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Why are headphone amps so expensive?

S

Smartazz

Diamond Member
I was looking for a good headphone amp for my Sennheiser HD595's, but oh man these amps are so expensive, any reason why they're so expensive? I might just build my own I guess.
 
Look for the little-dot amps or whatever they're called, those are good for the price.

As for why they go up that high - do I need to explain? It's like any hobby, there is always a level which most can't even imagine, but if you reach that point truly appreciating the changes in sound acheived by it and able to understand the benefits from the equipment, then it'll make sense in a heartbeat. I was talking to someone on the phone spending $2-3k on a CD player, a lot because of the DAC's it has, 3 transformers, etc. (I don't know details so I hope AT doesn't try to rape me on what I said, but he's very knowledgeable and wouldn't just be wasting away this money, he's a college student that has spent over $20k on his stuff)
 
Any kind of (good) amplification is expensive. If you're going to build a Cmoy you'd probably be better off saving the money and putting it towards a nicer amp a little later.

I agree with the AgaBoogaBoo, check out the Little Dot Micro II++ amp on ebay. It's supposed to be one of the best tube amps for the price.
 
Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Originally posted by: Born2bwire
/me hides his Corda Aria.

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
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Pics or ban 😀
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Text

All I've got access to is a pic of my home rig. Don't have a camera with me at the office.

I have no idea where that Bon Jovi album came from either. I swear, someone's trying to give the wrong impressions here.

EDIT: For the OP, I'd say you can do well with a $100-$200 amp. Just look around at who's building them and at their reviews.
 
Originally posted by: Born2bwire
Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Originally posted by: Born2bwire
/me hides his Corda Aria.

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
Click to expand...
Pics or ban 😀
Click to expand...

Text

All I've got access to is a pic of my home rig. Don't have a camera with me at the office.

I have no idea where that Bon Jovi album came from either. I swear, someone's trying to give the wrong impressions here.

EDIT: For the OP, I'd say you can do well with a $100-$200 amp. Just look around at who's building them and at their reviews.
Click to expand...
Nick rack! 😛 😉

And don't worry, I won't tell anyone you listen to Bon Jovi.
 
Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
hd595? Are you looking for more portable or home amp? dac or no dac?
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Originally posted by: dr150
DO YOUR RESEARCH HERE

Get a portable amp ($50-$200). They're cheaper and do the job just fine.

Don't get into the trap of spending too much for benefits you won't hear.
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dr150 - What bothered me about your post is that you assumed too much:
1) You assumed he wanted something portable
2) You assume there aren't benefits to be heard

Look, let's exclude all that monster cable crap or stuff about magic markers that you can write on cables that improve quality, let's talk about the buyers of audio products that have been doing it for a long time and really take a liking to it.

The kind of person I want to talk about doesn't necessarily have tons of money just laying around - they're normal people who have a hobby in life and put their efforts towards it. In HS, I had a science teacher that had right around $25k in equipment, split among just a few speakers (2.1 audio) and not even a connection to his TV. He loves his pipe organs and so he has tons of money in his subwoofer.

That's a normal HS science teacher - not really someone "rolling in the cash".

Take me for example - coming up with the $3k or so that I've spent to date wasn't exactly pocket change, but it's something I love and so I could justify it. With what I have, I can't even appreciate all that it's for yet, it takes time. I can distinguish sounds and know what to listen for quite a bit more than before, but it's something that takes time.

Just blindly saying you won't notice a difference is a bit ignorant. I think that between a $50 and a $900 amplifier, there will be a *very* big difference, especially because it's likely that the latter is a Class A amplifier rather than whatever they use in the $50 amp.

I've made a few assumptions about how you meant what you said, but I think that once people start buying seperate amplifiers for equipment, they want to know what they're getting out of it. If I had $30k to spend on a set of speakers, and you came up and told me that all I needed to spend was $2k, I'm not sure I'd listen to you for even a second. Your statement makes me think, that you don't think there's a difference at all. Premium in price? No doubt.

IAteYourMother - Quoted you because you asked if he was looking for portable or not. This was the right thing to do.
 
Why are cars so expensive?

Don't they all go from point A to B?

Maybe I'll build my own.
 
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Why are cars so expensive?

Don't they all go from point A to B?

Maybe I'll build my own.
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Cars are a necessity, I wouldn't consider a headphone a necessity.
edit: For many cars are a necessity.
 
I was actually looking for an amp that wasn't portable, it's only for my computer. I have portable headphones for my portable audio equipment.
 

Test a few amps out at your local Hi-Fi store and pick one that appropriate for your pocket book. People have different listening range with vary discerning preferences, therefore an amp that may sound mediocre to one person may sound good for another. In certain situation, a well tune amp may sound just as good as a middle of the road amp.

In my late teen & 20s I spend much of my time & money in pursuit of good sounding stereo system, and I ended up down sizing my equipment due to moves & an ear infection that causes 20% permanent hearing lost out of one ear. I came to the conclusion above after reading many books on hearing, and from educated by the doctor/hearing specialist.

 
Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

Test a few amps out at your local Hi-Fi store and pick one that appropriate for your pocket book. People have different listening range with vary discerning preferences, therefore an amp that may sound mediocre to one person may sound good for another. In certain situation, a well tune amp may sound just as good as a middle of the road amp.

In my late teen & 20s I spend much of my time & money in pursuit of good sounding stereo system, and I ended up down sizing my equipment due to moves & an ear infection that causes 20% permanent hearing lost out of one ear. I came to the conclusion above after reading many books on hearing, and from educated by the doctor/hearing specialist.
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Should I bring my headphones into the store?
 
Originally posted by: Smartazz
Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

Test a few amps out at your local Hi-Fi store and pick one that appropriate for your pocket book. People have different listening range with vary discerning preferences, therefore an amp that may sound mediocre to one person may sound good for another. In certain situation, a well tune amp may sound just as good as a middle of the road amp.

In my late teen & 20s I spend much of my time & money in pursuit of good sounding stereo system, and I ended up down sizing my equipment due to moves & an ear infection that causes 20% permanent hearing lost out of one ear. I came to the conclusion above after reading many books on hearing, and from educated by the doctor/hearing specialist.
Click to expand...

Should I bring my headphones into the store?
Click to expand...
Yes
 
Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
Originally posted by: Smartazz
Originally posted by: NoShangriLa

Test a few amps out at your local Hi-Fi store and pick one that appropriate for your pocket book. People have different listening range with vary discerning preferences, therefore an amp that may sound mediocre to one person may sound good for another. In certain situation, a well tune amp may sound just as good as a middle of the road amp.

In my late teen & 20s I spend much of my time & money in pursuit of good sounding stereo system, and I ended up down sizing my equipment due to moves & an ear infection that causes 20% permanent hearing lost out of one ear. I came to the conclusion above after reading many books on hearing, and from educated by the doctor/hearing specialist.
Click to expand...

Should I bring my headphones into the store?
Click to expand...
Yes
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You should also bring some material along that you want to listen to. If you'll be running it through a laptop 95% of the time, bring it. If it'll be through an iPod most of the time, bring it.
 
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