Headphone amp possibilities

I'm going to unashamedly taunt the anti-Chord brigade here by suggesting that you consider one of their DACs as a headphone amp!! Not only are they quite good at driving headphones, but they also provide, subjectively of course, an upgrade to a Naim streamer. Some of them are also portable and battery operated, so you might also find a use for them if you take your headphones out of the house with you. There are lots of used Hugos around at the moment, and prices are dropping, due to the introduction of the Hugo 2, or there's the Mojo.

The H that shall not be named makes a fine headphone amp, way way better than the headphone out on my SN2 and it can be used on the go too.  I use mine occasionally with a set of Meze 99 Classics and the SQ is just superb

I'd get a napsc and Hicap for the 202. It will improve things for 361 days of the year. Then you can get a wire that connects to one of the hicap's spare 4 pin outputs, with a 1/4" jack socket on the end for the headphones, for those occasions when you need them. 

Creek - Arcam - Rega are very good options with good prices.... i listened all, they all will be good with your hd598...

if you looking for exotica Gustard h10 is very good... violectric v200 is a german legend.

i strogly reccomend to check Massdrop there you will be find very competitively priced alternatives.....

last but not least Mojo can be connected to NDX and will works as a map/dac as a no brainer choice.... it is very good and obvious choice that people are trying to avoid it if you have the funds Hugo / Hugo2 are better but pricier alternatives 

Naim choice is expensive, old and has the worst value for money in headphone amp if you consider power supplies etc. 

I sold my headline / hi cap and bought a mojo, very happy with it as a headphone solution for occasional use.

Gary

I prefer amps with the option to use cross-feed. If you like this kind of "distortion", as I do, the Hugo is one good option.

Nick

Thank you for the feedback and recommendations.  It seems something like the Mojo would fit the bill, particuarly as it can be used with mobile devices too.

In the short term, is there a way I could use a din to 1/4" converter with one of the NAC 202 Tape output's or is the output voltage too low?  

Andrew

meaculpa posted:

Thank you for the feedback and recommendations.  It seems something like the Mojo would fit the bill, particuarly as it can be used with mobile devices too.

In the short term, is there a way I could use a din to 1/4" converter with one of the NAC 202 Tape output's or is the output voltage too low?  

Andrew

You can connect mojo only digital with 272

meaculpa posted:

In the short term, is there a way I could use a din to 1/4" converter with one of the NAC 202 Tape output's or is the output voltage too low?  

Andrew

No - the tape output is fixed level so you can't adjust the volume. You need a variable output if going the converter method (which from experience when i made my own isn't as good as a dedicated amp - depends on headphone sensitivity). I'd suggest picking up a used Rega EAR which will give you a decent headphone amp with its own volume control and can run off the fixed tape output. 

I’d recommend the Heed Canamp, at just over £300 new or £150 S/H.

I prefer it to the mojo. The mojo is OK but the soundstage seems small by comparison. The camamp soundstage seems to surround the head with a 3D effect. Although how that’s possible with headphones, I don’t know.

Also, has plenty of PRAT.

With regards the amount of time you spend listening through headphones. The better the headphone amp the more time you’ll spend listening to it.