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Building a proper rig for Denon D-5000

post #1 of 10
11/14/09 at 9:51pm
Thread Starter 
This is my first post here and Im a newb when it comes to audio. I've been roaming these forums for the last few weeks and much thanks to all the contributers.

I've decided to go with the Denon AH D-5000 based purely on other peoples reviews. I might markl mod in the future. I listen to mostly hiphop but also electronic, instrumental, and folk music.

I want a portable amp. I'm thinking the ibasso D2+ amp w/ a silver pailces(?) cable.

My current rig is a HTC Dream smartphone -> usb to headphonejack converter -> AKG K518 LE.
Would the converter like this affect sound quality? If so I'm willing to buy a iphone or someother phone with a built-in headphone jack.

Budget is roughly 600 CAD (headphone + portable amp). Any suggestions on where to get a good price on the denons?

I REALLY appreciate the help.
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post #2 of 10
11/14/09 at 10:00pm
You can get the denons at amazon cheap, or in the FS forums.
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post #3 of 10
11/14/09 at 10:33pm
First of all, I recommend you get an iPod, Zune, iPhone or the like. The USB converter will likely hurt your sound quality.

Also, I REALLY would not recommend the D5000s for portable use, due to the extremely high price tag and the fact that they basically scream "STEAL ME!" to anyone around you (the amp only adds to that).

If you want a portable pair of headphones that aren't as luxurious therefore allowing you to wear them around with less worry of getting mugged, I recommend the ATH-ESW9 or ATH-ES10s (ES10s are the same price roughly as the D5000s, ESW9 are $350). These headphones look less expensive at a glance due to the thinner headband and overall less beefy size, and are also less of a burden to walk around with.

As for amp, we'd need to know your budget, but if you've got $400 to drop on it, a Pico or Predator are probably your best choices.

Now if you want to stick with the D5000s and are willing to not take them around with you everywhere, I have a thread going about amps under $350 for it, and have been recommended the HeadRoom Micro ($330), the Corda Swing ($310), and the Head-Direct EF5 tube amp. They've said that the HR Micro and EF5 are both great pairs with the D5000s, the HR Micro having much better support for any difficulties or the like, while the EF5 has slightly better sound.
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post #4 of 10
11/15/09 at 12:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by turboleggy View Post
This is my first post here and Im a newb when it comes to audio. I've been roaming these forums for the last few weeks and much thanks to all the contributers.

I've decided to go with the Denon AH D-5000 based purely on other peoples reviews. I might markl mod in the future. I listen to mostly hiphop but also electronic, instrumental, and folk music.

I want a portable amp. I'm thinking the ibasso D2+ amp w/ a silver pailces(?) cable.

My current rig is a HTC Dream smartphone -> usb to headphonejack converter -> AKG K518 LE.
Would the converter like this affect sound quality? If so I'm willing to buy a iphone or someother phone with a built-in headphone jack.

Budget is roughly 600 CAD (headphone + portable amp). Any suggestions on where to get a good price on the denons?

I REALLY appreciate the help.
Getting the 500's my self and watching the price for the last two weeks
Amazon price has varied from $451.00 to $481.00 no tax and free shipping. No other major internet electronics dealer has a better price. There are some relatively unknown online companies offering slightly less (10-15 dollars) but their customer feedback is poor. The one thing about Amazon is you are always covered, with eBay and with the less known dealers you never know.
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post #5 of 10
11/15/09 at 12:39am
i have the denon-ah-d7000s ... got them from jr ... the price on the website is not necessarily what you will pay so if i were you i would call them and tell them your a member of headfi and ask for their best price... i paid 550 for the d7000's so you may get a good deal on the 5000's too never hurts to ask
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post #6 of 10
11/15/09 at 1:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Runkby View Post
i have the denon-ah-d7000s ... got them from jr ... the price on the website is not necessarily what you will pay so if i were you i would call them and tell them your a member of headfi and ask for their best price... i paid 550 for the d7000's so you may get a good deal on the 5000's too never hurts to ask
Woooowww... $550 for D7000s is an amazing deal!
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post #7 of 10
11/15/09 at 1:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
Woooowww... $550 for D7000s is an amazing deal!
Yep that's also what I paid for them from J&R back in August.
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post #8 of 10
11/15/09 at 10:14am
Thread Starter 
Necrolic thanks so much! That's exactly the kinda info I was looking for. I'm about to check out your amp thread but I have my mind set on the pico. Damn might have to spring for the 7000's. I can't believe I'm about to spend a G for headphones and an amp. My budget was 600bucks.
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post #9 of 10
11/15/09 at 12:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by turboleggy View Post
This is my first post here and Im a newb when it comes to audio. I've been roaming these forums for the last few weeks and much thanks to all the contributers.

I've decided to go with the Denon AH D-5000 based purely on other peoples reviews. I might markl mod in the future. I listen to mostly hiphop but also electronic, instrumental, and folk music.

I want a portable amp. I'm thinking the ibasso D2+ amp w/ a silver pailces(?) cable.

My current rig is a HTC Dream smartphone -> usb to headphonejack converter -> AKG K518 LE.
Would the converter like this affect sound quality? If so I'm willing to buy a iphone or someother phone with a built-in headphone jack.

Budget is roughly 600 CAD (headphone + portable amp). Any suggestions on where to get a good price on the denons?

I REALLY appreciate the help.
I don't know what you think about the whole usb converter thing because I've once thought about selling my iPod and only using my G1 as my portable media player but let me tell you that it made me want to poke my ears out, the quality was so far off compared to my iPod and the whole usb converter is really annoying.
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post #10 of 10
11/15/09 at 8:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by infam0ussteven View Post
I don't know what you think about the whole usb converter thing because I've once thought about selling my iPod and only using my G1 as my portable media player but let me tell you that it made me want to poke my ears out, the quality was so far off compared to my iPod and the whole usb converter is really annoying.
Thanks for clearing up the sound quality issue. The usb converter is super annoying anyway. I love my G1 but now i wish i had an iphone.

Im going to order the pico headphone amp without the dac mostly to save money.

The DAC wont matter anyway if im connecting to a sansa fuze wich only has an analong headphone jack, right?

Could the Pico w/DAC come into use with an iphone since it has that port at the bottom?

Would the SQ from (computer -> pico amp/dac -> headphones) be that much better than (sansa fuze -> amp -> headphones)? I know its subjective I just want to hear your opinions.


Much thanks Runkby! I hope to get the D7000 at the same price you did. It will cost me more cuz of the exchange rate+shipping cuz i live in Canada.

Is the only place to order the pico from Headamp?

Thanks for helping me out.
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