I offer a strong recommendation for a Mapletree Audio headphone Ear+ HD amp. You can use the Analog - out of the Transporter directly into the MAD amp, and control volume there. The Ear+ amp is a tube-based amp which I find adds a bit more body and realism to the Transporter, especially for female vocalists and jazz/classical which are my staples.
The Mapletree Audio amps are hand-made by Dr. Lloyd Peppard in Canada, and cost about $600 U.S. Dr. Peppard will customize the amp to your requirements, including your choice of color, and key components (Blackgate caps in the power supply for instance, or the use of discrete resistor attenuator instead of Alps volume control). The sound quality is really spectacular. I commend your attention to several long threads on Head-Fi.org about the Mapletree amps. Head-Fi is a good source for other headphone amps as well. For instance, you will see there that the Benchmark cited above is well-regarded as a DAC, but tends to be limited in the headphones it will drive, so you might want to examine the best synergies between your headphones and your amp. I've been a Mapletree customer for the past 3 years, and I am extremely pleased with the sound quality, and the support provided by Dr. Peppard. Hope this helps! -- HalleysComet ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HalleysComet's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=14590 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=75310 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
