Is there a serious lack of talent among headphone amp designers?

[caesar]

Alex Cavalli seems to make really good sounding headphone amps. The Luxman stuff sounds pretty sublime as well.

Yet the most popular headphone amp using tubes is Woo Audio. Guys on the headfi.org site are goo-goo over it. But the Woo stuff sounds slow and syrupy to my ears, and I have tried Woo amps with pretty much every high end headphone...(And I love tube gear.)

Kind of makes me wish the really talented high end audio guys got into building headphone amps, such as Atmasphere, CAT, VAC, etc.

Anyone know of a headphone amp designer whose work gives them goose bumps?

 

[Bruce B]

The only Woo headphone amps I like are the large mono-blocs that can double as speaker amps. I think they are around $30k.

Alex Cavalli is an awesome headphone amp designer. I listen to mine every day.

 

[astrotoy]

Has anyone tried the new Oppo headphone amp and phones?

Larry

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Alex Cavalli seems to make really good sounding headphone amps. The Luxman stuff sounds pretty sublime as well.

Yet the most popular headphone amp using tubes is Woo Audio. Guys on the headfi.org site are goo-goo over it. But the Woo stuff sounds slow and syrupy to my ears, and I have tried Woo amps with pretty much every high end headphone...(And I love tube gear.)

Kind of makes me wish the really talented high end audio guys got into building headphone amps, such as Atmasphere, CAT, VAC, etc.

Anyone know of a headphone amp designer whose work gives them goose bumps?

my favorite is the Blue Hawaii Special Edition, designed by Justin Wilson.

it sounds wonderful. very linear for a tube amp and yet quite micro-dynamic. I loved it with Stax 009's.

highly recommended if you don't mind waiting for about a year. I waited 13 months for mine.....then had to sell all my high end headphone stuff to fund some amp and speaker upgrades.

 

[JackD201]

I would have loved to take those off your hands Mike had I only known. I have an Aunt who lives in Bellevue. The sale would have been local.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I would have loved to take those off your hands Mike had I only known. I have an Aunt who lives in Bellevue. The sale would have been local.

I also had an Aristeaus too.....which is an improved version of the Sennheiser Orpheus amplifier.

sorry; I'd have loved for you to have got the BHSE. it was sweet. but the purchase of the 458's required me to clear the decks of anything sellable.....

they both (BHSE and the Aristeaus) sold at the full list price I paid for them in about 45 minutes after I listed them to the same guy.....and there was a long line of people who wanted the BHSE if my buyer backed out.

anyone who wants the best headphone amp needs to at least find a way to hear the BHSE, or just buy one and sell it if it does not float your boat. there is zero risk of losing money.

I will keep in mind your local connection should I have anything else as rare as the BHSE for sale......

 

[JackD201]

Thanks Mike, that would indeed be nice. Thumbs up.

 

[FrantzM]

I disagree with the premises of the OP. There are some serious headphones electronics designers out there. The Auralic Tuarus is sublime. The Luxman is indeed no slouch and the SPL Monitor as good as they get. I prefer the Auralic to most headphones amp and I have heard and I have heard a few.

 

[Alrainbow]

the woo mono blocks are about 15 for the pair. there strong point is tube rolling . from 45 to 300b to 2a3 .and all in the middle as in 6a3 or 101D. as a headphone amp with tubes they are very good. beyond that is solid state . as any tube amp adds something THAT is just not there to begin with. where solid state is just the facts. regarding headphone amp designers its all design point . its a choice we have to make. I like analytical nearing clinical . so SS is best for me. but some tube amps get me very close and have the tube flavor that sometimes I crave. lastly the headphones we choose matters as much as the amp we pick . as audezze is warm of neutral one should not pick a warm amp as well . a tube amp that can be rolled like the woo mono or another I just got to play with is a marvel of opportunity to find utopia for any headphone. just my 2 cents.
al

 

[Mike Lavigne]

the woo mono blocks are about 15 for the pair. there strong point is tube rolling . from 45 to 300b to 2a3 .and all in the middle as in 6a3 or 101D. as a headphone amp with tubes they are very good. beyond that is solid state . as any tube amp adds something THAT is just not there to begin with. where solid state is just the facts.

as an owner of top level solid state darTZeel amps and preamp, and prior to that owning Tenor OTL's and Hybrids prior I think I get how linear tubes can possibly get, and how natural solid state can get. if you listen to the BHSE with the stock EL34's it is very very linear and more like the darZTeel than the Tenor. so I would disagree on it's bringing fundamental coloration. trust me; the Stax 009's are ruthless as a transducer. that combo demands the best power grid, resonance control and sources or it's too much.

now when I inserted my (very spendy) NOS 50's Philips metal base EL34's it does become a different sort of beast. and there are lots of other tube choices.

OTOH any solid state headphone amp with the most transparent headphones is going to be a bit in your face and some less listenable. with headphones tubes allow for much longer, more enjoyable listening. how headphones physically interact with you is very important.

regarding headphone amp designers its all design point . its a choice we have to make. I like analytical nearing clinical . so SS is best for me.

I agree to a point, as my reference is big boy solid state and big boy full range speakers.

but some tube amps get me very close and have the tube flavor that sometimes I crave. lastly the headphones we choose matters as much as the amp we pick . as audezze is warm of neutral one should not pick a warm amp as well . a tube amp that can be rolled like the woo mono or another I just got to play with is a marvel of opportunity to find utopia for any headphone. just my 2 cents.
al

listen to the BHSE with stock EL34's and Stax 009's and see whether that will scratch your 'analytical nearing clinical' itch while still not getting in your face. it did it for me.

 

[Alrainbow]

Thanks for the replies. I own the BHSE amd woo Wes with stax 009 and senn he60. There is something linaer about the Elecyro headphones.aybe it's the high voltage and no transformer. The he60 is not as neutral as the stax.
The Wes is more neutral as te BHSE is a little more warm. And rolling tubes is fun. It lets us hear our loved music all over again. Over all I acually like my hd800 or he6 better. It just has more meat.
The senn HDVD 800 as an amp is very neutral where the woo WA5 has that tube sound. But rolling toilets say a eml300b gets rid of most of it. I also have a KRELL KAV 400 XI. it's a very neutral amp but warm side of neutral.
I do like up close presentation so headphons are cool.
But as you say full size speakers cannot be beat or compared to any headphones. Although the he6 gets me part the way there.
Al

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Thanks for the replies. I own the BHSE amd woo Wes with stax 009 and senn he60. There is something linaer about the Elecyro headphones.aybe it's the high voltage and no transformer. The he60 is not as neutral as the stax.
The Wes is more neutral as te BHSE is a little more warm. And rolling tubes is fun. It lets us hear our loved music all over again. Over all I acually like my hd800 or he6 better. It just has more meat.
The senn HDVD 800 as an amp is very neutral where the woo WA5 has that tube sound. But rolling toilets say a eml300b gets rid of most of it. I also have a KRELL KAV 400 XI. it's a very neutral amp but warm side of neutral.
I do like up close presentation so headphons are cool.
But as you say full size speakers cannot be beat or compared to any headphones. Although the he6 gets me part the way there.
Al

very interesting. you perceive the Woo WES as more neutral than the BHSE. that is exactly opposite of my perceptions from a couple years ago. I found the WES to be a bit soft, rounded and muted in the traditional tube way and the BHSE to be dynamically more alive and linear. which is why I waited a year for the BHSE when I could have bought the WES straight away. I liked the WES, just not enough to buy it. both are excellent products no doubt. i actually preferred the Aristeaus to the WES too, just a bit more sexy sounding to my ears. the WES and Aristeaus are more similar than the BHSE and WES.

of course, i only heard the WES at a show with the stock tubes. so anything is possible i suppose rolling tubes.

back then i also owned the Senn HD-800's and the Woo 6SE with some upgrades. i liked that but it was not in the class of the BHSE/009's.

Electrostatic headphones do have a certain magic. the ribbon tweeters and ceramic mids and woofers in my Evolution Acoustic MM7's give me that same sort of transparency.

thanks.

 

[Alrainbow]

That's with stick tubes. And it must be driven in balance
The phase spitter tubes destroy it.
I habe a few sets of tubes abiut 6 sets. As the outputs are the same for both Amps.
I too waited for ever for it. And having two homes it's just easy.
Owning and listening at shows is very different. Also one needs to consider the DAC being used.
Al

 

[Bruce B]

I preferred the Liquid Gold/Abyss over the BHSE/009. I've spent many weeks listening to the Woo, and others, but If I had to pick, the Liquid is what I could live with every day. The Woo mono-blocs were nice to listen to, but I felt it was too nice and didn't give a realistic representation of the source.

 

[Alrainbow]

I have had a few woo products. Woo at shows keeps all stock. And his DAC is far from great by today stadandrs
So unless it's got better tubes and a good DAC it's what you say. The gold you have I have heard and it is a Stella amp very detailed amp. And great for the abyss im sure.
Al

 

[Bruce B]

The headphone amp I'm most intrigued with is the Head-Trip. I spent a week with it and can say it's as good or maybe even better on some things than the Cavalli.

 

[dalethorn]

The headphone amp I'm most intrigued with is the Head-Trip. I spent a week with it and can say it's as good or maybe even better on some things than the Cavalli.

It seems, if you're not driving power-hungry electrostatics etc., then a headphone amp could dispense with all the AC filtering stuff and run off of a battery pack. Or at least the designers could facilitate that.