[headoncollision]

hello everyone in head-fi, this is my first post here so please excuse me for any mistakes regarding audio specifications or anything similar.
I just ordered Denon AH-D5000 along with creative titanium HD sound card, I currently own a Recon3D pcie sound card. I really don`t know much about amplifiers, impedance and this kind of stuff, I primary use my computer as HTPC, gaming and productivity,
the question I want to ask is:
1-pairing the DENON AH-D5000 with the titanium HD will I be needing an external amp or not, and if I do need one how much better will the sound will be with the amp in % ( please bare in mind that I will be using it for gaming as will)
2- what kind of amp is in the recon3D pcie,? would it be sufficient for the denon d5000, I currently using the recon3d with the denon 1100 and the volume is already laud at only 10%.
3- if paring an amp with the titanium HD would it ruin the 3D sound effects of games and movies or not?
4- what everyone think about this amplifier for the setup above SCHIIT Valhalla Single-Ended Triode Headphone Amplifier.
 
I would really appreciate a detailed and clear reply from someone who is highly knowledgable or has similar setup.
 
thank you all for your help in advance

 

[Roller]

Hello and welcome to Head-Fi.
 
The D5000 will benefit from a headphone amp, as the amp will help tighten up the overall sound, although the sound differences do depend on the amp's sonic characteristics.
 
The Recon3D isn't a very good soundcard, and you will notice a significant improvement on sound clarity when you get your Titanium HD. And considering you plan on doing your fair share of gaming, the Recon3D lacks many important gaming audio features due to not having a X-Fi DSP chip, which the Titanium HD has and is paired with high quality components that are absent from the Recon3D.
 
A headphone amp won't disable or degrade 3D sound processing from the Titanium HD, what it will do is help drive your headphones properly.
 
I personally don't like the higher maintenance required for tube amps as well as a higher noise floor when compared to solid state amps, such as the Schiit Asgard. It would be a solid purchase as it is a quite good amp, and certainly a good complement to the D5000.
 
And since you're a new member, let me be the first to tell you the Head-Fi motto: "Sorry about your wallet"

 

[headoncollision]

Quote:

Hello and welcome to Head-Fi.
 
The D5000 will benefit from a headphone amp, as the amp will help tighten up the overall sound, although the sound differences do depend on the amp's sonic characteristics.
 
The Recon3D isn't a very good soundcard, and you will notice a significant improvement on sound clarity when you get your Titanium HD. And considering you plan on doing your fair share of gaming, the Recon3D lacks many important gaming audio features due to not having a X-Fi DSP chip, which the Titanium HD has and is paired with high quality components that are absent from the Recon3D.
 
A headphone amp won't disable or degrade 3D sound processing from the Titanium HD, what it will do is help drive your headphones properly.
 
I personally don't like the higher maintenance required for tube amps as well as a higher noise floor when compared to solid state amps, such as the Schiit Asgard. It would be a solid purchase as it is a quite good amp, and certainly a good complement to the D5000.
 
And since you're a new member, let me be the first to tell you the Head-Fi motto: "Sorry about your wallet"

wow I did not expect a reply that quick!, well thank you for your detailed and clear response, and for confirming that I made the right choice by buying the titanium HD, I have a question thu, are the sound difference within 10% in your experience and opinion or more than 10% when adding an amp, I know its a personal preference and all but a speculation would give me an Idea on how BETTER the sound would be.
as for schiit asgard, could you please provide me with something similar or better since I couldn`t find it on amazon.com ( I Live outside USA so I only order from amazon).
thank you again for your great reply, and to reply to the head-fi motto ..... am already broke but its work every pinny - -
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

wow I did not expect a reply that quick!, well thank you for your detailed and clear response, and for confirming that I made the right choice by buying the titanium HD, I have a question thu, are the sound difference within 10% in your experience and opinion or more than 10% when adding an amp, I know its a personal preference and all but a speculation would give me an Idea on how BETTER the sound would be.
as for schiit asgard, could you please provide me with something similar or better since I couldn`t find it on amazon.com ( I Live outside USA so I only order from amazon).
thank you again for your great reply, and to reply to the head-fi motto ..... am already broke but its work every pinny - -
 

You'll find that the Head-Fi community is quite active
 
Sound difference levels are always difficult to measure since everyone has different ears. I personally think that having a high quality source, like the Titanium HD, will improve sound in a very noticeable way. Regarding the headphone amp, it really makes more of a difference for harder to drive headphones, which the D5000 aren't particularly hard to drive.
 
I think that, at first, you should get familiar with how the Titanium HD and the D5000 match together, and afterwards get an amp to refine the D5000 sound.
 
A couple of amps that pop to mind are the FiiO E9 and the Objective 2 (pre-assembled unit from JDS Labs).
 
Honestly, I think you shouldn't limit yourself to purchasing from Amazon, as the range of products you can get is much smaller. I certainly understand your point of view as I also live outside USA, but there are many reputable sellers available worldwide for a wide range of products.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Wow I did not expect a reply that quick!, well thank you for your detailed and clear response, and for confirming that I made the right choice by buying the Titanium HD, I have a question thu, are the sound difference within 10% in your experience and opinion or more than 10% when adding an amp, I know its a personal preference and all but a speculation would give me an Idea on how BETTER the sound would be.
as for Schiit Asgard, could you please provide me with something similar or better since I couldn`t find it on amazon.com ( I Live outside USA so I only order from amazon).
thank you again for your great reply, and to reply to the Head-Fi motto ..... am already broke but its work every pinny - -
 

Schiit seem to offer world wide shipping.
The O2 (Objective 2) headphone amplifier is cheaper then the Schiit Asgard.
 
 

 

[headoncollision]

Quote:

You'll find that the Head-Fi community is quite active
 
Sound difference levels are always difficult to measure since everyone has different ears. I personally think that having a high quality source, like the Titanium HD, will improve sound in a very noticeable way. Regarding the headphone amp, it really makes more of a difference for harder to drive headphones, which the D5000 aren't particularly hard to drive.
 
I think that, at first, you should get familiar with how the Titanium HD and the D5000 match together, and afterwards get an amp to refine the D5000 sound.
 
A couple of amps that pop to mind are the FiiO E9 and the Objective 2 (pre-assembled unit from JDS Labs).
 
Honestly, I think you shouldn't limit yourself to purchasing from Amazon, as the range of products you can get is much smaller. I certainly understand your point of view as I also live outside USA, but there are many reputable sellers available worldwide for a wide range of products.

thank you for your reply.
I can order from other online merchants but the visa card might not be accepted besides I have amazon prime so shipping is free ( inside usa), anyway I have found the model you recommended me on amazon by a third party seller, for about 250$ free shipping ( inside usa but am using carrier to bring it to my country). I am currently checking the other models you recommended but the model you gave is close to the one I already had in mind so this makes it close to what I was looking for, I don`t think I will have the chance to order the amp later on, thats why I am insisting about should I buy an amp or not. it will cost me approx of 320$ (including forwarding carrier shipping to have it shipped here, so do you think its worth the added cost giving am not going to upgrade to a high impedance headphones in the future?.
 

 

[headoncollision]

Quote:

Schiit seem to offer world wide shipping.
 
 

thanks for the info but I am using a forwarding carrier company used aramex to forward everything I purchase to here, I Live in Libya and we do not have a defenitive postal address and code yet, so its very risky to send anything here by mail or otherwise, thats why its much safer and faster to have everything forwarded through aramex shipping company.
so what do you think, should I purchase an amp for the setup or not ?

 

[Roller]

Quote:

thank you for your reply.
I can order from other online merchants but the visa card might not be accepted besides I have amazon prime so shipping is free ( inside usa), anyway I have found the model you recommended me on amazon by a third party seller, for about 250$ free shipping ( inside usa but am using carrier to bring it to my country). I am currently checking the other models you recommended but the model you gave is close to the one I already had in mind so this makes it close to what I was looking for, I don`t think I will have the chance to order the amp later on, thats why I am insisting about should I buy an amp or not. it will cost me approx of 320$ (including forwarding carrier shipping to have it shipped here, so do you think its worth the added cost giving am not going to upgrade to a high impedance headphones in the future?.
 

$70 is quite a bit for shipping and handling. Still, if you don't plan on going the high impedance route, getting it might settle you for quite some time, and it's a solid amp so you won't really go wrong there, along with the assurance that you're feeding the D5000 the power it needs to shine.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Thanks for the info but I am using a forwarding carrier company used aramex to forward everything I purchase to here, I Live in Libya and we do not have a defenitive postal address and code yet, so its very risky to send anything here by mail or otherwise, that's why its much safer and faster to have everything forwarded through aramex shipping company.
so what do you think, should I purchase an amp for the setup or not ?

I've never used any of the products talked about here.
But I'm guess the Titanium HD will do a fairly decent job of driving the AH-D5000.
I've found my Fiio E11 ($65 US) does a nice job of powering headphones.
So maybe for now hold off on a separate headphone amplifier.
Talk to more owners of the AH-D5000, see what they have to say.
 
 

 

[headoncollision]

Quote:

$70 is quite a bit for shipping and handling. Still, if you don't plan on going the high impedance route, getting it might settle you for quite some time, and it's a solid amp so you won't really go wrong there, along with the assurance that you're feeding the D5000 the power it needs to shine.

well after thinking about it I have already spent like 580$ for both the sound card and the headphones, spending an extra 300$ for something that will last you a lifetime is not a lose bargain,
I have checked the asgard and noticed that it only has an RCA input would, would that mean that am going to plug it tn the headphones jack or the RCA output of the sound card?. but if I plug it in the RCA output would that mean I will loose the 3D surround effect that is present in the headphone out?
thank you
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

well after thinking about it I have already spent like 580$ for both the sound card and the headphones, spending an extra 300$ for something that will last you a lifetime is not a lose bargain,
I have checked the asgard and noticed that it only has an RCA input would, would that mean that am going to plug it tn the headphones jack or the RCA output of the sound card?. but if I plug it in the RCA output would that mean I will loose the 3D surround effect that is present in the headphone out?
thank you
 

That's kind of where I was going. It might be a large purchase right now, but considering it will last you a long time, it's not so bad
 
No need to worry, you can still access all the DSP features through the RCAs.

 

[headoncollision]

Quote:

That's kind of where I was going. It might be a large purchase right now, but considering it will last you a long time, it's not so bad
 
No need to worry, you can still access all the DSP features through the RCAs.

ok will thanks alot, you have been a great help, I will see how much would the total cost be since I will be ordering a premium cables along with it as well and see if am mad enough to order or not.
thanks again
I will post my impressions if I order and receive the amp along with the titanium or without it.
have a nice day roller :]
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

ok will thanks alot, you have been a great help, I will see how much would the total cost be since I will be ordering a premium cables along with it as well and see if am mad enough to order or not.
thanks again
I will post my impressions if I order and receive the amp along with the titanium or without it.
have a nice day roller :]
 

Glad to help. And be careful, as being around these forums is known to cause "upgraditis" to its members
 
Hope you enjoy your new gear

 

[headoncollision]

Quote:

Glad to help. And be careful, as being around these forums is known to cause "upgraditis" to its members
 
Hope you enjoy your new gear

trust me I have already spent too much on a pc reg and now the audio components, so I think I am at the late stage of the upgraditis syndrome, I will be recovering after I receive my stuff, I won`t post in anywhere and I won`t read any reviews for 1 year maybe /
 
thank you again, I will post my impressions after maybe a week or two.
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

trust me I have already spent too much on a pc reg and now the audio components, so I think I am at the late stage of the upgraditis syndrome, I will be recovering after I receive my stuff, I won`t post in anywhere and I won`t read any reviews for 1 year maybe /
 
thank you again, I will post my impressions after maybe a week or two.
 

 
If only upgraditis was so easy to cure... My advice is for you to just pop by to post your impressions and be with your gear instead of being around here reading about the next thing just released that might spike your interest
 
Good luck with the purchase.