[Yarney]

Alright, so I just ordered a pair of Denon AH-D5000 headphones for a very reasonable price and decided to learn a little bit about them. I found this site which is a wonderful collection of knowledge and I have realised that I may be in a bit over my head. I was absolutely blindsided by the concept of pairing an amplifier to my headphones. I noticed that there is a master list of headphones at the top which denote headphones that do or do not require them, however the set in question was not on the list. Can someone please shed some light on this as I have found no information on Denons web site mentioning anything on the subject. I was just planning on plugging these bad boys in to my Pioneer Elite VS-X94 Receiver and enjoying...

Now I feel like I am missing a concept entirely... Please help a newbie who is realising he should have done more research before the purchase....

-Yarney

 

[Exediron]

Hehe... Never ask if a pair of headphones 'Need an amp'

Just kidding, but you will get a lot of different opinions. No, they don't need one. Without an amplifier they will still sound miles better then a normal ($20 or so) pair, and light years better then really cheap ones. The amplifier (And more importantly, the source) will flesh out the sound and make them achieve more of their full potential, but it won't be anything like you plug them in and you hear nothing, or weak crap.

I don't have any experience with the source you mentioned, so no advice there. I will tell you that I once listened to AH-D5000s straight out of a Soundblaster (Not even an audigy or an X-Fi) with no amp, from Windows Media Player, and they still sounded better then a lot of stuff.

Here's to hoping you like your new purchase!

 

[silverrain]

.

 

[warpdriver]

I agree with exediron's post. You don't really need an amp to start enjoying the headphone if you aren't running the headphone out of a portable. And even if you do decide to get an amp, the differences are usually refinements on the existing sound. The Denon will reveal the weakest link in your system, but I've used my Denon plugged straight into many devices and it has always sounded good

 

[Gradofan2]

They're fairly efficient - so a lot of amps will drive them...

But... they're sound will suffer a lot... if you don't drive them with a low impedance amp, with high current output - whatever it may be.

Unless... you like... "flabby, boomy bass, and somewhat rough mids and highs."

 

[Currawong]

Probably what will make more significant of a difference is a good DAC. I got initially into the idea that I needed a good amp and headphones, then when I got them, discovered, not surprisingly, that they just revealed how crap my source was!

There are a few DAC/amp combos around worth looking in to, which are inexpensive, flavor of the month or so being the upgraded ZERO from China (see my sig), useful if your sound card either has optical or coaxial digital output. Most are USB though, which is more convenient for many people.

 

[Skylab]

The D5000's are fairly low impedance and really do sound best with an amp that can deliver a good amount of current. If you have a source componant with a headphone jack it might sound OK with the D5000 if it uses an op-amp that can deliver decent current.

 

[Philco]

I don't know of an opamp alone that could provide sufficient current drive for a 25 ohms driver. People searching for current drive should stay away from IC's and concentrate on discrete designs and/or speaker amps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif The D5000's are fairly low impedance and really do sound best with an amp that can deliver a good amount of current. If you have a source componant with a headphone jack it might sound OK with the D5000 if it uses an op-amp that can deliver decent current.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philco /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know of an opamp alone that could provide sufficient current drive for a 25 ohms driver. People searching for current drive should stay away from IC's and concentrate on discrete designs and/or speaker amps.

I totally agree that a good dedicated headphone amp will be the best choice by far for the D5000.

 

[tev]

The Denon D5000 is such a good headphone that using it without an amp seems like a bit of waste. You could always buy a used headphone amp here on Headfi for a good price. If it doesn't meet your expectations, you could sell it to another member with little or no loss.

 

[BigEat]

I agree with all of the above. I own 3 pair of the D5000's. The one constant no matter how they are driven is the more current the better. They really open up with high, stable current levels behind them.

 

[Yarney]

Wow guys, I really appreciate all of the feedback. To be honest though I don't even know where to start. I'm obviously going to try them out with my receiver but it sounds like I need to start thinking about an amp. Now I noticed some talk about portable amps, which sound like it could be a good fit since I will be using them some with portable devices (I play a fair amount of poker and headphones are allowed at the table).

I guess my question is am I better off buying a portable amp to use in both situations or a regular one to use at home and not worry about it while I am out since I am only listening to compressed audio anyway?

Thanks again in advance.

-Jonathan

 

[Gradofan2]

Portable amps don't really compare to good home amps. The D5000s need a good home amp to sound their best. I wouldn't even consider a portable amp for them. Don't waste your money on them, if you want to use a portable amp.

 

[Wilashort]

Skylab, is the Arietta capable to drive them to very loud volumes, how much current they need to sound his best/maximum??.
Well, at least that i can get a more louder (>15%) volume than my DT990 i will be happy.
Thanks in advance

 

[Beav]

Quote:

I was just planning on plugging these bad boys in to my Pioneer Elite VS-X94 Receiver and enjoying...

Well let's give it a go. I have the Pioneer Elite VSX59TXI Receiver. Admittedly it may have a better headphone connection in it as it was their flagship Elite Receiver 2 years ago, however yours is probably is just as decent. So let's see, it drives the Denon's with no sweat, bass is nice and tight...yup, you could easily enjoy this. However, what I don't hear from the Denon, being run by my Elite Receiver, is naturalness. It sounds more sterile, hard sounding. My ears tend to cringe a little at the louder passages of what I just listened to. I don't hear the subtlities of music that I hear on my tube headphone amp. Missing are the rich undertones and sonic finesse I hear in abundance with my tube headphone amp. So is the Denon bad? No, it's acceptable, it's a good starting point. If you want more, and it sounds like it could be fun for you to explore headphone amps, I think you will find much to amaze and delight you on your journey.