Headphone Amp Options?

[bmw2002]

My wife and I just moved from a house out in the New England countryside to a downtown apartment in Center City, Philadelphia. One of the (many) challenges with down-sizing is what to do with my even modest amount of guitar gear (two guitars, one amp, a few pedals). I've been consigned guitar-wise by Mrs. bmw2002 to the smaller of our two bedrooms, but even my Princeton-sized Gries 5 has a bigger footprint than I'd like at present.

I'm going through the process of thinking about very small amps such as the Henriksen Bud (one of which I sold before we moved -- doot!), the DV Mark Little Jazz, the Phil Jones Cub, etc. I really need something that will fit on a window sill or book shelf and that has a useable headphone feature.

I also recall reading a review of a headphone amp from Forum member coolvinny several years ago, and was wondering if that might fit the bill? (I'd keep my Gries 5.) 39178-phil-jones-bighead-mini-amp.html

Anyone have any experience with that particular headphone amp, or could recommend an alternative (including a very small footprint amp with a good headphone feature)?

[docbop]

What about something like the tiny Quilter Micro 45 pedal size amp. The power can be dialed from headphones to full speaker cabinet.

MicroBlock 45 | Quilter Performance Amplification

[bmw2002]

Thanks! That looks interesting and I’m a fan of Quilter products in general.

[medblues]

Yamaha THR10C
and/or
Vox Amphones Twin

[Robertkoa]

A really cheap way to do it is buy a used POD XT ..

Has a good headphone Amp good EFX AND a bunch of good Cabinet Emulations built in.

TIP - for really good Tones you can BYPASS the Amp Modeling and use a good tube preamp and STILL save all your EFX Chains and Cabinets for each chain AND there is a Powerful Digital EQ at end of EFX Chain to roll off high end tweak the low mids etc etc AND the EQ setting saves with each chain.
IF you get a Good Guitar Tube Preamp -
I have an ADA MP1 and Hughes and Kettner Tubeman - it can be used for clean Direct Semi Pro to Pro Recording...

The WORST part of the POD XT is the Amp modeling...but when you bypass it using NO AMP ( also saved in each chain ) setting and use a Tube Pre at Unity Gain - remembering that POD XT wants to "see" a
Guitar Signal so with a Tube Pre you just need to turn the Tube Pre Output down to about the same as Guitar by itself - it warms the signal , you may not need this.

80 to $ 100 for a used Pod XT with manual in near mint all day from Guitar Center Online ..or try a used one out first at Local Store.

Good phones are a must.

You can also play thru TVs and other things at super low volume this way..Tube Pre turns it into a Pro Rig..

Meaning IF you use a high end dedicated Guitar Tube Preamp through the POD properly , the end result will sound like the Tube Pre plus EFX , not like a POD.

They are great Headphone Amp with good EFX ..

In the 'big studio' Cab IR's are better...again with real tubes in the Signal Chain- and you can overdub right to the Studio Monitors on very time sensitive parts and Solos -

With headphones - you can still do everything but you can't be positive until you hear playback thru Monitors anyway.

[jazzbow]

My wife and I just moved from a house out in the New England countryside to a downtown apartment in Center City, Philadelphia. One of the (many) challenges with down-sizing is what to do with my even modest amount of guitar gear (two guitars, one amp, a few pedals). I've been consigned guitar-wise by Mrs. bmw2002 to the smaller of our two bedrooms, but even my Princeton-sized Gries 5 has a bigger footprint than I'd like at present.

I'm going through the process of thinking about very small amps such as the Henriksen Bud (one of which I sold before we moved -- doot!), the DV Mark Little Jazz, the Phil Jones Cub, etc. I really need something that will fit on a window sill or book shelf and that has a useable headphone feature.


Anyone have any experience with that particular headphone amp, or could recommend an alternative (including a very small footprint amp with a good headphone feature)?

I hear you Beemer. I moved from a detached house to a 2 bedroom apartment/flat. It was a great house, 3' thick walls, instant soundproofing to what is now a single brick width resonance box!

Anyhoo, got meself a Yamaha THR 10C. Wow, what a practice amp. It's got some nice digital modelling sounds. It reproduces classic amp tones really well. My current squeeze is a P90 equipped Jazzmaster and the V*x pre set is perfect for switching between the rhythm and lead circuits.

The headphones circuit is good with enclosed phones but the sound the speakers make when pushing air is fantastic. Definately worth a look and listen.

[bmw2002]

Thanks for the recommendations!

[2bornot2bop]

On the up side, you're within walking distance to Bookbinder's, Independence Hall, and accessible to all the cheese steaks you can eat!

Congrat's on the move!

[bmw2002]

On the up side, you're within walking distance to Bookbinder's, Independence Hall, and accessible to all the cheese steaks you can eat!

Congrat's on the move!

Thanks, 2b. We fell in love with Philly when my son was at UPenn. So far it’s been an excellent place for us empty-nesters: great music, great art, and way more affordable than NYC (where my son lives).

Anybody had a chance to A/B/C the DV Mark Little Jazz, the Yamaha and/or the Quilter pedal amp? Thanks for the input/suggestions ... keep ‘em coming!

[sgosnell]

I haven't tried the other amps you mentioned, but I have the Little Jazz and I'm very happy with it. It needs to be tilted or elevated for many rooms, but that's easy to do. I have an AI Clarus and a RE cab, and I use those most of the time at home, but when I go out I take the Little Jazz. The AI/RE combo is marginally better, but the Little Jazz is much more portable, and by the time I get set up in the bar, I honestly can't hear enough difference to make it worthwhile to schlep anything bigger and heavier. It's plenty loud enough for the blues jam there, and cuts through better than the bigger Fender and whatever else amps others bring. I've never turned it up above 50% there, and at that level I have to back off on the volume on the guitar.

That said, I'm not enamored of the headphone output. It's bright, shrill, and a little distorted, as are all the other amp headphone outputs I've tried. It just doesn't sound all that good with headphones. I don't think the Little Jazz is worse than any other headphone amp, though. FWIW, I'm using a Sennheiser HD280 Pro. It's not the best you can buy, but its far from the worst.

[coolvinny]

I don't use it much now that I have a Soloette Jazz but every now and then at the office I'll plug into my Phil Jones Bighead and it still sounds amazing. The build quality will also knock you out - it's like a brick.

Also great is the headphone circuit on Mambo amps, though I find that in apartment buildings one gets a purer headphone sound out of a head vs a combo (I think the speakers in the combo might pick up some radio waves).

[rpjazzguitar]

I use a Korg PX5D.

I plug my phone into the Aux input and my guitar into the 1/4" jack. Then I play along with IRealPro. It works.

I have also used it to put reverb on a microphone and to put a noise gate on a hissy piano. Worked for those applications too.

I don't get a great guitar sound out of it, but it's good enough for practice.

I was unable to get a good enough sound to use it for FX even in a rehearsal. Other people report better results.

It's a little bigger than a deck of cards.

Oddly enough, I've been thinking about the Henrickson Bud. Did you not like it?

[mgsmart]

I use a Korg PX5D.

I plug my phone into the Aux input and my guitar into the 1/4" jack. Then I play along with IRealPro. It works.

I have also used it to put reverb on a microphone and to put a noise gate on a hissy piano. Worked for those applications too.

I don't get a great guitar sound out of it, but it's good enough for practice.

I was unable to get a good enough sound to use it for FX even in a rehearsal. Other people report better results.

It's a little bigger than a deck of cards.

Oddly enough, I've been thinking about the Henrickson Bud. Did you not like it?

What about a Vox Amplug, maybe the Clean? A simple and cheap pure am for headphones, simple plug directly into guitar?

Gesendet von meinem SM-G800F mit Tapatalk

[bmw2002]

[QUOTE=rpjazzguitar;80943

Oddly enough, I've been thinking about the Henrickson Bud. Did you not like it?[/QUOTE]

Quite the opposite, rp. At the time I had it, I was on a quest for a "one-guitar/one-amp" set-up and was experimenting with different amps that would be that one. I think the Bud is a brilliant piece of gear from a form factor standpoint (and still check Reverb.com daily for a reasonably priced one), but felt if I was going to have one amp, I wanted it to be a tube amp -- hence the reason for selling the Bud to another Forum member, and buying the Gries 5. I still love the Gries, but just need something with a smaller footprint for convenience and marital stability sake.

Lots of great suggestions so far -- and, like I said, if another Bud walked in, I'd snap it up.

[EvansDrD]

Hi coolvinny

Sorry to jump in here - but I am getting tempted by a Phil Jones Bighead off the back of a few comments that I have seen you make on the forum

The OP in this thread says that you posted a review...I can't seem to find it. Any chance you could point me to it or say a little more about the merits of this thing as a headphone amp?

Cheers,

david

[coolvinny]

Hi coolvinny

Sorry to jump in here - but I am getting tempted by a Phil Jones Bighead off the back of a few comments that I have seen you make on the forum

The OP in this thread says that you posted a review...I can't seem to find it. Any chance you could point me to it or say a little more about the merits of this thing as a headphone amp?

Cheers,

david

Hi David - I never did post a review. It's a great piece of kit though and I don't think it has any drawbacks whatsoever other than that it runs on a built-in rechargeable battery rather than a wall-wart or power cord. You charge it with any sort of USB charger. Perhaps it's fine to just constantly keep it plugged in and play that way, but I'm not sure if over time the battery will deteriorate. Maybe someone with more electronics knowledge could weigh in on this point?

Battery life is very good though - around 7 or 8 hours I think.

Also, not to schill, but since getting my Soloette Jazz I probably have no need for my Big Head anymore. PM me if interested.

[sgosnell]

Most of what I've read indicates that Li-ion batteries shouldn't be kept on a charger full time, but I'm not certain that it makes a huge difference. I tend to let my battery-powered devices charge to full, then unplug them. But I do keep my phone on the charger all night, because it's not worth staying up to watch it and unplug it when it's full, at least not to me. If the amp has a different type battery, that may or may not apply, but even with old NiCd batteries I don't like to keep them charging all the time. Those develop a memory all too quickly, but lithium batteries don't suffer from that flaw.

[EvansDrD]

Thank you!

That's really helpful

Will PM now

On the Big Head - does it suffer at all for being voiced for bass guitars or does that help? And did you say that there is some reverb, just not one that you can control?

Cheers and Happy New Year

all best

david

[EvansDrD]

Thank you

Good to know - really helpful

Happy New Year!

[p1p]

Yamaha THR10C

[frankhond]

Another vote for Yamaha THR10C.

[Kristoferren]

The Yamaha THR10C is the best.

[oldane]

Mambo 8 wedge (but maybe not so easy to come by in the US).

[JSP737]

Another 10C vote. Sounds great at whisper volume. It's my bedside amp that I use when everyone else is asleep.
I'm also a fan of garage band and/ or amplitube on the iPad through headphones or the iPad speaker. I'm on the road in hotel rooms a lot and that's a great setup for my traveler guitar.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

[atracksler]

I am currently using my phone/iPad and Bias amp and Bias FX. It’s got everything I could need and sounds good... and fits in my pocket.