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I have a Denon UD-M5 and I am looking at buying a AKG K701. I was told that the K701 requires a good amp, so I am wondering if my amp will be good enough for these headphones to really shine? thanks
alot of people say tube amps synergize really well with the 701, but i would check out the heed canamp. I've been using it with my k701 and the results are amazing.
When people talk about needing a good amp they are talking about a dedicated headphone amp.
you may find that you love the sound of the 701s out of the denon but i'm sure most people on this forum would try & sway you towartds a dedicated amp.
have a look at this thread from the headphone amp forum for some ideas if you decide to go down the upgrade path.
mmm can you give me a bit more info on this "dedicated amp" whats the difference between mine and a dedicated amp? Why would a dedicated amp be better? Would my Denon sound like crap with the AKGs? more info plz!! thanks
"Dedicated" as in dedicated to headphones and not for driving speakers and a component of a regular audio set-up - a device created and sold specifically for headphones.
The concensus is that the headphone jacks on most amps like your Denon are an afterthought and do not provide the best sound quality. This is probably generally true but does not mean your Denon will not drive your K701s beautifully. I believe using the headphone jack on integrated amps or receivers is just more hit-and-miss. There are some brands, and even specific models, that have gotten some good reviews and Denon is one of those brands. Also, vintage amps seem to have generally been made with higher quality hp output than what is currently on the market but then you run into other issues, i.e. noisiness, reliability, etc.
I have had several dedicated hp amps and have found a vintage amp to outshine them all by a huge margin, but from what I have read, I probably got lucky and ran into some accidental but seriously amazing synergy. Mine is a Nikko from around 1980 and drives my Senns and K701s just beautifully. There are Nikko integrateds on Ebay on a regular basis and they are almost never very expensive.
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HOME : Apple lossless/Emu 0404/Cary SLP-2002 or LD MKIV SE / K501 (Fitz'd) / HD580 w/ Headphile cable / Denon D2000 / woodied Grado SR225s / ER4P(S) / Yuin PK2 / Koss ksc75
I have had the UD-M31 before I got into this headphone madness. There is a night and day difference between a dedicated headphone amp and the headphone out of the UD-M31. I'm not familiar with the UD-M5 but it may be similar, given that it's another built-in headphone out by Denon.
Don't sell some of the new Denon receivers short. Their headphone outputs can be quite good. Not as good as a dedicated headphone amp, but still pretty darn good. If it is an older Denon receiver, then I'm not sure.
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Headphones → Denon AH-D5000 (modded)
Amp/DAC → Meier Audio Corda Opera :::
Transport → ESI Juli@ ::: Vista → Foobar 0.9.5 → EAC extracted PCM → ASIO 2.0 → SSRC@96/Ultra → ESI Juli@ → S/PDIF :::
Power → Virtual Dynamics Master LE 2.0 Power Cord(Amp/DAC) ::: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Power Cord(PC) ::: API PowerWedge I
Interconnects → Virtual Dynamics Master LE 2.0 Digital IC ::: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Digital Coax :::::::::::::::::: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Audio Interconnect Pair ::: ALO 6" iPod LOD ::: Qables 15" Silvercab iPod LOD
Portable Source → iPod Classic (6g) 80gig, with Agent18 Hardshell Acrylic Case:::
Accessories → Audio Technica AT-HPS500 Headphone Stand ::: Woo Audio Silver Headphone Stand
Denon UD-M5 + AKG K701
Linear Mode
