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[LIST][OPINION] Amp recommendations for Fostex/Denon Headphones. - Page 3

Poll Results: What do you think of amp recommendations in general?

 
  • 12% (15)
    Disgustingly not thought out, just recommended from the single amp they have tried
  • 11% (14)
    Poorly thought out, mostly blind brand loyalty
  • 40% (48)
    50/50, a lot of zealots but about the same number of helpful recommendations
  • 11% (14)
    Mostly people here know what they are saying
  • 16% (20)
    WiR3D is a zealot.
  • 7% (9)
    I disagree with you most things, people can recommend from there own experience, even if it is just the one amp that they own.
120 Total Votes  
post #31 of 406
7/27/12 at 5:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post


I didn't own the D7000s but did own the 5000 series. The O2 Reference amp went quite nicely with them. I paired it with a DACport LX and I was quite happy with the combo.

Thanks!

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post #32 of 406
7/27/12 at 9:35am

Very interesting thread !

 

I use a Firestone Cute Curve with my D2000.

 

With the default OPA2604, it sounds good to me (granted you change the included wallwart).

With an LME49860 (some sort of LME4562), I'm not convinced yet...

 

Could the headphone be sensitive to the opamp (or the other way) ?


Edited by Headdie - 7/27/12 at 9:36am
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post #33 of 406
7/27/12 at 3:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Headdie View Post

Very interesting thread !

 

I use a Firestone Cute Curve with my D2000.

 

With the default OPA2604, it sounds good to me (granted you change the included wallwart).

With an LME49860 (some sort of LME4562), I'm not convinced yet...

 

Could the headphone be sensitive to the opamp (or the other way) ?

I haven't heard praise for Firestone products.... Also IMO the LME49860 aka high spec LME49720 aka LME4562 is a flawed chip.

 

I doubt this is a good amp, granted I haven't done any research on it, so others will haveto to support your recommendation

 

Thanks for sharing!

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post #34 of 406
7/27/12 at 3:39pm

Low output impedance is very important to preserve the true performance of the driver. I found the Fiio E9 to make the denons bass flabby and uncontrolled. I got fatigued rather quickly while using that amp.
 

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post #35 of 406
7/27/12 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post

Low output impedance is very important to preserve the true performance of the driver. I found the Fiio E9 to make the denons bass flabby and uncontrolled. I got fatigued rather quickly while using that amp.

Ah one that is educated :) 

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post #36 of 406
7/27/12 at 3:47pm
Thread Starter 

Anybody have any feedback regarding the fostex products? Like the HP-A8c

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post #37 of 406
7/27/12 at 4:02pm

The Cute Curve is certainly not a great amp, especially with a "flawed" LME49860 in it, but with my Beyerdynamic DT990s, it's got more air time than any of my Stax systems. That's not bad for a poor amplifier wink.gif

 

My post was more a question than a recommendation. If the Cute Curve OPA2604 seems good to me with the D2000, why it isn't so with the LME49860 ? Even if the 49860 is a bad chip, could it mean that some opamp based amplifiers may be good or bad with a D2000, depending of the opamp rolled inside ?


Edited by Headdie - 7/29/12 at 11:43am
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post #38 of 406
7/27/12 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Headdie View Post

The Cute Curve is certainly not a great amp, especially with a "flawed" LME49860 in it, but with my Beyerdynamic DT990s, it's got more air time than any of my four Stax systems. That's not bad for a poor amplifier wink.gif

 

My post was more a question than a recommendation. If the Cute Curve OPA2604 seems good to me with the D2000, why it isn't so with the LME49860 ? Even if the 49860 is a bad chip, could it mean that some opamp based amplifiers may be good or bad with a D2000, depending of the opamp rolled inside ?


Synergy and personal preference. Nothing wrong with that at all.

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post #39 of 406
7/28/12 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WiR3D View Post

wait.... BCL on the left and Lyr on the right?!?!?! that ... should not work, can you comment on the tightness of the bass on the lyr? It should be somewhat worse then the BCL.

 

i have gone thru FOURPLAY, KARUKAs, MJ, Joyce Cooling....back n forth.

 

BCL is a german BMW....efficient, clear, quick, springtime cool air. if u just listen to this..u are not gonna complain...

D7k on the Lyr is .errrr...ALfa Romeo...bite, fire, summer heat, samba, bolero.. i LIKE IT.

 

Tightness of the bass is a non issue...slam wham bang is all there on the lyr...

the attack on the percussion is impressive...

Fourplay is pounding on my head now on the LYR.

 

if i must make a remark, a very small sense of the BCL being faster...(Lyr is not sloppy, not at all.)

the decay on the LYR seems longer, the note hanging in the air for a tad longer..micro sec..

the warmth, making the music very alive, a sense of "being there",

guitar, hi hat, watever percussion that is hit... just ear-catching n live-like.

 

 

ph34r.gif macbook...furutech usb GT2...dacportLX...centranceGoldReserveRCA...LYR or BCL...D7k on stockcables.

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post #40 of 406
7/28/12 at 10:06pm

Well, mention of the WA2 and Denons made me give them a little extended love.  The past few months my WA2 has been serving as a pre-out to my powered speakers exclusively, so needed to plug in some phones so the headout does not feel left out.

 

I remember posting in the WA2 thread 3+ years ago about using Denons with the WA2 when I first received it.

 

Posted on 02-08-09

 

Quote:

Finally had a chance to roll in some power tubes. First up- Tung Sol 6AS7Gs. The bass tightened up without losing its quantity, was the first thing I noticed. Soundstage, imaging improved a bit also. Overall sound has improved with a more airy presentation.

 

This amp just gets better and better..

 

In case anyone is wondering about low impedance phones with this amp--atm I'm listening to my AH-D5000 (Euphoria Vol. 1 'For The Mind, Body and Soul' CD1).


It just sounds amazing. I like the Denons with SS amps, however, the WA2 seems to reel them in and control them. One small example- Song #1 "Looking For Love [Trouser Enthusiasts Joy of Sex Mix] - Karen Ramirez, always exhibits a bit of sibilance (not much) on these phones. With the WA2, I'm still looking for it and it is nowhere to be found.

 

Next up Tung Sol 5998, Svets 6H13C....

 

 

Love the WA2.  Four inputs, one pre-out and drives all kinds of cans with authority...

 

 

Today, I plugged my 5000s into my new toy I received several days ago.  The NFB-16 (DAC & headphone amp, 2 line-ins (RCA & 1/8"), 1/8" & 1/4" headphone out, built in TE8802 chip, usb to coax converter, can be used as a preamp and battery powered).  At this moment it is spanking my Denons.

 

 

700

 

 

 

Good times!!!

 

Cheers


Edited by HeatFan12 - 7/29/12 at 12:44am
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post #41 of 406
7/29/12 at 2:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeatFan12 View Post

Well, mention of the WA2 and Denons made me give them a little extended love.  The past few months my WA2 has been serving as a pre-out to my powered speakers exclusively, so needed to plug in some phones so the headout does not feel left out.

 

I remember posting in the WA2 thread 3+ years ago about using Denons with the WA2 when I first received it.

 

Posted on 02-08-09

 

Love the WA2.  Four inputs, one pre-out and drives all kinds of cans with authority...

 

Today, I plugged my 5000s into my new toy I received several days ago.  The NFB-16 (DAC & headphone amp, 2 line-ins (RCA & 1/8"), 1/8" & 1/4" headphone out, built in TE8802 chip, usb to coax converter, can be used as a preamp and battery powered).  At this moment it is spanking my Denons.

I would love some more impressions of the NFB-16. especially compared to anything else. The WA2 has 60ohm output impedance, and although it may be musical, just this fact will hammer the bass response.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorspeaker View Post

 

i have gone thru FOURPLAY, KARUKAs, MJ, Joyce Cooling....back n forth.

 

BCL is a german BMW....efficient, clear, quick, springtime cool air. if u just listen to this..u are not gonna complain...

D7k on the Lyr is .errrr...ALfa Romeo...bite, fire, summer heat, samba, bolero.. i LIKE IT.

 

Tightness of the bass is a non issue...slam wham bang is all there on the lyr...

the attack on the percussion is impressive...

Fourplay is pounding on my head now on the LYR.

 

if i must make a remark, a very small sense of the BCL being faster...(Lyr is not sloppy, not at all.)

the decay on the LYR seems longer, the note hanging in the air for a tad longer..micro sec..

the warmth, making the music very alive, a sense of "being there",

guitar, hi hat, watever percussion that is hit... just ear-catching n live-like.

 

 

ph34r.gif macbook...furutech usb GT2...dacportLX...centranceGoldReserveRCA...LYR or BCL...D7k on stockcables.

mmm apparently it has 0.2ohm output impedance, it goes on tentative. Really surprised about this. maybe there are less zealots then I thought.... or not. Thanks for the input!

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by lee730 View Post

Synergy and personal preference. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Correct, IME opamp rolling made minimal changes to the sound of the Dxk, THE LME49860 could be compensated elsewhere in the design of the Firestone, but I doubt it. 

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post #42 of 406
7/29/12 at 10:20am

WiR3D,

 

Just from a spec standpoint, what do you think about these specs driving the Denons?

 

 

Frequency Response: 10HZ - 50KHz (-3 dB)
THD+N:
0.2%: 1Vrms @ 1000Hz
0.6%: 3Vrms @ 1000Hz
1.0%: 5Vrms @ 1000Hz
Signal-to-Noise: 92dB

 

Power Output:
150mW @ 300 ohms
300mW @ 120 ohms
800mW @ 32 ohms
 

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post #43 of 406
7/29/12 at 7:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeatFan12 View Post

WiR3D,

 

Just from a spec standpoint, what do you think about these specs driving the Denons?

 

 

Frequency Response: 10HZ - 50KHz (-3 dB)
THD+N:
0.2%: 1Vrms @ 1000Hz
0.6%: 3Vrms @ 1000Hz
1.0%: 5Vrms @ 1000Hz
Signal-to-Noise: 92dB

 

Power Output:
150mW @ 300 ohms
300mW @ 120 ohms
800mW @ 32 ohms
 

It's definitely not pretty specs, its going to be quite coloured in sound, which IMO you don't want with the denons, FR would be nice, but will just confirm this.

The THD increasing with voltage is a minor issue with low impedance cans, and it looks like it can drive a fair amount of current, so it may be good there.

I would still need the Output impedance to make a final judgement, since its a major factor with these headphones.

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post #44 of 406
7/30/12 at 7:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeatFan12 View Post

WiR3D,

 

Just from a spec standpoint, what do you think about these specs driving the Denons?

 

 

Frequency Response: 10HZ - 50KHz (-3 dB)
THD+N:
0.2%: 1Vrms @ 1000Hz
0.6%: 3Vrms @ 1000Hz
1.0%: 5Vrms @ 1000Hz
Signal-to-Noise: 92dB

 

Power Output:
150mW @ 300 ohms
300mW @ 120 ohms
800mW @ 32 ohms
 

 

If I'm not mistaken, these are the specs for the Little Dot I+?  The only issue is that it is rumored to have 32 ohm output impedance (I say rumored because I haven't tested it.  I saw the post on the LD website where the creator answered someone's question about its output impedance with the very short response of "32 Ohms").  I have this and use it with my Denons sometimes.  It doesn't sound bad, but I prefer the sound of my O2 or Arietta.  The bass isn't as tight and it doesn't sound as clear as my solid state amps.  The LDI+ has been recommended for Denons a lot, which is why I got it, but I think you can do better for the price.  (This is just my opinion, many people like the LDI+ with Denons).

 

Anyway, LDI+ is worth some discussion here as I found it to be one of the amps that is recommended a lot.  To me it sounded just a little better than the E9.  Can anyone confirm output impedance of the LDI+?  That is the only con about it in my book.

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post #45 of 406
7/30/12 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by haejuk View Post

 

If I'm not mistaken, these are the specs for the Little Dot I+?  The only issue is that it is rumored to have 32 ohm output impedance (I say rumored because I haven't tested it.  I saw the post on the LD website where the creator answered someone's question about its output impedance with the very short response of "32 Ohms").  I have this and use it with my Denons sometimes.  It doesn't sound bad, but I prefer the sound of my O2 or Arietta.  The bass isn't as tight and it doesn't sound as clear as my solid state amps.  The LDI+ has been recommended for Denons a lot, which is why I got it, but I think you can do better for the price.  (This is just my opinion, many people like the LDI+ with Denons).

 

Anyway, LDI+ is worth some discussion here as I found it to be one of the amps that is recommended a lot.  To me it sounded just a little better than the E9.  Can anyone confirm output impedance of the LDI+?  That is the only con about it in my book.

It has been recommended, but thanks for reminding me to put it on the NOT RECOMMENDED list, the sloppyness is partly due to the output impedance, I cannot imagine it has any tightness in the bass.

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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Help and Getting Started › Introductions, Help and Recommendations › [LIST][OPINION] Amp recommendations for Fostex/Denon Headphones.