With your headphones and speakers you might well do fine with an LTA MZ2 or MZ3. I’d do the MZ3 if I was you.
Integrated amp w/decent headphone out under $5k
Could use some help picking an integrated amp. Current Eastern Electric M520 24W EL34 doing a nice job driving my 95db efficient Omega CAMs. Would like to get to next level of tone and refinement and also drive my Hifiman HE1000 Stealth headphones (supposed to be easy to drive). Tried a SET separate but missed the bass definition and dynamics so I think I want to stay push/pull or warmer sounding solid state or hybrid. 10-25 watts should be plenty. Current leading candidate is LTA Z10… anything else I should look at?
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https://www.luxman.com/product/detail.php?id=16 This might be a consideration |
@soix Thanks for the input. The MZ2 was under consideration but concerned if 1w is sufficient, although I’m in a small room ad typically listen at 85db or less. I will check with Omega as they are the ones who made me aware of LTA. Regarding the MZ3, price is close enough that I figured I would just go right to the Z10 to give some flexibility in case my speakers change as they sometimes do… @jperry Will take a look at Luxman. Wasn’t familiar with this model but recently heard about their SQ-N150 which at 10w could also work. Have to say their website is terrible - very hard to figure out their lineup and of course no mention of prices! Appears they do have a dealer near me though. |
I cannot make a recommendation. But I can point out that most headphone output on most integrated amps are very inferior in comparison to the unit… even very expensive integrated amps. So, great question. Be very very careful. It is easy to assume the quality of the headphone output is on par with the rest of the system, but a good quality output requires all the effort and expense of creating a great integrated amp, not just adding a jack. I found it much better to purchase a headphone amp made for the purpose. Assembling a great headphone system took me a couple decades. The very best headphone amps (in my opinion) are made by Woo. My primary is a Woo WA5, but the Woo WA6 and WA6SE are great places to start. |
@ghdprentice Exactly! I tried out a PS Audio BHK preamp thinking I could get both; impressed by the preamp, headphone out was thin and fatiguing - even though the reviews said it was good… LTA appears so far to be an exception from what I can see. Trying to simplify my system, but as a wise man once said “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”! I will check Woo however, just in case. |
For headphone listening I'd go with an amp designed as a headphone amp. Frankly, for many integrated speaker amps the headphone circuit is an afterthought. I'm quite fond of the Schiit headphone amps. While my Sundara phones aren't as fancy as yours, I'm listening to them while I type this response, using the just recently released Schiit Midgard headphone amp with their new "Halo" circuit that incudes the headphone drivers in the amp's feedback circuit. Have to say I'm impressed. And the price is a near giveaway. Schiit has a number of fancier models. And Hifiman has a number of their own dedicated headphone amps for you to consider. |
@leemaze yes - other equipment listed in the initial post and also my virtual system (click on my ID) |
@timlub Never heard of SST but interesting product. Out of my price range and looks like a preamp only - appreciate the info |
@mlsstl That was sort of the intent of my original question - to see if anyone is “doing it all” (for me at least). From everything here and my research, if does seem that LTA is alone in giving equal attention to both the headphone and speaker outputs. I should have mentioned that I’m at least 30% of time on the headphones (prefer speakers but can’t disturb my family early or late in the day), so pretty important I’ll talk to LTA and Omega this week to get some questions answered but at this point I’m likely going with the Z10… Thanks for all the input - I will et you know how it goes |
You're better off with a dedicated, separate headphone amp. Most integrated amps and receivers run the speaker outputs through a 220 to 330 ohm resistor to the headphone jack, and thus do not provide an optimized output. The high output resistance will cause coloration and distortion (I have seen this personally with my own tests). Very, very few of them contain a discrete headphone amplifier. The additional benefit is that you can upgrade at will. |