What about the Meier Corda Opera? Has anyone successfully driven the D5000 with this amp?
During the time when I had both, this was one of my all-time favorite combinations of amp and headphone. The Opera and the Denon are terrific together.
Skylab,
If you liked it so much, why'd you get off it? did you prefer the Opera over your SP's?
Yes of course, and it works fine, but is not the greatest match. The D5000 are just too low in impedance to be truly tube-amp friendly. This does not mean it doesn't work - it does. But it isn't optimal.
Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes of course, and it works fine, but is not the greatest match. The D5000 are just too low in impedance to be truly tube-amp friendly. This does not mean it doesn't work - it does. But it isn't optimal.
x2
The output coupling capacitors required in OTL tube amps are challenged trying to push the current a low impedance load pulls. Even the best hi-zoot capacitors are a necessary evil that have more downside as the load impedance is lowered. You reach a point in impedance where all the high dollar tube goodness doesn't offset the signal degradation the output caps throw in.
For a dedicated Denon or Grado amp, you can't beat SS (unless you are willing to go transformer coupled). Not that they sound outright bad on mid-fi tube gear, just that less expensive SS amps can fairly obviously best tubes in ABx comparisons.
The mighty little giant ASL OTL (original version) with NOS Sylvania Triple Mica 5751 Black Plate and NOS Hammond EL 84 Black Plates works very well with the D5000's in TC mode - feedback "on" (and of course OTL with the HD600's - for me - the best of both worlds).
I've had the Total Airhead amp for a couple years and paired it with the Denon 1000s and been pretty happy with that. I bought the AKG k701s, and it was clear that my amp was insufficient to drive those. I've decided to sell my k701s (PM me if interested, they're in mint condition with about 150 hours on them) and buy the Denon 5000s, since I think the closed back headphone will provide a punchier bass for electronic music that I primarily listen to. Will the Denon 5000s require as much amplification as the k701s? I see both have low impedances, but I'm no engineer...
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