Headphone Heights

Posted by neolith (A) on March 13, 2018 at 17:50:41

In Reply to: RE: Tube amp suggestions for Grado RS2e posted by Steve. on March 09, 2018 at 21:16:42

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