[Jaska]

There's some good information in this thread. I honestly didn't have very great expectations for the headphone amp in the Duet when I recently bought it. Both it and the new Arietta are in the mail and should arrive (hopefully) tomorrow.

On a side note, for anyone who uses a Mac, I think the chances of switching back to a PC are pretty slim at best, so investing in something like the Duet seems relatively low risk in that sense.

 

[grawk]

So I've spent some time with both, with my hhf1s and hd600s. Both are amazing for what they are. I'm using the duet to feed my m3, and have it set up for mute to toggle between the line outs and the headphone jack.

I don't feel comfortable with the pico feeding the m3, mostly because it's so small it doesn't feel solid with a cable that's more substantial than the amp, but it sounds great. With a less massive amp, the difference of scale would probably make things different.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna end up owning both. The duet sounds great, is very flexible, and allows me to do analog captures of my sacds and dvd-as, so that I can listen to them via itunes in as good a manner as possible. The pico sounds SO good, and is tiny and great for office/plane/etc use. I'm amazed every time I glance up and see the pico sitting there while listening to it.

 

[Hartfell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I've spent some time with both, with my hhf1s and hd600s. Both are amazing for what they are. I'm using the duet to feed my m3, and have it set up for mute to toggle between the line outs and the headphone jack. I don't feel comfortable with the pico feeding the m3, mostly because it's so small it doesn't feel solid with a cable that's more substantial than the amp, but it sounds great. With a less massive amp, the difference of scale would probably make things different. Anyway, I think I'm gonna end up owning both. The duet sounds great, is very flexible, and allows me to do analog captures of my sacds and dvd-as, so that I can listen to them via itunes in as good a manner as possible. The pico sounds SO good, and is tiny and great for office/plane/etc use. I'm amazed every time I glance up and see the pico sitting there while listening to it.

This is a really tough call for me. I still haven't decided. No one is saying one is better than the other in terms of sound quality, which makes me lean toward the Duet more because of its bus-powered convenience, it's exceptional cool looks and its other Mac features that, who knows, I may just use some day.

 

[grawk]

But the pico is smaller, can be battery powered, and can be used with your ipod

.

I look at it like this: with either the duet or the pico, you're paying $250 for a top notch computer source. Then the other $250 on the pico goes for portable headphone amp, and the other $250 on the duet goes to top notch ADC. So it just depends on which you need more. And your ears, of course. I'm happy with both, so the odds are good I'll end up with both...

 

[grawk]

After a day with the pico and duet and hd600, I can say the headamp in the pico is a better match than the duet with the hd600s. It's less striking with the grados.

 

[Jaska]

If planning to use one of the two devices in question exclusively as a DAC, I would think the Duet is clearly the way to go. Can the Pico even be used as a DAC to feed a headamp? I didn't know it had a line out (just a headphone jack) or RCA outputs, unless I missed something.

I bought my Duet strictly to use it as a DAC. I had been waiting for a long time for the ESI-Audio Duafire to be released, but finally gave up on it. It's also FireWire bus powered, but has lots of bells and whistles and knobs (kind of like an E-MU 0404 USB), which I suppose the Duet has too, but at least the Duet's breakout cable hides this unused ugliness.

 

[grawk]

The pico works fine feeding another amp. Just think of it as a variable gain line out.

 

[Capunk]

I'm beginning to wonder, how transparent Pico is?
If you're using Pico as DAC, isn't that suffer colorization from Pico's amp?
Isn't double amplification is never recommended for purist audiophile?

 

[Hartfell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaska /img/forum/go_quote.gif If planning to use one of the two devices in question exclusively as a DAC, I would think the Duet is clearly the way to go. Can the Pico even be used as a DAC to feed a headamp? I didn't know it had a line out (just a headphone jack) or RCA outputs, unless I missed something. I bought my Duet strictly to use it as a DAC. I had been waiting for a long time for the ESI-Audio Duafire to be released, but finally gave up on it. It's also FireWire bus powered, but has lots of bells and whistles and knobs (kind of like an E-MU 0404 USB), which I suppose the Duet has too, but at least the Duet's breakout cable hides this unused ugliness.

May I ask which head amp you are using with your Duet, and how you have connected the two? Also, which headphones are you using? I have Grado RS-1s and will probably add the HD650 soon (or possibly hold off for another year and save up for the GS1000 instead)

 

[Currawong]

I've been experimenting with a Corda Move as a DAC connected to my Little Dot MKV and ALO-AKG 701's, but not noticing any significant difference.

I'm feeling I need a better DAC for my MacBook Pro as well, so I'd be interested to hear more about people's experiences too. What I'm wondering is how I'd hook whatever DAC I get into my MKV. Ideally it would be via RCA, as there is a greater selection of cables available to complete the picture, so to speak. I'd like to know what set-ups people have used that got great results with both the Pico and Duet or any other USB or FW DAC for that matter.

 

[OptionTrader]

This may be stating the obvious but the Apogee Duet is designed primarily for musicians who wish to record and arrange their own material. The Mac is especially well suited for this. I have a Predator (which I'm very satisfied with) and had an order in for a Pico (because I was curious how different it may be) but ultimately purchased the Duet instead because of its utility for musicians. I play electric bass and keyboards and wanted the extra functionality.

The Duet also sounds very sweet through a set of Edition 9s.

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hartfell /img/forum/go_quote.gif May I ask which head amp you are using with your Duet, and how you have connected the two? Also, which headphones are you using?)

I did many hours of auditioning my Duet's built-in headphone amp with HD-580s and DT770-80 Pros, and as much time was spent listening with the Duet connected via 1/4" mono-to-RCA cables to a home headphone amp, and came to the conclusion that there was no improvement at all with the home amp in the setup. So, at least for now, I'm very content using the Duet as an all-in-one rig with the headphones I mentioned. I have to say that I'm really loving my HD-580s now thanks to the Duet. I thought of selling these headphones a while ago, but that would have been a HUGE mistake.