[leng jai]

Hey guys,

So I've been looking to get another pair of cans for a while now. The Denon D5000s woody cups and extra bass have seduced me but I'm worried about my setup. From some brief reading I've heard some people say they are not that great with tube amps. Obviously I'm not looking to buy an SS amp anytime soon so I'll be using the equipment in my signature.
 

 

[grokit]

That was my experience with them, I didn't like them with my Woo but then I tried them out of a SS x-head and they sounded much better.

 

[eucariote]

With my particular setup, SS and tube amps both work well with my D5000/D7000.  My SS amp (Lavry DA11) sounds a little brighter and has better soundstage, but my tube amp (Mapletree Ear+) mellows the highs which makes the D7000 easier to listen to.  So overall I find that I use both amps equally with the Denons.  My tube amp has a low impedance plug so I don't know if my experience generalizes if peoples' gripes about tube amps relate to impedance matching issues. 

 

[leng jai]

I see. If they mellow the highs thats find by me, as I don't like sibilance. Still conflicted though. Any opinions on what happens to the bass? I find that the Darkvoice tightens up the HD650s bass and adds slam, so I'm hoping for a similar effect with the D5000s.

 

[Zombie_X]

Look for a used X-CANV3 or X-CANV8 if possible. It's a tube/solid state hybrid. You get all the tube warmth and smooth highs with the plain power of solid state. IMO solid state is the way to power those babies.
 
A plain OTL tube amp will noticeably roll the highs off and potentially bloat up the bass (muddy the bass and distort it). Your Denon's are low impedance and that works against tube amps as tube amps usually have an output impedance higher than 150Ohms. Since the output impedance is higher you will get muted highs, fat mids, and bloated/uncontrolled bass. Tubes excel at voltage which high impedance headphone need, but low impedance models like the Denon's require current.
 
That why you need solid state since solid state can output a lot of current. Not all solid state amps are high current though. Many cheaper ones will not have enough. I recommended the X-CANV3/V8 because it can put up to 1.3W into 32Ohms, so since your Denons are 25Ohms you should have more power and control over the drivers. Also since these two amps are hybrids you get the benefits of both in one package.