/subsekt909
https://www.facebook.com/subsekt909/
Lost to the Void wrote:Fuck off, get some tequila down ya neck and make some noise you cunt....

User avatar
xonetacular
Gnasher
Posts: 226
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:45 pm
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by xonetacular »

schiit magni sounded pretty good and transparent to me- don't see the point in paying much more than that for a headphone amp

User avatar
terryfalafel
Component
Posts: 876
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:56 pm
Location: Amsterdam
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by terryfalafel »

Mslwte wrote:theres is absolutely no reason to buy anything that is cheap. get the right thing or not at all. just my opinion.
Mmm, also there's no reason to pay more for something than is necessary. The right thing doesn't have to be expensive to make it good.

User avatar
HowieRis
quasi-public
Posts: 146
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2016 3:41 am
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by HowieRis »

I have K701s and after doing some looking about the Headbox S seemed to be the way to go for a smidge over a hundred quid. Headphone amplifiers seems to be a rabbit hole of bottomless audiophile spending so I was glad to see a recommendation that didn't cost the earth.

I'm happy with it!

User avatar
xonetacular
Gnasher
Posts: 226
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:45 pm
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by xonetacular »

Another option- If you want a great monitor controller/usb dac with good headphone amps I am highly impressed with the behringer monitor2usb. Basically a SPL 2control clone with added DAC for 1/6th the price. Took a chance and it is amazing, and I use the built in compliant usb interface when I don't turn my big mixer on and want sound from my studio computer. The headphone outputs provide a good amount of power to drive my AKG 701s, much better than my old focusrite 18i20 which wasn't quite enough and made me get a shiit magni which is now sitting unused. Also has a nice crossfeed function which works well for headphone mixing. Costs about the same as any half decent cheapish dac/amp and you get two headphone outputs with crossfeed, and monitor control for later. Plus you can mix input sources on it and there are some extras like mono toggle.
Last edited by xonetacular on Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Mslwte
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 5903
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:32 pm
Contact:
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Mslwte »

terryfalafel wrote:
Mslwte wrote:theres is absolutely no reason to buy anything that is cheap. get the right thing or not at all. just my opinion.
Mmm, also there's no reason to pay more for something than is necessary. The right thing doesn't have to be expensive to make it good.
You can pick up the headbox for less then £50 on eBay.
https://soundcloud.com/mslwte
https://noizefacilityrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/subsekt909
https://www.facebook.com/subsekt909/
Lost to the Void wrote:Fuck off, get some tequila down ya neck and make some noise you cunt....

CRDM
hmmmmmm...
Posts: 374
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:05 am
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by CRDM »

Mslwte wrote:theres is absolutely no reason to buy anything that is cheap. get the right thing or not at all. just my opinion.
This is usually my ethos, getting things right first time round. 'Buy cheap buy twice' is sometimes the case. In this instance though this was just a request for something temporary, if nothing comes up that's significantly cheaper I'll wait till later in the year (should have a new line of work by then all going well) and just get something that can be a permanent part of my set up like the headbox s for example.

Thanks for the suggestions so far and it's good to hear back from ppl using them with the 701/702.

User avatar
Lost to the Void
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 13518
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:31 pm
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Lost to the Void »

Yeah don't go cheap for your headphone amp.
Your monitoring is your most important studio tool, you want best possible fidelity and accuracy.

If you can't hear what you are doing.... You can't hear what you are doing.
Mastering Engineer @ Black Monolith Studio
New Shit
Techno is dead. Long live Techno.

CRDM
hmmmmmm...
Posts: 374
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:05 am
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by CRDM »

Lost to the Void wrote:Yeah don't go cheap for your headphone amp.
Your monitoring is your most important studio tool, you want best possible fidelity and accuracy.

If you can't hear what you are doing.... You can't hear what you are doing.

I totally agree and as I said before, my reason for asking was for temporary usage till later in the year.

To be honest though, buying right first time round is what I usually try to practise in life and having had a few replies on here and thinking on it, it seems best to just wait and buy once, then I can get used to this new representation of sound once over. Especially seeing as something like the headbox s usb that was recommended is £130, which isn't a whole lot in the scheme of monitoring so now I think it's best to wait and get something in that range.

Thanks for the advice so far everyone. Looking forward to hearing how much they can add to my AKG's.

kingrad
quasi-public
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:17 pm
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by kingrad »

Have a similar question that I have been meaning to post. Ive been using sennheiser HD650's for years. Have an old motu traveler audio interface although often just plug headphones straight into laptop.

A person I was getting some tuition with told me I could really benefit from getting a headphone amp - the JDS labs objective 2. I thought when I bought the audio interface that it was all I needed for these headphones?? Not sure whether I need to buy the headphone amp??

User avatar
winston
unsure
Posts: 391
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2014 6:10 am
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by winston »

good recommendations here. i am also looking for a portable headphone amp for akg 702s, which are just way too quiet coming from laptop. i need something light and portable as i'm living from a suitcase. checking out the ideas from this thread.

Dattington
Alf Garnett
Posts: 159
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:33 pm
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Dattington »

This is what i'm after when I've got the ££.

http://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and ... Black/1Y88

Meant to be amazing with very good imaging. As now just use headphones the cross feed feature will be very useful.
Previews and clips are in the playlist below:

User avatar
Lost to the Void
subsekt
subsekt
Posts: 13518
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:31 pm
Re: Headphone Amp question

Post by Lost to the Void »

Utter poop for the money that SPL, you could buy audiophile, mastering grade headphone DAC for half the price of that shit. Just because it has SPL written on it and it's aimed at pro audio, they bump the price up... Because pro.
The preamps in that just aren't that spectacular.

You can get a TC electronic BMC2 for a fraction of that price, its mastering grade and has a great headphone amp.

I have one in the mastering room I use for monitor control and checking for fine details in headphones.

You don't get the speaker emulation but you can buy software that does that if you really want it, again at a fraction of the cost.
Don't buy the hype.
Mastering Engineer @ Black Monolith Studio
New Shit
Techno is dead. Long live Techno.


Post Reply