[Necrolic]

Alright, well originally some of you may remember I planned to spend $1700 on a new amp/DAC, but I've decided to cut that budget down. I would prefer to spend no more than $1000 now, but am willing to go up to $1200.

Whatever I get I will be using them with my LA5000 Lites, and in the future most likely an LA7000. I listen to rock, metal, electronic, acoustic and hip hop music all in 320kbps MP3s from Millisong.

I have a few options in mind, but if there's better for modded Denons in my price range feel free to recommend something else, if you like one of my options though please let me know which.

Right now I'm looking at (updated since first post):

- Audio-GD C2 and DAC19 DSP-1 Version (~$1000 + shipping)
- CIAudio VHP-2 and VDA-2 and 2 VAC-1 PSUs (~$1200 + shipping)
- Musical Fidelity X-Can V8P and Cambridge Audio DACMagic (~$1000 + shipping)
- Balanced Setup (see post #7 for the options I'm looking at)

Now I'm leaning towards one of the first two options there, as they are far easier to obtain than any of the other options, and as for the X-Can and EF-5, I have no clue as to what would be good DACs to match with them in my price range.

 

[DC5Zilla]

Have u checked Stello HP100 and DA100?

 

[MGLDyson]

Well, you know what my vote goes for... the CI Audio option. I wish I could give you comparisons to the other setups you've listed. But the CI gear is the first and only I've owned.

Best of luck with your decision. I bet you're going to like whatever you get. Give us your thoughts once you make your decision and have some listening time under your belt.

Also, don't forget to check out Audiogon.com when looking for these things. I know CI Audio stuff shows up there all the time.

Best

 

[MarkJnK]

Look at my sig, V8P and the Dacmagic will leave you about $200 left over for an Onkyo ND-S1 so you can enjoy an iPod to the fullest also, or some good cables.

They work very well together and I love that the DacMagic works like a switching unit for 3 sources (2x digital, 1x usb). Very versatile.

 

[yossi126]

For the price nothing would beat the new Meier Concerto (750$). Add to that a used Digital Link III (Always one on Audiogon).

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

If your original budget of $1700 maintains, I recommend a combo WA6 & MHDT Havana or WA6SE & MHDT Paradisea 3. Otherwise, there are other options at AudiogoN or Buy/Sell Column.

 

[Necrolic]

I was also considering possibly going balanced, with the Little Dot DAC_1 and MKVII+ or MKVI+ (I'd like the VI+, but it's a tube amp so chances are it wouldn't do well with the Denons).

I'm sure there are better balanced setups in my price range than that though anyways :|

Is there a decent balanced DAC under $500 that I could pair with an Audio-GD Roc?

I updated the original post with some changes.

 

[stang]

Rock and metal with the Denons? I got the consensus that the Denons aren't all that good with them. I'd love to own the MD5000/LA7000 one day, but my music preferences (Metal) are not a good match apparently. I got my ALO-780 and (in transit) HF-2 for it

Anyway, back on topic. The MKVII+ and DAC_I would be a great pick. About half the price of the other combo's too

The great thing about it is that you do not have to sell the DAC and AMP as one combo if you wish to upgrade later for some odd reason

 

[Necrolic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rock and metal with the Denons? I got the consensus that the Denons aren't all that good with them. I'd love to own the MD5000/LA7000 one day, but my music preferences (Metal) are not a good match apparently. I got my ALO-780 and (in transit) HF-2 for it Anyway, back on topic. The MKVII+ and DAC_I would be a great pick. About half the price of the other combo's too The great thing about it is that you do not have to sell the DAC and AMP as one combo if you wish to upgrade later for some odd reason

I don't know who told you they aren't good for rock/metal, that's one of their fortes. The stock Denons are fairly laid back, but still very involving. If you listen at high volumes the bass can be overpowering which can make them not all that great, but if you aren't at very high volumes they're fantastic stock.

Modded, they are some of the most involving headphones I've listened to, ever. The midrange and highs come forward much more, and the bass is no longer overpowering at all. Outside of Grados they are the best rock cans I've heard when modded, and they're up there even unmodded.

If the Denons aren't good for rock I can't think of any well known cans out there that are other than Grados.

In short, Denons are fantastic for any electronic music, as well as a lot of acoustic and vocals. Their weakness comes in the form of classical music.

I'm really curious as to where you heard they were bad for rock/metal though, as every time I've seen somebody request closed cans for rock/metal the first recommendation is always Denons. Always.

 

[stang]

I got Ultrasone ALO-780 instead of Denon's. Mainly because I wanted good closed cans that leak very little sound. Also, they are said to be very quick, great for metal also with great, deep bass, which they have

I think what made me think the Denons were bad for metal is people say there is too much bass and the mids are recessed compared to the rest of the spectrum. This was probably the stock D2000. I am guessing something like the MD5000 would be great. I may even sell my ALO-780 and get the MD5000 some day, I will HAVE to audition them first though. I sold my SR-225 to get these ALL-780 because I really wanted to try something else and something more high end. Now I have the HF-2 on the way so I may not need these ALO-780 anymore. Sorry for hijacking this thread haha

 

[jc9394]

Gamma2 with WA6, a little over $1000.

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrolic /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was also considering possibly going balanced, with the Little Dot DAC_1 and MKVII+ or MKVI+ (I'd like the VI+, but it's a tube amp so chances are it wouldn't do well with the Denons). I'm sure there are better balanced setups in my price range than that though anyways :| Is there a decent balanced DAC under $500 that I could pair with an Audio-GD Roc? I updated the original post with some changes.

There is the Matrix DAC which has balanced outputs and fits your budget nicely. Not many HF-ers have it yet though so impressions are pretty sparse.

 

[Necrolic]

I'm starting to lean more towards the Audio-GD rig or the MF X-Can V8 and DACMagic.

Is there a better DAC to pair with the X-Can than the DACMagic? Also, does the X-Can V8P have a pre-amp function? I ask because I will likely be using this with studio monitors as well.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K3cT /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is the Matrix DAC which has balanced outputs and fits your budget nicely. Not many HF-ers have it yet though so impressions are pretty sparse.

I'll chime in and give the Matrix Mini DAC some props; it has balanced and unbalanced outs, does bit-perfect and upsampling with all the input variety you could ask for, and even has a very clean if not super-powerful SS headphone amp in it. Plus great build quality and a clean single-knob controller interface. I might go with Little Dot's DAC if I was getting the Mark VII balanced amp for form factor, but otherwise I feel comfortable recommending this unit to anyone. It has a very clean sound, looks and feels great, and it's hard to grow out of.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrolic /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm starting to lean more towards the Audio-GD rig or the MF X-Can V8 and DACMagic.

Doesn't the x-can already have a DAC?

You might want to check out the higher-end combos, like the Grace M902 and the Benchmark DAC1. The Grace has a better amp section, the Benchmark is more of a pro-audio quality reference DAC; both are high-end all-in one solutions with balanced outs.