Tube Man
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2010
- Posts
- 40
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I'm a recent convert in the process of overhauling my home HP audio setup and I need some advice. I've done a lot of reading here and elsewhere lately and I'm still not sure what to do.
A few days ago in the middle of all this I dragged my old Denon DVM-3700 out of a box in the attic, plugged my MDR-V6's into it and found it to sound a lot better than I expected - worlds better than my soundcard's analog output through an old Bose Companion I'd been using for home listening at my PC (yes, a real shocker).
Now I think I'd like to use the 3700 - at least as a transport - in my new bedside headphone system. I've already ordered a set of AH-D5000 phones and I'm in the market for an amp, probably SS because I'm a detail freak, but I'm also finding the idea of running a tube amp (and their appearance) strangely appealing.
My question is, given these two Denon components (DVM-3700 and AH-D5000), which approach would give me the best sound for the $1500-1800 I have to spend at this point to go in between them: would I be better off using the onboard DAC in the 3700 and buying a nice amp, or splitting my cash between the amp and an outboard DAC? Would an integrated DAC/amp combo be better? Or should I just get an amp now and start saving (probably until tax time next year) for a good DAC to go with it?
Too many options and having never owned a stand-alone DAC (and knowing jack about them, other than what they do), I'm not sure how far down the rabbit hole I have to go to realize I've gone far enough. The only thing I know is that the hole is deeper than my wallet.
A few days ago in the middle of all this I dragged my old Denon DVM-3700 out of a box in the attic, plugged my MDR-V6's into it and found it to sound a lot better than I expected - worlds better than my soundcard's analog output through an old Bose Companion I'd been using for home listening at my PC (yes, a real shocker).
Now I think I'd like to use the 3700 - at least as a transport - in my new bedside headphone system. I've already ordered a set of AH-D5000 phones and I'm in the market for an amp, probably SS because I'm a detail freak, but I'm also finding the idea of running a tube amp (and their appearance) strangely appealing.
My question is, given these two Denon components (DVM-3700 and AH-D5000), which approach would give me the best sound for the $1500-1800 I have to spend at this point to go in between them: would I be better off using the onboard DAC in the 3700 and buying a nice amp, or splitting my cash between the amp and an outboard DAC? Would an integrated DAC/amp combo be better? Or should I just get an amp now and start saving (probably until tax time next year) for a good DAC to go with it?
Too many options and having never owned a stand-alone DAC (and knowing jack about them, other than what they do), I'm not sure how far down the rabbit hole I have to go to realize I've gone far enough. The only thing I know is that the hole is deeper than my wallet.
