looking for a headphone amp for the PC

[washburn]

hi, can someone recommend me a headphone amp to get for a Audigy 2 ZS mainly for MP3s in around $300 mark, thanks

 

[H-Money]

a gilmore lite or PM MisterX and he could make you a nice one

 

[threedd97]

On budget you can PM Mister X, the PA2V2 or a go-vibe MKIII. If you want to spend more money and get something of higher quality:

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-micro-line/headroom-micro-amp.php

 

[Vertigo Acid]

What headphones are you going to be using with them?
Also, you might want to work on getting higher quality music before you worry about spending $300 on an amp.

 

[washburn]

Grado SR80 most likely..

what do you mean by getting higher quality music?

 

[Ronco]

I would say sell the A2 if you can and get yourself an X-Fi Elite Pro. You'll have taken care of your headphone amplification and had a source upgrade as well.

 

[threedd97]

I agree. sell that thing for like $50 and just extend your budget a bit for the Elite Pro if you'll just be listening to mp3's.

 

[Vertigo Acid]

Grado SR80 most likely..

what do you mean by getting higher quality music?

MP3s are vile and will make you cry and wish you had bought the music instead of downloading it

This is coming from a guy that has a 40k+ mp3 collection and just reciently took the dive with a nice amp/headphone combo

 

[strid3r]

What's the point of getting the Elite Pro when you can get a 0404 or a DAC at a fraction of the price and still have a lot more money left over for an amp?

 

[Chastity]

Oh, and you know a good $50 DAC?

 

[legcramp]

What's the point of getting the Elite Pro when you can get a 0404 or a DAC at a fraction of the price and still have a lot more money left over for an amp?

I agree.... unless he wants gaming too.. otherwise this way it will run all over the X-fi...

 

[strid3r]

Oh, and you know a good $50 DAC?

Did I say that?

If he's planning to buy just an amp for around $300, he has a good amount of options available to him. There's the Gilmore Lite, RSA Hornet, Headroom Micro Amp just to name a few, not including the DIY amps that MisterX can build (M3, PPA...although $300 is stretching it). If he's worried about his source, he can get a Chaintech AV-710 for cheap ($20-25?) or decide to go a little higher up for the E-mu 0404 ($80). There's also DAC/amp combos like the Porta Corda from Meier Audio. He can also upgrade the amp and DAC in the future.

I just don't see the point in spending a little under $400 on an X-fi Elite Pro when he already has a Audigy 2 ZS (he didn't say he was looking for the ultimate gaming card). And does anyone know the details of this built-in amp of the Elite Pro? I cannot find any info on this and spending that much money on questionable amplification is a unwise choice imo (looking to be proven wrong on this if you have some good info on it).

 

[Ronco]

The phone socket of the X-Fi EP box sounds perfectly OK through my Qualia 010 or the ATH-W2002. The X-Fi allows for better sound capability than the 0404 and also expands the gaming capability of the A2. What's not to like? His budget is $300, I'm not sure what he can get for the A2 but it would offset some of the cost of the Elite Pro. It'll be the last soundcard a casual all-round guy needs if he's got that sort of budget.

 

[Chastity]

What's the point of getting the Elite Pro when you can get a 0404 or a DAC at a fraction of the price and still have a lot more money left over for an amp?

A DAC would run him quite near the price of the Elite Pro, and he's still need to get the amp. That's the point I was making.