Help choosing the right kit for my new headphones

[FalconGK1]

A gentlemen I was looking to commission for a build on ETSY told me to reach out to on here and to Paul. I have a new pair of Meze 109 Pros, and will be primarily using a Technics 1200GR via my Darlington MP7B phono. He indicated for such a highly sensitive headphone (40ohm) that the S.E.X. Build with the Mundorf SGO cap upgrade may be the perfect option. I was first looking for your advice and second wondering what this build would cost me through you.. or if maybe looking second hand or refurbished may fit my budget better. Thanks in advance, as I am just now getting my feet wet with the headphone side of hifi adventures. I will be expecting my first child soon and need a quieter avenue to fill my musical needs. Cheers!

[Paul Birkeland]

Those are exceptionally sensitive headphones, and really would be better fed by the Mainline, which is just a bit quieter than the SEX amp.

[FalconGK1]

Thanks Paul! Would just the base model Mainline do the job? Or would I be looking at necessary upgrades? That one seems to be a bit more expensive, do you have a recommended place to look for those second hand if need be?

[twofires]

I can second Paul's assertion that the S.E.X. Amp might be a bit too noisy. It might be down to the quality (or lack thereof) of my build, but mine works best with stuff that's harder to drive. My HE1000V2 sound fine because they are low sensitivity (35 ohm but only 90dB), my Sennheisers and Audio-Technica sound fine because they're high impedance (97dB and 300ohm, 98dB and 470ohm), and my AKG K240 sound fine because they're a thirsty combination of low sensitivity and high impedance (600ohm 91dB). Those things lower the noise floor to the point it's quiet.

My Grados (32ohm 99.8dB) and Focals (50ohm 104dB) are a little bit noisey with no music, and they're both less sensitive than your Meze 109s (40ohm and 112dB). I don't think the S.E.X. is a good choice for them. At 112dB your headphones are basically noise detectors.

EDIT: By noisy, I mean in a quiet room with no music playing through the headphones there's a very slight background hum that is in no way loud enough to interfere with music once it's playing. With your headphones it might be a bit more than slight.

[Doc B.]

The base model Mainline includes all the "upgrades".