What are some good & affordable class A amps?

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories Headphone Amps
31

I mean, the 2.5 pro is pretty sweet and a more natural amp, but I think to see a fairly larger difference you would still need to jump to that higher end range. I just don’t know if I myself would personally go for a 2.5 pro if I already had a spark and was content with it

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32

We need a new thread for GREAT amps under 1K. I think the vast majority of us jump into $100.00, $200.00 and $300.00 amps without much, if any, drama. And the vast majority of us will Never spend more than $1K on a stand alone amp. I know there are exceptions on this forum… :grin:

I would guess the sweet spot for budding audiophiles and passionate music lovers is $500.00 to $1,000.00 in US funds. To me that is high end headphones, VERY nice amps and Really capable DAC/amps.

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33

Here is the thing, at that range it really comes down to what headphones you have and what your preferences are, as you want to get something that would match your preferences and also preform well with your headphones (again not a fan of “best” at this price whatever stuff)

34

indeed M0N, so the thread / sticky would hopefully have notes to help the buyer out.

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35

At least 3 depending on genre

Probably at least 3 depending on headphones

… I’m staying sub $500 cad for awhile :sweat_smile:

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36

Too much work, you will never get a best list from me muahahaha

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37

Fair enough, but if you hadn’t told me about that tube amp with adjustable impedance levels, I would never have known about it. It would be GREAT to have a thread/sticky about high quality gear between entry level and stupid expensive. That amp at $649.00US, is pretty much the top of my financial limit, but it’s great to have something to shoot for. Nobody needs a $700.00 amp, but it would be cool, if you’re into it.

With the demise of audio magazines, information wise, we are swamped with Best Buy “stuff” and Stereophile Magazine grade gear, but not much in the middle. Really, just the forums and some can misinform or just be nasty.

38

That’s what I said, but then “I must have those Elex’s” kicked in and…

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39

Also fair, it’s just that having something like that would be pretty difficult to compile and maintain because it would be pretty subjective

I really just want to make sure someone just doesn’t buy something because it’s on a list that says it’s good. In this price range it’s mostly enthusiasts as you say, and typically they will know what they want, but you still never know lol

I also don’t think I would be allowed to sticky things anyway lol

40

I’ve shown great restraint I feel lol… I’m stoked you’re getting the elex :+1:

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41

There would be nothing to maintain. Just a list of amps, in this case. If someone is interested in a certain amp, they can create a thread and ask about it. At which time people will ask, what kind of headphones…, what music do you listen…, etc. questions.

As far as quality goes, people NEED to research the amp listed. Nothing would be promised or inferred.

If you Google best headphone amp under 1K, you get the same cookie cutter lists over and over.

42

any other options near the 250 mark you would suggest beyond asgard 3 and archel 2.5?

43

The jds labs El Amp is a good pick for sure. The burson fun is also very solid at this price. Without tapping into used, there are not many others

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44

The fun looks pretty great actually… my question would be do you think the sundara would benefit from the addition power of the asgard?

45

I think either the fun or asgard would work pretty great with the sundara imo. The fun is something you could modify down the line as you could swap around opamps, so that’s something to consider, but I think the fit and finish of the A3 is a fair bit better. To me it’s a toss up, personally I would pick the A3 unless you want to experiment with opamps and be able to change the sound

46

I’ll pull the trigger on the a3… that should tide me over for quite a bit alongside the dv… thanks :+1:

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47

Probably the better choice. The Fun sounds great and I have multiple opamps, but the build quality is Really lacking.

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48

good to know… yeah I just didn’t see myself swapping opamps and honestly was leaning towards the a3 after reading the $100 amps aren’t really ideal for the sundara

49

I mean the 100 buck amps can absolutely get the job done, I just think if it’s in your budget getting something a bit higher up would be beneficial

50

exactly (my bad I could’ve worded that better)… looking forward to hearing it