"I have 44 headphones and 23 amps, not counting DACs. That said, I can see light at the end of the tunnel, lol.
Amps make a difference, but they're very tough to separate once you get to a certain level of quality. I paid $699 for an Audeze Deckard, but it can be difficult to hear a difference between it and my $250 Schiit Asgard 2. However, there's a very noticeable difference between both amps and my Cavalli Liquid Carbon and Feliks Audio Elise.
Tubes are sensational in a lot of cases and my $140 Aune T1 mk2 tube DAC's amp section beats out my Asgard 2's imo. In DAC mode, I prefer the Aune's tube sweetness to my $5995 Metric Halo ULN-8.
So I think price doesn't have much to do with it and tubes are a huge equaliser. Tubes tend to give a greater sense of air, space, and separation, while solid state tends to put an edge on detail. I'd buy the $129 Schiit Vali over most solid state amps up to $500, BUT some guys prefer that edge on detail and smaller soundstage.
I have my endgame headphone which is Audioquest Nighthawk. I have many more expensive cans but they're pretty much it for me. I *think* the endgame amp/DAC combo for that headphone is Aune T1 mk2 and Liquid Carbon; I don't think anything can beat that combo. But for the rest of my headphones I'm hoping I can get ahold of the ATH 5050, which is the best amp I've ever heard. If not that one then maybe a Liquid Glass. Both of those are hybrid tube amps and noticeably better than anything else I've heard.
Solid State amps that I've that separate themselves from the crowd are Headamp GSX-2 and Cavalli Liquid Gold."
"I have 44 headphones and 23 amps, not counting DACs. That said, I can see light at the end of the tunnel, lol.
Amps make a difference, but they're very tough to separate once you get to a certain level of quality. I paid $699 for an Audeze Deckard, but it can be difficult to hear a difference between it and my $250 Schiit Asgard 2. However, there's a very noticeable difference between both amps and my Cavalli Liquid Carbon and Feliks Audio Elise.
Tubes are sensational in a lot of cases and my $140 Aune T1 mk2 tube DAC's amp section beats out my Asgard 2's imo. In DAC mode, I prefer the Aune's tube sweetness to my $5995 Metric Halo ULN-8.
So I think price doesn't have much to do with it and tubes are a huge equaliser. Tubes tend to give a greater sense of air, space, and separation, while solid state tends to put an edge on detail. I'd buy the $129 Schiit Vali over most solid state amps up to $500, BUT some guys prefer that edge on detail and smaller soundstage.
I have my endgame headphone which is Audioquest Nighthawk. I have many more expensive cans but they're pretty much it for me. I *think* the endgame amp/DAC combo for that headphone is Aune T1 mk2 and Liquid Carbon; I don't think anything can beat that combo. But for the rest of my headphones I'm hoping I can get ahold of the ATH 5050, which is the best amp I've ever heard. If not that one then maybe a Liquid Glass. Both of those are hybrid tube amps and noticeably better than anything else I've heard.
Solid State amps that I've that separate themselves from the crowd are Headamp GSX-2 and Cavalli Liquid Gold."