~<$300 amp for denon d7000

[j2kei]

i realize that there are a lot of threads for the denons, however most of them seem to be in the higher price range. so far the ones i seem to see within the $300 or less shipped price range that are decent are:

CKKIII, head-direct EF1, audio-gd compass, novo(?), possibly amb M^3, k.i.c.a.s

which one do you guys think is best for the d7000. looking more for amp, DAC would be bonus (like compass). i'm hearing that EF1 has great synergy with the denon, however it also seem the compass matches pretty well and has that nice DAC. the CKKIII and M^3 are like big bang for the buck. k.i.c.a.s. are still pretty new w/o a lot of info/impressions.

please do not recommend something that much higher than $300. if i can go for less than $300 shipped, the better. there is no way for me to cough up that money. something reasonable like $20 over is still possible. something like rudistor and whatever godly & expensive amp are not within my reach

thanks

[sacd lover]

All of the amps you mention are very good. But, the inexpensive amps I am most impressed with, especially with low impedance headphones, are the hybrids. In particular, the Millet Max, Millet Mini-Max, Millet MOSFET Max, SOHA/ JISBOS and SOHA 2. These amps are clear, clean and fast with a nice touch of tube tone. The tubes are very inexpensive ($2-4 each) and I paid between $225-275 used for most of my hybrid amps.

Used is a relative term in the case of these amps as a lot of the time these amps were made by DIYers that simple enjoy building amps. Within a generally short period of time they are ready to move on to the next build and sell their amp to fund the next build. Some of my amps were only a few months old and the rest were not much more than a year old.

Keep watching the for sale section and some will assuredly come up for sale.

[j2kei]

interesting, totally forgot about the millet diy amps and SOHA/JISBOS

[j2kei]

wow im surprised there isnt more interest in this thread, especially with the increasing number of d7000 owners thanks to J&R

[boomy3555]

I've only had one tube amp and it is the EF-1 hybrid. I found that it has a warm creamy synergy with both the Denon 5K's and 7K's ( stock).

[Currawong]

If your source is going to be your MacBook Pro, an amp wont do anything for the poor sound out of it without a DAC IMO.

[musicmind]

HeadphoneAddict had good things to say about his D2000 + EF1 match, perhaps it would be a good amp to consider for the D7000 too.

[peanuthead]

EF-1 is very good with Denon series in my experience.

[uberburger101]

I've heard the EF-1 with D5000 and there was excellent synergy. I will, however, state upfront that I have not tried any of the other amps you mentioned.

[mrarroyo]

j2kei there are a few amps available in your price range. IMO the EF1 and the Novo sound very nice with the Denon D5000 (D2000 on the way so I will know soon if it matches well). An older unit that also sound very good would be an used Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 w/ the PinkFloyd Mods.

[K3cT]

Sounds like Compass is your best bet already TS. It's doing a wonderful thing with my highly modified D2000.

[Brando]

I can't compare to other amps because I haven't tried any others but I can confirm that the d7000's sound epic with the gilmore lite. They go about $250 used and I've seen a few for sale lately.

[j2kei]

thanks for all the advices so far everyone. my eyes seem more set on the compass because it seems like it is 1) a good amp 2) also a DAC that a couple of people have highly recommend me to pay attention to. i nearly forgot the zero, however after considering the upgrades and etc, the extra cost for the compass seems more reasonable especially since the build quality looks fantastic. nonetheless, keep the advices coming for all the future d7000 users.

[FallenAngel]

If spending that much on headphones, why restrict yourself to such a short budget to the amp? You also should consider the source much more than the amp.

[olblueyez]

Originally Posted by sacd lover

All of the amps you mention are very good. But, the inexpensive amps I am most impressed with, especially with low impedance headphones, are the hybrids. In particular, the Millet Max, Millet Mini-Max, Millet MOSFET Max, SOHA/ JISBOS and SOHA 2. These amps are clear, clean and fast with a nice touch of tube tone. The tubes are very inexpensive ($2-4 each) and I paid between $225-275 used for most of my hybrid amps.

Used is a relative term in the case of these amps as a lot of the time these amps were made by DIYers that simple enjoy building amps. Within a generally short period of time they are ready to move on to the next build and sell their amp to fund the next build. Some of my amps were only a few months old and the rest were not much more than a year old.

Keep watching the for sale section and some will assuredly come up for sale.

A hybrid like you see in SACD's post would have plenty of power for your low impedance 7000's because it has a solid state output section but you would still be able to roll tubes. Experimenting with 50 year old tubes is so much fun. :wink-face: