Just wanted to say thanks to everybody to start off. I've been lurking the boards for about a year now, and have gotten some great advice from you folks. Thanks to my research on your boards, I recently purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD595's, and they are absolutely awesome! I also own a pair of v-moda Vibes and have been pretty pleased with those as well.
Anyway, I am now looking for an affordable portable amp to use with my HD595's. My sources will be (until I decide I need to burn some more cash) my laptop, my Creative Zen Vision:M, and my portable CD player. I am currently working on improving the quality of my digital music collection as well, trying to keep everything AT LEAST above 192 kbps, but sticking as closely as possible to 320 kbps, high quality VBR, and FLAC.
After a couple days worth of research, I've narrowed my search down to the iBasso D2 or P2. I really like the idea of having the DAC on the D2, but I'm not entirely sure how well it would work with my computer. I run Ubuntu Linux 7.04 as my operating system (although I'll be upgrading to 8.04 in April) and use Audacious (a Winamp spinoff) as my music player. I'm not entirely sure that the D2 would work with my software, so if anybody has any experience using it, or any other DAC for that matter, with Linux (especially Ubuntu) I would greatly appreciate your input!
On the plus side for the P2, I like the bass boost switch and the smaller price tag, especially if the DAC on the D2 wouldn't end up working out for me.
On to my questions:
First, I'd like to make sure these amps would suit my HD595's well. I mostly listen to various types of rock music, especially metal, although I do listen to some 80's and 90's pop/alternative from time to time. Is there another amp out there that's in my price range that would work better? I realize that sound is almost entirely dependent upon the listener, but being the experienced listeners that you are, I'd like to hear your opinions.
Secondly, I'm wondering how the sound of just the amplifier of the D2, ignoring the DAC, compares to the P2. I feel pretty confident that either of them would work quite nicely for me, but I'd like to get as much out of my money as possible.
I'd like to keep the price below $200 if possible, but I may stretch that out if I feel the need.
Thanks for reading my excruciatingly long post, and thanks for all of your help!
Anyway, I am now looking for an affordable portable amp to use with my HD595's. My sources will be (until I decide I need to burn some more cash) my laptop, my Creative Zen Vision:M, and my portable CD player. I am currently working on improving the quality of my digital music collection as well, trying to keep everything AT LEAST above 192 kbps, but sticking as closely as possible to 320 kbps, high quality VBR, and FLAC.
After a couple days worth of research, I've narrowed my search down to the iBasso D2 or P2. I really like the idea of having the DAC on the D2, but I'm not entirely sure how well it would work with my computer. I run Ubuntu Linux 7.04 as my operating system (although I'll be upgrading to 8.04 in April) and use Audacious (a Winamp spinoff) as my music player. I'm not entirely sure that the D2 would work with my software, so if anybody has any experience using it, or any other DAC for that matter, with Linux (especially Ubuntu) I would greatly appreciate your input!
On the plus side for the P2, I like the bass boost switch and the smaller price tag, especially if the DAC on the D2 wouldn't end up working out for me.
On to my questions:
First, I'd like to make sure these amps would suit my HD595's well. I mostly listen to various types of rock music, especially metal, although I do listen to some 80's and 90's pop/alternative from time to time. Is there another amp out there that's in my price range that would work better? I realize that sound is almost entirely dependent upon the listener, but being the experienced listeners that you are, I'd like to hear your opinions.
Secondly, I'm wondering how the sound of just the amplifier of the D2, ignoring the DAC, compares to the P2. I feel pretty confident that either of them would work quite nicely for me, but I'd like to get as much out of my money as possible.
I'd like to keep the price below $200 if possible, but I may stretch that out if I feel the need.
Thanks for reading my excruciatingly long post, and thanks for all of your help!
