Good headphone amp for my setup

[johndavid]

I'm looking into finally getting a decent pair of headphones and amp. After doing some research online and reading through lots of forums I've decided to go with the m-audio studiophile Q40 and the Grado sr80i due to price and reviews/specs. I know I'll need a headphone amp as well as I'm using the Delta66 for audio, and while I like the versatility of setups available to me with the Delta the lack of internal amps on the breakout box is a bit of a nuisance.

What I was wondering is -what would a decent amp for either of these be? I've seen things like the PA2V2, which seems OK, I don't need more than one out and I want something that adds as little harmonic distortion as possible. $-wise I'm willing to spend ~$100 give or take a bit, but I realize anything sub $300 - $400 is going to add more harmonic distortion and color the sound a bit . . .

BTW - I'm using this for reference while recording and mostly to get a rough idea of what the mix is sounding like, plus the occasional Netflix or DVD

 

[Lt. Bob]

http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/headroom-total-airhead.php

 

[johndavid]

Thanks for the link. I'd actually seen the HeadRoom Total AirHead. The only thing that bugged me about it is that there's no input for an A/C adapter. I'll only be using this at home and don't want to spend a fortune on batteries.

 

[Lt. Bob]

Thanks for the link. I'd actually seen the HeadRoom Total AirHead. The only thing that bugged me about it is that there's no input for an A/C adapter. I'll only be using this at home and don't want to spend a fortune on batteries.

Really?!?!?!!!

I hadn't noticed that. That sucks then.
And that's the only one that's cheap enough from them isn't it?
I wonder if you could find a Little Headroom on ebay?

 

[John Willett]

The only thing that worries me is the Grado for monitoring.

Grado are excellent hi-fi headphones but do tend to have that "Grado" sound.

For monitoring I would normally look at headphones by AKG, Beyer, Sennheiser and Ultrasone.

 

[Lt. Bob]

Thanks for the link. I'd actually seen the HeadRoom Total AirHead. The only thing that bugged me about it is that there's no input for an A/C adapter. I'll only be using this at home and don't want to spend a fortune on batteries.

you know what? I looked at it and you're mistaken, there's definitely a jack for plugging in a power supply.

 

[johndavid]

you know what? I looked at it and you're mistaken, there's definitely a jack for plugging in a power supply.

Yes, you are right. I didn't see it on the pecs sheet, but the up close pics clearly show a ps input on the back. (Man do I feel dumb! )

@ John Willett - any recommendations? The main reason I was steering clear from AKG or Senn is that I kept hearing the same things over and over - this is the industry standard, blah, blah, blah, but then the same review would complain about how the bass is too thin, or highs are too bright, etc.
I'd got that impression from most of the AKG and Senn at ~$100 that I'd listened to myself. That's what led me to the Grado's initially because the 80i's are supposed to have taken into account all the complaints about the Grado sound, sr-60, and sr80's, and tweaked them (don't know though - cause I've never had a chance to listen to anything o a pair of Grado's). In term's of the m-audio cans, I've been using a lot of m-audio equipment for the past 6 years and have yet to have any problems so I figured I'd hedge my bets on a set of headphones by 'em.

Anyone willing to share why they particularly like one set of headphones over the another? Still looking for the time being . . .

 

[johndavid]

clear from AKG or Senn is that I kept hearing the same things over and over - this is the industry standard, blah, blah, blah, but then the same review would complain about how the bass is too thin, or highs are too bright, etc.

I meant in relation to what the mix actually sounds like.