[loveha]

Currently using an HT Omega Claro Halo Sound Card. I changed out the Op Amps to LME49720NA. Headphone I use the most is my Grado's, I use the AKG more for movies and games. Grado's is used for music. My next cans will be the Denon AH-D7000, These will most likely replace my AKG's and be used for some for music after I try them out on certain genres. Budget for the Amp is about $300, if it is worth it, knowing worth is subjective, I can bend that budget some.
What would you recommend I get? Or should I just stick to the sound card. I would like to mention I do not have any issues with the sound card. It works great, just wondering if I may be missing out on something.
 

 

[loveha]

Tube amps are something of a mystery to me. Was looking to get this Amp http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2&zenid=uo89gbup459pm017etnlsogf66 Only problem I see is the Denons have an input impedance of 25 Ohms. Will that cause any issues? If I have to I will just use my Grados with it and use the Denons on my Sound card.
 
Do I need a DAC? Details on the sound card.
Sound Processor

1. C-Media CMI8788/PCI-8Ch PCI chipset
   (8ch Audio Chipset with Dolby Digital Live real-time Content Encoder and dts CONNECT technology enabled PCI audio chipset)
2. Full-duplex ultra high 2ch 24-bit/192DAC (AK4396)
3. 24-bit/192kHz Stereo ADC (AK5385)

 
Currently the RCA Outputs are running to my receiver, but I could change that to optical so I can hook the Amp to it.
Or I could get this DAC later on and run optical or RCA to it.
 
I honestly have no idea what I'm talking about lol. If you need anymore details just ask.

 

[Arion]

Hello,
As for the schiit Valhalla your looking at to drive your the denons you want to get i would say don't get that amp as its designed for high Impendence headphones since it is a OTL amp.
So if you want to stay with schiit I would say go for the Asgard as its designed for lower Impendence headphones but also has enough power to properly drive almost everything.
But what is the Impendence of your grados?

I can't really help you with your sound card question as I don't know very much about the sound card you have but I really hope someone can help you out with that.

 

[loveha]

Quote:

Hello,
As for the schiit Valhalla your looking at to drive your the denons you want to get i would say don't get that amp as its designed for high Impendence headphones since it is a OTL amp.
So if you want to stay with schiit I would say go for the Asgard as its designed for lower Impendence headphones but also has enough power to properly drive almost everything.
But what is the Impendence of your grados?
I can't really help you with your sound card question as I don't know very much about the sound card you have but I really hope someone can help you out with that.

Grado's are 32 Ohms. Thanks for the suggestion, looking to try a Tube Amp amp though.
 
Guess I should change this to "Looking for a tube amp for Denon AH-D7000 (25 Ohms)"
Going beyond my budget, but I like how Schiit looks. http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=3

 

[Arion]

Well since your looking for a tube amp I would say something like the Little Dot MK I+ would be good. But if you are also driving higher Impendence headphones maybe look at something like the MK IV or III. But definently keep researching since I haven't owned the Denons so I am Just coming up with suggestions so maybe see if anybody else has had the combo and tell you they had good synergy. And just so you know with the MK I+ I am talking about the I+ hybrid amplifyer

 

[Arion]

I have read some posts about people driving their Denons D5000 and 2000 with the lyr and getting good results. So that amp shouldn't really be a problem though your going to have a lot of power that your not going to need since the lyr was designed to drive the hardest to drive headphones like the Hifiman HE-6. The only thing I would note is to be careful with the lyr since it has so much power and if your not careful it could blow your headphones 

 

[Chris_Himself]

Fellow Grado listener here.
 
You're gonna wanna scoop up that XCan V2 or the Hifiman EF5 (better) in the marketplace, both of those are stellar with Grados

 

[PurpleAngel]

Your Claro Halo sound card comes with the same headphone amplifier chip (TI 6120A2) as the Xonar Essence ST & STX and Fiio E9.
I would say just to use the Claro Halo card and maybe replace the op-amps with LME49860NAs ($5 each), they are the same chip as the LME49720NAs, but with a better voltage range.
I believe these cards really shine with headphones in the 150-Ohm to 600-Ohm range.
The O2 (Objective 2) headphone amplifier might do a better job with the headphones that are 25-Ohm.

 

[loveha]

Quote:

I have read some posts about people driving their Denons D5000 and 2000 with the lyr and getting good results. So that amp shouldn't really be a problem though your going to have a lot of power that your not going to need since the lyr was designed to drive the hardest to drive headphones like the Hifiman HE-6. The only thing I would note is to be careful with the lyr since it has so much power and if your not careful it could blow your headphones 

What about the HiFiMan EF-5, would I run the risk of blowing the D7000's? Mainly trying to avoid having to move the switch on my sound card back to 32 Ohms from 600 Ohms. Find it drives my AKG's better when I have it set to that. So something that can do the Denons and my AKG's would be great.

 

[Arion]

The EF5 based on what I read was it is designed to drive hard to drive headphones like the lyr. But since you want a tube amp I would say get a bottlehead smack. It's a DIY amp but they provide the instructions on how to build it and have a good forum if you ever have questions or need help. I would say this amp because it's a tube amp and it has a output transformer which makes it suitable for low Impendence headphones.