[Rainbow Randy]

I hate to ask this--it seems like you guys get this asked far, far too often. But, nevertheless, I am ampless (unless you count my Altoids cmoy).

Most of you say that the D2000 does pretty well without an amp. Are the D5000 and D7000 about as good without an amp? Straight out of an iPod?

I promise to buy an amp (and maybe even a DAC) in time!


Any guesstimates (60%/75%?) on how much performance can be had without an amp?

 

[garfnon]

Don't really have a % for you, but my D2000's were not nearly as good without an amp, even vs. one on a cmoy.

 

[boomy3555]

I OFTEN run my 5k's directly off of my Shuffle. Yes, that's right. I said Shuffle. 2nd gen 2gb. I even cut the stock cable and put in a 3.5 Paliccs plug just below thw "Y" to make it more portable. ( Al itttle big for outdorrs but great aroung the house and garage). The 7k's are suppose to have a more powerful driver than the 5's but I don't think it will make too much difference. ( I have some 7k's on order)

 

[Remains]

I have the d2k's and even though people around here say they sound pretty good without an amp I completely disagree... I mean sure they sound ok, but you will be disappointed without an amp and since the d5k's and d7k's are more powerful I would say you will especially want an amp with them.

 

[lucky]

Try them out. If you like the sound unamped, that's great. If you're unhappy with the sound, sell them or perhaps look into an amp. But try them first; you've got nothing to lose.

 

[gwangcho]

I am in the same situations as you. I am very interested in the sound of d7000s. However, the headphones are the only things that I can afford at this point. I have a laptop and an iphone. I am thinking about gradually upgrading my system. Would it be a okay to first buy d7000 and then gradually upgrade(dac and amp)? For example, would d7000s sound better thatn HD25s without any amping?(because i have to live without dac/amp for a while, and i have HD25s) I am sorry to throw a question like this, but I thought it would be a similar question to this thread.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I can run my D7000 off my Sansa Fuze and it sounds phenomenal. Yes, they can be very much enjoyed without one. You won't miss an amp while you listen to them unamped, but A/B comparisons WILL show you why an amp is preferrable.
 
I'd say if you can't afford an amp now, they will be great unamped headphones, but I would suggest definitely getting an amp in the future to truly make them even more worthwhile.

 

[gwangcho]

That's great! I think I can now go on to order the d7000. It feels good to know that it is still "pheonomenal" without an amp.
So, I'll guess I'll take a step at a time. Thank you for your reply!

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I think you'll be quite happy with them. Just don't take too long to get an amp. Even something like the E7 makes them even more enjoyable. ^_^
 
I'd personally wait for the Fiio E11 which will cost about $60 and is coming out next month. I have a feeling it's gonna be an amazing starter portable  amp pushing quite a bit more power than the E7.
 
But since you don't have a DAC/AMP yet, I'd choose the E7 (or another DAC/AMP) over any standalone amp, as a DAC is more important than amping with easy to drive headphones like this.

 

[gwangcho]

Thanks for the information. I should look into E11. Is E11 a dac/amp combo? That means I don't need a separate amp, right?
Sorry. I don't know much about the process.

 

[dave3533]

I used my D7000's amp-less for several weeks untill my NuForce HDP arrived. Un-amped they were still the best headphones I had ever heard, previous to that were the UE TF10s. I can say they improved quite a bit with an amp, which was nice. I was afraid there wouldn't be much difference. I don't know if I can quantify a percentage, but I certainly won't go back to un-amped in this lifetime

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

Any guesstimates (60%/75%?) on how much performance can be had without an amp?

I'll say 84.5%   

  I was also surprised at how good they sounded out a dinky ipod nano.  But comparing them to a full-sized amp, it did become clear that the highs seemed thin and a touch distorted and the bass was not as defined.  D5000 sound very good indeed with just an ipod.  I can A/B them tonight to see if D7000 suffer more than D5000, which is what I suspect.

 

[eucariote]

Just compared D7000 to D5000 out an ipod vs. an amp, and yes I'd say that the D7000 suffers a little more from weak amplification.  Both actually sound surprisingly good, but both clip in some passages and both sound less defined- guitars don't crunch as much, kick drum is a little smeared and the sound is overall more hollow.  The biggest difference is D7000 clips slightly more, which I suspect is due to their bigger power needs.  But even out an ipod, D7000 still sounds better overall (better mids, deeper bass).

 

[Zalken]

If you plan on buying an amp for you denon's, I would suggest you look into spending your money on a DAC before you get an amp
 
I got an Audio GD NFB-3 (DAC) and later got a Audio GD C2 (Amp) - both cost around $350 for me, and 350 spent on the source was did so much more than the 350 spent on the amp
I own a pair of recabled D5000's with D7000 cups