Headphone Heights

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RE: Tube amp suggestions for Grado RS2e

Posted by HarryDStanton on March 9, 2018 at 20:55:07:
You haven't mentioned anything about budget limitations. Are you looking for a price point that does not exceed the cost of your headphones?

Be aware that a fairly common problem with cheap tube amps is noise. And because Grados are sensitive headphones the humming and other noisy artifacts found in cheap tube amp circuits are quite easy to hear and, potentially, quite annoying.

So if your heart is set on low-cost tube amplification it might be best to prepare yourself for a little background hum in exchange for that "tubey" lush sound.

You need an amp designed to drive low-impedance headphones but the quietest "budget" amps designed for low impedance headphones are typically the 100% solid-state ones, not the tube or "solid state/tube "hybrid" ones.

Little Dot and Schiit are two budget tube amp manufacturers that come to mind. Read the online reviews and take note of any noise or performance issues before buying. Just be sure (this is important!) that any amp you buy is designed to drive low-impedance headphones such as your RS-2s.

I prefer clean sounding, quiet, solid state amplification for my Grados. I like the sound of Meier Audio Corda amps. Grado's own RA-1 amp (or even one of the inexpensive "RA-1 clone" types sold on ebay) also sounds pretty good to my ears.

Lots of budget tube amp reviews and recommendations to be found on the Headfi forums. Good luck in your search.