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Should I get a new Dac? or a Headphone amp? or stick to my Denon AVR? I'm lost!

post #1 of 9
4/16/11 at 12:35pm
Thread Starter 

 

Hello head-fi gurus, I just registered here though I've been reading the forums for quite some time. I'm trying to figure out how to move to the next level of performance from where I am (which is not much) and I need some help. I currently have a pair of UE triple.fi 10 and Sennheiser HD-485 as headphones. I listen to them mostly from my integrated soundcard out (which is crap) and also from the headphone out of a Denon Avr-790 receiver (in this case the audio is pass through hdmi to the Denon). I want to know:
 
1) Would I benefit at all from getting a dedicated external dac (budget < $100, I'm pretty bent on the Musiland Monitor 02 US) compared to say the DAC of the Denon Avr 790? How much does the Dac influence the final sound output (apart from the obvious noise and hiss that a crappy one like the integrated soundcard has). I'm trying to understand where I'm at quality-wise and how much of a change this "upgrade" would make. Also, what is the quality difference between the HP out of the Denon and the Musiland (I read the Musiland is ok'ish only for low impedance HP).
 
2) I also have a pair of Energy RC-10 Bookshelf speakers within a 7.1 speaker config. Would the musiland help me make them sound better by using it instead of the Denon DAC? Or would there be no big difference?
 
Another thing is I will also likely buy a Sennheiser HD 600, since I can get a good deal for them, for which I read that a headphone amp is "necessary" to get the best out of it. However, the prices for what some consider a good amp are way too high above what I want to spend now. I would use the Musiland Monitor 02 if I end up buying them as the DAC. Is there any HP amp for $100-$150 that will make it sound good or should I just ride it with what I have until I can save for more? What makes the biggest difference in the sound path (assuming HP are first): The DAC or the HP amp?. Everything I listen to are lossless flac + some HD 24/96 bdaudio.
 
Thanks a ton for the help!
 
Dave
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post #2 of 9
4/16/11 at 1:08pm

E9 for an amp, probably.  You'll want to replace its OPA2134 opamps with TLE2082 later on to get a bit more out of HD600.

You should stick to that Denon receiver and turn all EQ and DSPs off for best sound.  You are using it to power those Energy bookshelves, too, right?

Make sure you are using foobar or uLilith w/ WASAPI output on your computer.

Lastly, consider a power filter like a Furman later on.

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post #3 of 9
4/16/11 at 6:21pm

do what i did. order a Nuforce Icon uDAC2.

 

you can get it for $109 from Crutchfield. Use coupon code 3A825 at checkout.

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post #4 of 9
4/16/11 at 10:11pm
Thread Starter 

When you say that I should stick to the Denon receiver you mean that I shouldn't get the Musiland Monitor 02 (or similar)? The problem with using the Denon is that if I go digital into the Denon the only analog ouput to send it to the headphone amplifier is the HP out of the Denon, and I read that's not good since I would be double amping the signal (AFAIK Denon doesn't do analog line-out on optical/hdmi inputs).

 

Also, how good is the E9 as an amplifier? I've read that it's a bit overhyped. And would you recommend the Musiland Monitor 02 + E9 or E7+E9 combo?

 

Thanks! 

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post #5 of 9
4/16/11 at 10:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Max View Post

E9 for an amp, probably.  You'll want to replace its OPA2134 opamps with TLE2082 later on to get a bit more out of HD600.

You should stick to that Denon receiver and turn all EQ and DSPs off for best sound.  You are using it to power those Energy bookshelves, too, right?

Make sure you are using foobar or uLilith w/ WASAPI output on your computer.

Lastly, consider a power filter like a Furman later on.


 

 

When you say that I should stick to the Denon receiver you mean that I shouldn't get the Musiland Monitor 02 (or similar)? The problem with using the Denon is that if I go digital into the Denon the only analog ouput to send it to the headphone amplifier is the HP out of the Denon, and I read that's not good since I would be double amping the signal (AFAIK Denon doesn't do analog line-out on optical/hdmi inputs).

 

Also, how good is the E9 as an amplifier? I've read that it's a bit overhyped. And would you recommend the Musiland Monitor 02 + E9 or E7+E9 combo?

 

Thanks! 

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post #6 of 9
4/16/11 at 10:15pm
Thread Starter 

 

 

Quote:

do what i did. order a Nuforce Icon uDAC2.

 

you can get it for $109 from Crutchfield. Use coupon code 3A825 at checkout.

 

I though the Musiland monitor 02 is better than the Nuforce Icon uDac2 as a DAC? (although the HP out of the musiland is not good)


Edited by rookie4002 - 4/16/11 at 10:28pm
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post #7 of 9
4/16/11 at 10:21pm

Double amping isn't that uncommon (purportedly), but you do want to avoid it, usually.

 

Musiland Monitor 02 + E9 in that case is probably your best bet.  You hook up the E9's preamp output to one of the receiver's line-ins to use your speakers.

I'd recommend a Matrix M-Stage for HD600 or Audio-gd Sparrow or KICAS.  You might be able to make do with the E9, and replacing each of the three OPA2134 opamps inside the E9 (they are socketed for easy swapping) with TLE2082 may help a bit.


Edited by Mad Max - 4/16/11 at 10:30pm
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post #8 of 9
4/16/11 at 11:54pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Max View Post

Double amping isn't that uncommon (purportedly), but you do want to avoid it, usually.

 

Musiland Monitor 02 + E9 in that case is probably your best bet.  You hook up the E9's preamp output to one of the receiver's line-ins to use your speakers.

I'd recommend a Matrix M-Stage for HD600 or Audio-gd Sparrow or KICAS.  You might be able to make do with the E9, and replacing each of the three OPA2134 opamps inside the E9 (they are socketed for easy swapping) with TLE2082 may help a bit.

 

I've been looking some more and I think I will go with a DAC/AMP combo, the Audinst Hud-MX1 or Yulong U100 (probably Audinst Hud-MX1 since it's really cheap at $179). From what I read the DAC in the Audinst is as good or better than the Musiland (except for the upsampling). Then in the future I might add the matrix-amp to improve on the amp output.
 

 

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post #9 of 9
4/17/11 at 6:37am

For $200 my choice would be the Uber Muzik DAC. I'd love to try out a tube dac and this one gets some pretty good reviews allover. http://www.headfonia.com/uber-muzik-tiny-tube-dac/

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