[twentyHz]

I entered this post under the Portable Headphone Amps section because I did not see an audio interface section... Anyways, has anyone happily driven any power hungry phones from this unit? How did it perform?
 
I love it, as both an amateur producer and musician I love it. My Macbook Pro Retina and Duet 2 are harmonized beautifully. I spent way more than I should of considering I am saving for a house on those two toys, but you have to treat yourself sometimes.

 

[devgru]

I think it's great for HD650s. I would think it's got enough headroom for most dynamics. I prefer the RME Babyface, but the Duet has a lot more power. I won't buy headphones that require more power than the RME can provide due to the hardware EQ and DAC in the RME. I just got my retina and it's sick!

 

[twentyHz]

Isn't it absolutely amazing? The retina display is unreal. Did you buy any extended warranty like Applecare? There is alot of talk about this MacBook being really difficult and expensive to fix. I have not gotten any extra warranty yet... Still deciding.
 
What DAW do you use? I run Cubase 6 and Reason 5. I was tempted to get the RME Babyface as well. However, I fell in love with the knob on the Duet 2. LOL. It is a dream to spin. It is a looker too. I understand that the Babyface receives higher accolades of praise, but having a Mac, the Duet 2 seemed more logical to me.

 

[devgru]

Quote:

Isn't it absolutely amazing? The retina display is unreal. Did you buy any extended warranty like Applecare? There is alot of talk about this MacBook being really difficult and expensive to fix. I have not gotten any extra warranty yet... Still deciding.
 
What DAW do you use? I run Cubase 6 and Reason 5. I was tempted to get the RME Babyface as well. However, I fell in love with the knob on the Duet 2. LOL. It is a dream to spin. It is a looker too. I understand that the Babyface receives higher accolades of praise, but having a Mac, the Duet 2 seemed more logical to me.

Yeah, I always get the ext warranty. Fortunately my previous MBP's have only needed new Magsafe adapters. I have cubase as well. The RME has a similar feel to the knob, and is lower profile so it sits well in a backpack/laptop bag.

 

[aamefford]

I picked up a used Duet 2 a couple weeks ago.  I had the original a couple years back, and liked it.  Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to check out the Duet 2.  I do very little recording, so the recording functionality is a bit wasted on me, but it is a really nice DAC / Amp combo.  I have a pair of DT 770 / 600 ohm cans arriving next week, so I'll have some idea how it does with higher impedance cans.  I'll subscribe, and try and remember to come back and update here once I get a bit of time with them.

 

[devgru]

I've run DT990 600s with no problem through the Duet2. Not huge amounts of headroom, but certainly adequate on the amp side.

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

I picked up a used Duet 2 a couple weeks ago.  I had the original a couple years back, and liked it.  Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to check out the Duet 2.  I do very little recording, so the recording functionality is a bit wasted on me, but it is a really nice DAC / Amp combo.  I have a pair of DT 770 / 600 ohm cans arriving next week, so I'll have some idea how it does with higher impedance cans.  I'll subscribe, and try and remember to come back and update here once I get a bit of time with them.

 
I promised I'd report back.  I've been so busy I've got all of 3 hours with the DT 770/600 and the Duet2.  They pair nicely, and the Duet2 does indeed drive them just fine, in fact quite well - noting that I listen in quiet areas, at pretty low volume, so no headroom problems for me.  What surprised the heck out of me, is that my Pico Slim drove the DT 770/600 at all.  I wouldn't choose this pairing, but it is nice to know that it is at least a viable option on the go.  Really pretty surprising to me.

 

[twentyHz]

Nice, glad to hear it is matching nicely. My D5000's on order should work well then too!

 

[aamefford]

The D5000's are a really nice headphone, and easy to drive.  I went through the D5000 and D7000.  The D7000 is still my all time favorite to date.  The detail of the Duet2 will be a nice fit with the warmth of the D5000.  Dollar for dollar, I think the D5000 is the best value of the old Denon line.  I liked the D7000 a bit better, but you didn't get $250 or so worth of better with them.

 

[twentyHz]

Thanks aamefford. My D5000's should be arriving hopefully this week. I am happy to hear about the success you had with them and the Duet 2!

 

[aamefford]

I actually have not tried them with the Duet2, just conjecturing it would be a nice pairing.
 
I have my Duet2 up for sale, as it is pretty much overkill for what I use it for - I don't record, and I carry it around in a messenger bag.  I'm looking for a bit smaller solution, though it is outstanding.  It is in the sources FS section.  No real hurry at the moment - when I do get to use it, it is really nice.

 

[songmic]

 
For those of you using the Apogee Duet 2 and would like an improvement in sonic performance without changing the DAC itself, I'm selling my Bakoon BPS-02. You can click the link below (classifieds) to see how this gear works, and if you'd like to purchase it.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/645404/bakoon-products-bps-02

 

[vackraord]

Im a fairly new Duet 2 user and I have a question regarding the analog output.
Background: On the inputs, if I change the Analog Levels I can bypass the preamp by selecting +4dBu.
Questions: Does the output behave in the same way? So that if i select -10dBV, will I bypass some amp circuitry and get a cleaner signal path or doesn't it matter? 

 

[ChardonnayLogic]

No. +4 is for balanced (XLR & TRS), -10 is unbalanced (home audio) on the outputs. Designation for outputs takes place on the output tab of the Maestro software.

 

[keane1024]

Never get the chance to try it myself, but I've heard a dozen people recommending it to others.