Has anyone tried the Audinst MX1 with a Denon? Can the amp properly drive a D2000/D5000/D7000? Not just make the Denon loud enough but actually properly drive it and control it and make it sound right.
As far as I understand that is amp is essentially a cmoy supplied with a lot of juice - hence it should work. I mean project_86 says it drives his K702 quite well which are generally thought to be hard to drive... (in fairness, audiofil states his K701 are a bit more than the amp can take)
(Kunalraiker & ypoknons): He needs a closed headphone because he has a very annoying fan in his room.
So is it a matter of a headphone getting to its full potential with a nice amp/dac or is it that without a nice amp/dac it will just sound mediocre? Could an average "non audiophile" honestly tell the difference between a $150 amp
and a $300-400 dollar amp? I can tell you all now that he won't be changing/upgrading his setup for a very long time, so he won't be needing an amp that is versatile with other headphones.
I would personally get the more expensive amp/dac if I were buying it for myself, just for peace of mind if nothing else. Unfortunately he has a completely different mind so.... If he decides to get the d7000 we're talking about a difference of $800 and $1000; which is only a $200 difference but convincing him to spend $800 is a lot easier than convincing him to spend $1000.
Would it be better to just buy the d5000 or the Markl d2000 with a nicer amp? He really likes to have the premium but if it isn't worth it than I'm sure I can convince him otherwise.
How loud is the fan? The Denon D2000/D5000/D7000 are not a totally closed headphone. There is about a 1mm air gap between the cup and the frame the driver is attached to. Kind of like a ported speaker. It is more closed than a semi-open headphone but not as closed as a normal closed headphone. Denon calls that gap an acoustic optimizer in their marketing materials.
I can put the D2000 headphone on with no music playing and carry on a conversation normally. With music playing I can still hear the washing machine going that is just down the hall from my computer room. It isolates better than my totally open headphones, but doesn't really isolate much. If you need to isolate from annoying noise in the room then you should be looking at a different headphone, one that is actually closed.
Dang thats no good, I'll ask him how loud his fan is and I might have to reopen my search. I knew the D series didn't have the best isolation but didn't know it was THAT bad.
Thanks Ham sammich, that woulda sucked if he was hearing his fan in the background of his music. I don't suppose you have any ideas on a different closed headphone?
Thanks everyone, learning a little more about amps/dacs certainly helped me for the future.
-Bigrock2150
It would seem to me illogical that you would spend a lot on headphones, and then stop spending on the amp because your father might not be that demanding. If he's not that demanding, I wouldn't get him >$500 headphones in the first place. Especially when you're talking about Denons, which have more than their share of build quality limitations (rattling, missing dampening, so-so fit and just 'alright' materials. If he's not that demanding, I would recommend some frugality and go with a well built, tightly sealed headphone headphone that sounds great out of a portable or laptop (Audio Technica M50, Sennheiser HD-25-I), or something beautiful and good out of a portable (ESW9). If he wants something in the $1000 range, why not consider the Ultrasone Edition 8 or even a JH13 (which from hearsay, sound amazing out of whatever source)?
Fit issues with the Denons? Not sure just where that idea comes from. Maybe J$ pads wouldn't work for large ears but stock looks pretty easy to fit? Agree on the build quality though, they do seem rather flimsy
Not fit with the head, sorry, I meant material fitting together ... which isn't great because of the rattles and what not. Generally the Denons are ok, don't let us scare you, they also some mass so they're not too flimsy, but the quality is absolutely 'meh' for the price (D5000's at least).
Depending on the model of Macbook Pro, he might have an optical output in the headphone jack (I've got a fairly newish unibody Macbook Pro, and it's got that feature). Also, don't fall into the trap of getting great headphones and underthinking the rest of the system...a well-balanced system will sound better at any price point. I could see getting nice headphones with the thought of later upgrading your DAC & amp if you already had a DAC & amp you wanted to use, but if you're buying everything fresh, the DAC & amp need to be given as much weight as the headphones (they have less effect on the sound presentation than the 'phones, but they're more fundamental to the sound quality).
And I strongly disagree that $100-$200 'phones don't benefit from amping. My ~$185 HD580s are incredibly dependent on the amp to sound good, and the SR225s I picked up for ~$100 (original MSRP: ~$200) are very picky about their source: they're unlistenably harsh straight from a portable or a computer, but sound great when a decent source & amp is put in the loop.
Yeah, I think I'll try to convince him into getting the D5000 with a $300 amp. From what I've been told so far from you all, even $200 is a little low for a nicer amp. Any thoughts on an amp around the $300 range? What does everyone think about the higher end IEM's like the JH11 pros? Would he get better sound out of those than he would out of the denons amped? I know the JH13 pros are optimal but they might be a little outta his price range.
Thanks everyone, maybe I'll change the thread name to "under $300".
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