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RE: Tube amp suggestions for Grado RS2e

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HarryDStanton

In Reply to: RE: Tube amp suggestions for Grado RS2e posted by Steve. on March 09, 2018 at 19:01:38

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.

Follow Ups:

RE: Tube amp suggestions for Grado RS2e - Steve. 22:16:42 03/09/18 (4)
So is the RA1 worth $350, I wish I could hear one. I auditioned the RS2es with the Parasound dac/headphone amp and it sounded really good. Although I have a NAD M51 DAC so looking for a good amp only because I think it's better than any headphone / dac combo under $1500
- RE: Tube amp suggestions for Grado RS2e - neolith 17:50:41 03/13/18 (0)
  The RA-1 made my SR-60's sound very good. However it is just a CMOY amp and probably could be made for under $30. I calculated the gain is 13.5 db. Of course, you wouldn't have the very nice box or the great Grado service. I did replace mine with an Objective O2 with no regrets.
  
  As far as using a tube amp, I think there is a problem. The Grado's are low impedance (32 ohm) and most tube amps have a relatively high output impedance which means there is a mismatch. A OTL amp can lower the impedance of the amp but then there is a possibility of frying the transformer if the headphone become unattached. Another choice might be to use a "hybrid" amp with a op-amp output buffer.
  
  I married the perfect woman. The downside is everything that goes wrong is my fault.
  
  Edits: 03/13/18 03/13/18
- If you want to satisfy your curiosity, try out a cheap "RA-1 clone" - HarryDStanton 08:08:33 03/10/18 (2)
  Search ebay for "RA_1 clone" or "portable headphone amplifier" and eventually you'll be viewing a number of "Cmoy" type portable battery-powered amps, some of better quality than others are. Usually, the clones are built into Altoids tins but some use fancier housings made of wood or metal. What matters is that you'll be getting something that sounds like an RA-1 amp, for a fraction of the cost.
  I'm not affiliated with this EBAY seller, but check out the one who calls himself "biosciencegeek". He'll make you a high quality "RA-1 clone" (using the exact same op-amp that Grado uses) for not much money. He may not have any listings on ebay right now but he has sold items within the past couple of months so do a member search there and shoot him an email request if you are interested.
  
  Edits: 03/10/18 03/10/18
  - RE: If you want to satisfy your curiosity, try out a cheap "RA-1 clone" - Steve. 16:50:33 03/10/18 (1)
    Thx, I'll check it out
    - RE: If you want to satisfy your curiosity, try out a cheap "RA-1 clone" - HarryDStanton 08:27:44 03/11/18 (0)
      Hey, "biosciencegeek" just relisted his amps on ebay. Item # 142718226213.
      No affiliations.
      One of the nice things about these little amps is that you can change out opamps in a snap. Simply unplug one and plug in another. With a few different opamps in hand you can experiment with different tonal signatures.
      Have fun.
      
      Edits: 03/11/18 03/11/18
RE: Tube amp suggestions for Grado RS2e - Steve. 22:11:42 03/09/18 (0)
Hi

Thanks, forgot to mention price.... around 600 to 700

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