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Apogee Duet DAC ROCKS! - Page 35

post #511 of 525
10/6/09 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr.khali View Post
I have the Duet and have tried it with the K701 and DT 880 but the problem in my evaluation is I have never heard a more powerful desktop amp as yet so my experience is limited. From what I have read around these parts, the Duet does a better job than portable amps but a good desktop amp will do these headphones greater justice.
Owning the duet, and 880's and 701's, I agree with this as well. The duet does a very good job considering the 'power supply' section of the amp is essentially the PS of whatever mac it's plugged into, via firewire.

Both of these hp's will preform much better with a standalone amp (i prefer the 880's with tube hybrids )
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post #512 of 525
10/6/09 at 1:56pm
As far as Head-Fi duties are concerned, I've always found the Duet to be of much more use as a DAC than as a headphone amplifier.

My only exception to that is if I'm on the road spending a lot of time in hotels rather than in string bag planes and rusty old ships.
Then I'm inclined to take the Duet with me rather than the portable rig.
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post #513 of 525
10/6/09 at 7:03pm

lets get down to brass taxes

well after some searching the forum, still looking answer's thats definitive answer.

1. my duet is not a dedicated headphone amp. I Get It.

2. its on parr with, if not better than most portable's amp/dac's. great.

3. its my semi portable set up. i live a semi portable lifestyle so this is my primary set up.

4. I was looking for a pair of AKG 701/702, DT 880, Senn 600/650, to compliment my grado 325is.

which one will go best powered with the duet only. and go best as a well rounded set up with my grado's 325is.

suggestions of alternatives are always welcome.
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post #514 of 525
10/6/09 at 10:11pm
Of those, the HD600 would be my choice.
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post #515 of 525
10/7/09 at 12:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by grawk View Post
Of those, the HD600 would be my choice.
x2
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post #516 of 525
10/7/09 at 12:24am
I used my HD600 with my Duet's headphone amp, and I thought it sounded pretty good. One of the great things about the Duet is it's portability. As long as you have your Mac, you're golden!
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post #517 of 525
10/28/09 at 2:52pm
I've had my Apogee Duet coming up on a year now and I love love love it! It is magic. I have a MBP, Duet, and Grado SR225's. I know there are better setups, of course, and some day I will upgrade my headphones and get an amp and use the Duet solely as a DAC, but for now I am very happy with this combo. I did think about getting the AT ESW9's or ESW10's to experience a different sonic flavor with the Duet and its built in amp, but many of the reviews spoke of the plastic hinge and its' propensity to break, so that put me off. So here I am, and quite happy about it!

Thank you Apogee! The Apogee Duet does indeed ROCK!
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post #518 of 525
10/29/09 at 8:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimJo View Post
Owning the duet, and 880's and 701's, I agree with this as well. The duet does a very good job considering the 'power supply' section of the amp is essentially the PS of whatever mac it's plugged into, via firewire.

Both of these hp's will preform much better with a standalone amp (i prefer the 880's with tube hybrids )
So are you saying that it might sound better or worse depending on the Mac its plugged into? Hmmm. i have yet to try it with a MBP or Mini. I have a quad G5. Im looking for a MB for semi portable setup.
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post #519 of 525
10/30/09 at 11:53am
Well, I guess what I was trying to say is that on most amps (or dacs), the power supply is a significant factor in the overall sound quality of the amp itself. Higher end amps tend to have expensive transformers and well designed voltage regulation, minimizing noise and other ill effects introduced into the amp from the mains.

In the case of the duet, there is no internal (or external) power supply. Instead, it is powered by the computer via firewire, so in effect the computer is the 'power supply.' Computers are electrically noisy devices, and so the duet actually does a great job of filtering most of this noise out of the audio spectrum.

My guess is there could be differences is sound quality depending on what model of Mac it is plugged into, based on the internal power supply of the particular model. Now whether or not you could easily tell the difference - that I'm not sure of - but it would be an interesting experiment.
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post #520 of 525
11/15/09 at 11:20am
i must be about 250h ish into my 325is. the first 100h was burnt in with 20 min of pink noise with 2 min of digital silence cycled.
my duet has about 550h ish on it maybe more.

i use a apogee duet (had a ibasso d10, didnt like it.) to drive my grado's from my mbp. the source is either 320 to flac/lossless.

i find the pairing of the 325is and the duet to be a fantasic match. very clean instument seperation, highs settled in with burning in and a very detailed punchy bass. its mids is where i feel these thing shine, vocals mwah, fast rock/rock gets you toe tapping, as headbangin tends not to bode well with headphones.

if you cant tell im a huge fan, at first the question did i make the right choice? bugged me, harsh high's etc. a bit of a burn in and the can's settled in, and began to sing with clarity of no other in this price bracket (or a few bracket above for that matter)

for "in you face", detailed, punchy controled bass (not the sloppier hd650 stuff i get form my set up) these put a smile on my face every time.

for the duet since the day of purchase, im a happy customer. at first the initial cost gave me a slight question of was this the right thing. well now i feel i can answer that. YES, HELL YES. lov it as dac to my amps, love it as portable set up with my MBP. great bit of kit.

even though i favor my 325is paired with the duet, i do find it runs the hd650's well.
its only listening to the hd650 on a tube amp you realize there is more out there.
but at a much higher cost and without the option of portability. As a compromise not a bad one.

Cant wait to stick a woo wa6 maxed in that set up. if not for the 325is but for the sake of my hd650s.
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post #521 of 525
1/19/10 at 5:28am
Hello! I'm thinking about Duet, reading all these forum... Hard to decide to move or not!

At the moment I use e-mu 0404 (optical connection), tweaked, getting the signal straight out from DAC+ outputs with a very short wires. This tweak changed sound stage, resolution, depth so dramatically that it doesn't sound as 0404 anymore. Ignoring cheap analogue output part makes huge huge difference. More, I changed power, of course, from its terrible impulse box to a good linear source with good wires inside and outside - that made stage absolutely stable and clear: musicians are almost visible!

My setup has a very special tube amplifier, wires and speakers, I'm not interested in headphones out.

So 0404 tweaked sounds just perfect, but sometime seems a bit edgy. And I'm looking for the options, same in details and realism but maybe somehow softer... I always hear that Duet is something awesome, but never had a chance to hear it and compare. I also read that even Duet needs tweak in its analogue part that in the same way make it completely different... My concern also: I don't really see who are the people who say Duet is so good - those who just escaped from cheap internal Apple DAC and use headphones (than Duet is great for sure, as would be any other DAC, actually), or, those who have audiophile experience...

So I feel lost in all these DACs... Lots of information. Some DACs are better, some older, schematics rocks, and so on. AK4396 DAC chip (0404) is the genius, and at the same time it's already old. Separated power delivery make sense in some cases, and so on and so on...

The only trusted criteria - your own ears, but it's impossible to compare DACs just like that... Anyhow, what would you suggest as the best (DIY is OK) decision for the tubes amp, in a budget about of Duet's price?

Thanks!
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post #522 of 525
4/9/12 at 2:36pm

Ever since I switched from my old powerbook to my iMac a few years ago I'm having some problems with my Duet.

Sometimes when an electrical device is turned on (fridge starting to cool, me switching on a lamp...anything) sound wil mute. Sometimes it will just last a few seconds and sometimes the sound will stay muted. Also sometimes the sound wil suddenly be very deformed. 

Simply pulling out the FW cable and putting it in again solves the problem but its still inconvenient. 

Does anyone here know what this can be? Thanks in advance!

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post #523 of 525
4/9/12 at 3:22pm

thats the receiver section of the dac losing lock due to some sort of spike on the mains, probably from back EMF, you wouldnt have had that before because you would have been on battery. I dont get it with any of my dacs, but its not an uncommon problem. not sure what you can do about it however. is there a way to run the duet on an external supply at all? an external supply with better ripple rejection would help here

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post #524 of 525
4/9/12 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vitsomeo View Post

Hello! I'm thinking about Duet, reading all these forum... Hard to decide to move or not!

At the moment I use e-mu 0404 (optical connection), tweaked, getting the signal straight out from DAC+ outputs with a very short wires. This tweak changed sound stage, resolution, depth so dramatically that it doesn't sound as 0404 anymore. Ignoring cheap analogue output part makes huge huge difference. More, I changed power, of course, from its terrible impulse box to a good linear source with good wires inside and outside - that made stage absolutely stable and clear: musicians are almost visible!

My setup has a very special tube amplifier, wires and speakers, I'm not interested in headphones out.

So 0404 tweaked sounds just perfect, but sometime seems a bit edgy. And I'm looking for the options, same in details and realism but maybe somehow softer... I always hear that Duet is something awesome, but never had a chance to hear it and compare. I also read that even Duet needs tweak in its analogue part that in the same way make it completely different... My concern also: I don't really see who are the people who say Duet is so good - those who just escaped from cheap internal Apple DAC and use headphones (than Duet is great for sure, as would be any other DAC, actually), or, those who have audiophile experience...

So I feel lost in all these DACs... Lots of information. Some DACs are better, some older, schematics rocks, and so on. AK4396 DAC chip (0404) is the genius, and at the same time it's already old. Separated power delivery make sense in some cases, and so on and so on...

The only trusted criteria - your own ears, but it's impossible to compare DACs just like that... Anyhow, what would you suggest as the best (DIY is OK) decision for the tubes amp, in a budget about of Duet's price?

Thanks!


Buy an RME Babyface from amazon. They're great on returns if it's not to your liking. I love mine and would never part with it (until a new hardware revision).

 

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post #525 of 525
7/7/12 at 11:02am

Anyone tried Duet 1 with the new AKG K550? I've just ordered the K550 to replace my HD600 on the Duet.

 

(BTW, Duet absolutely rocks the HD600, I only switch because I need a closed headphone)

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