[RougeR]

Heya, new to  the forum and tbh new to the whole audio world, so play nice!
 
basically i just made my first foray into audiophile territory with a pair of Denon d2000' (after much research), now i have been loving  them so far, but the problem is i just find they are a bit too quiet if i want to blast my ears out or if i want to listen to a film loud. So I think  an amp would solve this, I'm not looking for anything too fancy and have a budget of around £60 although i  can stretch a bit, obviously the cheaper the better. 
 
I have been offered a cambridge A1 amp for £40 but it has no headphone out output, so i would have to buy a seperate mixing board for another £30 in order to get headphones to be usable with it, opinions on this?
I have also been offered  a  Yamaha AX496 for £55, which i am pretty sure has a  headphone out line, opinions on this  also.
 
thanks in advance
 
edit- i dont mind buying used or perhaps even considering a  simple DIY job.
used is best.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Heya, new to  the forum and tbh new to the whole audio world, so play nice!
Basically i just made my first foray into audiophile territory with a pair of Denon d2000' (after much research), now i have been loving  them so far, but the problem is i just find they are a bit too quiet if i want to blast my ears out or if i want to listen to a film loud. So I think  an amp would solve this, I'm not looking for anything too fancy and have a budget of around £60 although i  can stretch a bit, obviously the cheaper the better. 
I have been offered a cambridge A1 amp for £45 but it has no headphone out output, so i would have to buy a seperate mixing board for another £30 in order to get headphones to be usable with it, opinions on this?
I have also been offered  a  Yamaha AX496 for £55, which i am pretty sure has a  headphone out line, opinions on this  also.
edit- i dont mind buying used or perhaps even considering a  simple DIY job.
used is best.

Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier ($65)
What source(s) do you currently plug your headphones into?

 

[JustinBieber]

If you are looking for a cheaper amp for just a bit more volume I recommend the Rolls HA43. It is about $50 and It has helped me power headphones over 80ohms. Regarding the AX-496, it does have a headphone Jack but its a 1/4 connector. Fiio E7/E11 is also a good choice too.

 

[RougeR]

Quote:

Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier ($65)
What source(s) do you currently plug your headphones into?

Flac/320kbps files on foobar, then straight into my motherboard which is a  

Asus P8Z68-V GEN3 Intel Z68

However i do plan to get a xonar 7.1 card soon or similar.
Quote:

If you are looking for a cheaper amp for just a bit more volume I recommend the Rolls HA43. It is about $50 and It has helped me power headphones over 80ohms. Regarding the AX-496, it does have a headphone Jack but its a 1/4 connector. Fiio E7/E11 is also a good choice too.

rolls could be a possibility,  and i have had a look at the Fiio, but i think seeing as this is mainly for desktop use, that a desktop amp would be more bang for buck.
 
Would that yamaha be any good? i know they can be up  to £150+ new
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-AX-496-Natural-Sound-Amp-with-Remote-/200773469705?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item2ebf080609#ht_1351wt_1396

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Flac/320kbps files on foobar, then straight into my motherboard which is a  

Asus P8Z68-V GEN3 Intel Z68

However i do plan to get a xonar 7.1 card soon or similar.
rolls could be a possibility,  and i have had a look at the Fiio, but i think seeing as this is mainly for desktop use, that a desktop amp would be more bang for buck.
 
Would that yamaha be any good? i know they can be up  to £150+ new
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-AX-496-Natural-Sound-Amp-with-Remote-/200773469705?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item2ebf080609#ht_1351wt_1396

I'm "guessing" the Fiio are going to be better at driving the Denon headphones then the receiver.
The Denon AH-D2000 are only 25-Ohms and the receiver "might" have a high impedance.
Where as the Fiios have a low impedance, so are great for low Ohm headphones.
 
Sound cards (like the Xonars) have a 10-Ohm impedance, which is fine for headphones that are 80-Ohms or higher.
Where as the 25-Ohm Denon would work better with a headphone amplifier that has an impedance of 2.5-Ohm or less.
Fiios have less impedance then 2.5-Ohm

 

[Penarin]

Congrats on the new Denons.  I have the same pair and they are amazing.
 
If you can swing $70 (US), the FiiO E7 is really nice.  And it's two upgrades in one- USB DAC and a quality headphone amp.

 

[RougeR]

Quote:

I'm "guessing" the Fiio are going to be better at driving the Denon headphones then the receiver.
The Denon AH-D2000 are only 25-Ohms and the receiver "might" have a high impedance.
Where as the Fiios have a low impedance, so are great for low Ohm headphones.
 
Sound cards (like the Xonars) have a 10-Ohm impedance, which is fine for headphones that are 80-Ohms or higher.
Where as the 25-Ohm Denon would work better with a headphone amplifier that has an impedance of 2.5-Ohm or less.
Fiios have less impedance then 2.5-Ohm

 
Quote:

Congrats on the new Denons.  I have the same pair and they are amazing.
 
If you can swing $70 (US), the FiiO E7 is really nice.  And it's two upgrades in one- USB DAC and a quality headphone amp.

 
Going to try out a mates FIIO and also  that yamaha amp, and decide from there. thanks for help!
And yeah the Denons are  pretty sweet, do you find them loud enough unamped? done any  mods, im thinking of changing the cups out for second hand wooden ones and maybe a shorter new cable, but i dont want to ruin warranty, as i am also covered for accidental damage, as well as manufacturer fault.

 

[tme110]

the nice thing about the denon is that almost anything can power it - you have lots of choices.
 
Personally, unless money was an over riding factor I'd never pick the e7 over the e17.
 

 

[MattTCG]

The e17 has been my favorite budget amp/dac with the d2k.
 
gL!!

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

Unfortunately I don't have any specific suggestions but I would just like to reiterate what the others have said about the D2000 being extremely easy to drive. I was using it directly out of my desktop for over two years before I eventually got a small amp to power it. When I was asking around the general consensus was pick just about anything and it will improve the sound because this headphone responds well do just about any amp.
 
So find an amp that's well thought of in your price range and take the plunge. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

 

[RougeR]

okay, after considering things and trying out the yamaha and a mates e7 i've decided to go with the E9
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier-Dock/dp/B004M172FY/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1341234256&sr=1-6
looks good, will amp very well i am assuming and its fairly compact
will also be easy to put on my desk and adjust volume on, just need to put a bit of cash aside for one now, might sell some stuff and will have it by end of the month.

 

[tme110]

well, you can power about anything with the e9
 

 

[reload]

Fiio E9/ Fiio E7 would be good.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

okay, after considering things and trying out the yamaha and a mates e7 i've decided to go with the E9
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier-Dock/dp/B004M172FY/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1341234256&sr=1-6
looks good, will amp very well i am assuming and its fairly compact
will also be easy to put on my desk and adjust volume on, just need to put a bit of cash aside for one now, might sell some stuff and will have it by end of the month.

The Fiio E9 has an impedance of 10-Ohm, which is fine for headphone that are 80-Ohms or higher.
Fiio E9's10-Ohm impedance works against headphone below 80-ohms,
Now lots of 50-Ohm to 62-Ohm headphones seem to work fine with the E9.
But as the AH-D2000 is only 25-Ohms, it might not work to it's best ability.
 
The Fiio E7, E10, E11 & E17 amps have a much lower impedance then the E9.

 

[tme110]

entirely too much emphasis on output impedance has been showing up on here lately.  There are plenty of people who choose to use the hi-imp output option on amps for lower imp phones.  Not sure about the denons but if people on the denon thread are using the e9 then I wouldn't worry about it.