The Cavalli CTH tube hybrid amp from Massdrop gets very nice reviews from Sennheiser owners who say there’s great synergy. At only $175 it sounds like quite a bargain, and I’m strongly considering it for my Hifiman HE400S.
AFFORDABLE (under $1K) Best SS and Tube Amps for HD600
Best SS Under $1K for HD600 (or similar load) __________________________________________________________
WHAMMY Class-A headphone amplifier w/ OPA2107 upgrade OR 2 OPA627 pro build ONLY $500-$600 PASS Design (similar to/ better than a dynalo- warm + clinical - choice of chip switches sound - these are two I like best- choices chips R infinite)
TCA HPA-1 ( Tom Christiansen Audio ) $899 (warm and clinical but not like WHAMMY
Gilmore Lite Mk1 or Mk2 (Like a Dynalo) $300-499 (nice- a bit warm/clear for SS)
Rupert Neve Designs RNHP $499 (clinical gain power)
neurochrome HP-1 Kit $500 (similar to DYNALO and TCA HPA-1)
Monolith by Monoprice THX AAA Balanced Headphone Amplifier featuring THX AAA 887 $399 (cheap and very good black velvet background- just nice warm sounding like WHAMMY or TCA or Gilmore)
Emotiva BasX A-100 Flex with jumpers activated for full headphone power $229 (gobs of raw power no real special sound except its fun to open the HD600 with this much raw power for cheap)
Best Tube Under $1K for HD600 (or similar load)
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Quicksilver headphone amp $899 (probably best looking of all these and sounding)
Bottlehead Crack w/speedball and upgraded power cord by them Professionally build ($800) (HD600+this is like peanut butter and jelly - everyone agrees this is nirvana for HD600)
TOR AUDIO Roger $560 (amazing like Crack without speedball/power cable) DIY Bottlehead Crack w/speedball $400+ 90 for cable + 8 hours time and no where same build as above
Bottlead Crackatwoa 800-$944 KIT ONLY qualifies here under $1K BUT you could get pro built for ($1700+)
Schitt Valhalla $349Schitt
Schitt Mjolnir $849
Woo WA3 Headphone Amplifier $599 (no longer made - find on used market or wait for ver2)Woo WA6 Version 2 $699
Woo Fireflies with DAC 2nd gen $999 Starving Student II Headphone Amplifier $229+ 8hrs buildTOR NICK Headphone Tube Amp $480 (wood w/tubes)
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Im probably missing a bunch but this is my short list! Please join in...
Honorable mention OVER $2500 probably no one EVER heard of: Toolshed Amps The Darling HEAD AMP made in USA $2595
WHAMMY Class-A headphone amplifier w/ OPA2107 upgrade OR 2 OPA627 pro build ONLY $500-$600 PASS Design (similar to/ better than a dynalo- warm + clinical - choice of chip switches sound - these are two I like best- choices chips R infinite)
TCA HPA-1 ( Tom Christiansen Audio ) $899 (warm and clinical but not like WHAMMY
Gilmore Lite Mk1 or Mk2 (Like a Dynalo) $300-499 (nice- a bit warm/clear for SS)
Rupert Neve Designs RNHP $499 (clinical gain power)
neurochrome HP-1 Kit $500 (similar to DYNALO and TCA HPA-1)
Monolith by Monoprice THX AAA Balanced Headphone Amplifier featuring THX AAA 887 $399 (cheap and very good black velvet background- just nice warm sounding like WHAMMY or TCA or Gilmore)
Emotiva BasX A-100 Flex with jumpers activated for full headphone power $229 (gobs of raw power no real special sound except its fun to open the HD600 with this much raw power for cheap)
Best Tube Under $1K for HD600 (or similar load)
____________________________________________________
Quicksilver headphone amp $899 (probably best looking of all these and sounding)
Bottlehead Crack w/speedball and upgraded power cord by them Professionally build ($800) (HD600+this is like peanut butter and jelly - everyone agrees this is nirvana for HD600)
TOR AUDIO Roger $560 (amazing like Crack without speedball/power cable) DIY Bottlehead Crack w/speedball $400+ 90 for cable + 8 hours time and no where same build as above
Bottlead Crackatwoa 800-$944 KIT ONLY qualifies here under $1K BUT you could get pro built for ($1700+)
Schitt Valhalla $349Schitt
Schitt Mjolnir $849
Woo WA3 Headphone Amplifier $599 (no longer made - find on used market or wait for ver2)Woo WA6 Version 2 $699
Woo Fireflies with DAC 2nd gen $999 Starving Student II Headphone Amplifier $229+ 8hrs buildTOR NICK Headphone Tube Amp $480 (wood w/tubes)
____________________________________________
Im probably missing a bunch but this is my short list! Please join in...
Honorable mention OVER $2500 probably no one EVER heard of: Toolshed Amps The Darling HEAD AMP made in USA $2595