Best solid state headphone amp under $1000

Mcondoon: Which others have you compared the BC amp to? Based on what I've read so far, I've been leaning towards either Blue Circle or Headamp

I have compared it to a Woo WA22 and a Singlepower PPX. As a headphone amp, it is the closest you can get to a tube-like sound but with terrific bass and phenomenal left/right imaging. I think it sounds almost as good as the Woo, which was a lot more expensive.

I listened to the Rudistor and the Headamp at a meet. The Rudistor did not impress at all. The Headamp sounded good but a little dry for my tastes. I don't think you would be unhappy with Headamp. I have not heard the Violectric, etc. If you are thinking of spending $1000 on a headphone amp, I would go with tubes, no questions asked.

I think the Blue Circle sonically is a great amp for the money. It makes music. Some solid state amps I have heard don't. But the Blue Circle is a strange looking amp. The money was put into the circuit design, not a glossy chassis. But I remember the days when visibly beautiful Singlepower amps were all the rage and have learned from my experience with Singlepower that beauty is sometimes only skin deep.

Leaning towards either the headamp, BC thingee, or musical fidelity right now. Has anyone compared these to the Channel island VHP-2, would any of these be a significant step up from it?

Also has anyone ever tried the M^3 or Beta 22 amps? I'm hearing a lot about them over at head-fi, and was wondering if anyone here has any experience with them.

There's some people using headphones on the AT line paired with the burson, and it drives them easily. Is a good amp if you plan to upgrade with power hungry hp's too.

I heard the Lehmann Black Cube a while back with HD650s and really liked the pairing.