[britishbane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif my cable has rca ins and outs. I'm pretty happy with it.

Does the Duet come stock with RCA ins and outs or is it something you had to make/have made specially? I ask because I'm seriously considering buying one to help record my record collection for on-the-go use.

 

[grawk]

I had it made. The stock cable is 1/4" outs and xlr ins.

 

[orkney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had it made. The stock cable is 1/4" outs and xlr ins.

I'd be interested in hearing more about cable options for the Duet -- ideally, a higher-spec breakout with only the analogue hookups for my purposes. Is anyone building these? Does anyone have one to report on?

best,

o

 

[grawk]

The pinout is on the website. I'd bet you could get any of the people on the board who make cables for money to make you one. Lots of options. The person who made mine isn't accepting work generally, but it's not a tough cable to make.

 

[Tarkovsky]

The breakout cable they give you isn't low quality per se. It's certainly clunky, but seems to be of solid construction and it's guaranteed for life.

 

[grawk]

The quality is fine, and it uses pro connections. To connect to consumer gear, you need either clunky adapters or a new cable.

 

[Hopstretch]

I've ordered a custom cable from a fellow head-fier and will report back once it arrives.

 

[Solan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by orkney /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can anyone comment on whether/how well the Duet's built-in amp can drive lower-impedance headphones (RS1/DX000)?

It seems Jaska is pleased with it for his SR-225, and Jeremy listens to it through his RS-1 and seems to have no complaints either.

I am planning on taking advantage of the low dollar this summer to buy a Grado and an Apogee. Probably GS1000 / Duet, but RS1 and Mini-DAC are also tempting, for their own reasons. Unless I go RS1/Duet I won't be able to afford an amp, so your question is one I've pondered too.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Just a reminder, the mini-DAC sounds great driving the RS-1 via the 1/4" headphone out in the front. It also sounds great driving my HD600 with the balanced XLR outputs on the back. The amp can wait.

 

[jp11801]

Both the duet and the mini dac have competent headphone amps. It's relative for example I listened to the ps1 at headfest last year through a well regarded tube amp and it sucked because it could not properly handled the 32 ohm can then I plugged into the mini dac and poof great sound. Now by comparison there are many better ways to amp a grado but this is a good start.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Both the duet and the mini dac have competent headphone amps. It's relative for example I listened to the ps1 at headfest last year through a well regarded tube amp and it sucked because it could not properly handled the 32 ohm can then I plugged into the mini dac and poof great sound. Now by comparison there are many better ways to amp a grado but this is a good start.

Agreed - see, we aren't so far apart afterall...

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solan /img/forum/go_quote.gif It seems Jaska is pleased with it for his SR-225

I think I should qualify that a bit. I've used a few different headphones with the Duet, and narrowed down my collection recently to only one full-size headphone (this is just a temporary thing), and that happens to be the SR-225. For the record, I think the best combination I've tested has been the Duet + HD580. I struggled with the decision of which of my open headphones to keep, and decided to let the HD580 go because of my fondness of the Grados' mids.

I still would not give a personal recommendation to anyone for the Duet + SR-225, as I think there would be room for improvement with especially the treble presentation. I find this combination to be somewhat bright, and am hoping that the Gilmore Lite with DPS I've ordered will take care of the fine tuning. I haven't had the occasion to listen to my Grados with other headphone amps yet, so until that happens I don't know whether the brightness is more to do with the headphones alone or specifically with the Duet + SR-225. The Duet is a very detailed DAC, and the Grados seem to pick up every ounce of that detail. Some people might actually like this, but for me and my non-audiophile ears, there tends to be a very fine line between highly detailed resolution and brightness.

The way I see it is that the Duet is a very good value as long as potential buyers understand that their money is going primarily towards a DAC. The onboard headphone amp is definitely good for many different headphones, and when it really "clicks" with the right ones, it can make a lot of sense to keep the setup simple by avoiding extra cables and an outboard headphone amp.

I hope that this post makes sense, and that others will try to put things into even clearer perspective with their impressions of the Duet with Grados and other headphones.

 

[Tarkovsky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaska /img/forum/go_quote.gif The way I see it is that the Duet is a very good value as long as potential buyers understand that their money is going primarily towards a DAC. The onboard headphone amp is definitely good for many different headphones, and when it really "clicks" with the right ones, it can make a lot of sense to keep the setup simple by avoiding extra cables and an outboard headphone amp.

Seconded. I haven't tried my duet out with many phones but I really feel that it kicks ass with the hd600s I own. With blind A/Bing between my graham slee green solo it was very hard to tell any difference. To my young ears the highs might have been slightly better with my Green Solo, but the duet seems to synergise very well with the HD600s. Noting this I've decided to sell the Green Solo as I need the money!

 

[Tarkovsky]

Oh and if anyone knows a way of using the jog wheel in itunes do tell!

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarkovsky /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh and if anyone knows a way of using the jog wheel in itunes do tell!

Well, assuming you've pressed down on it to select the headphone output (the OUT light will illuminate), you can control the playback volume in iTunes with it.

P.S. Be sure to leave the software volume slider in iTunes set to max.