[boomy3555]

Well now I must official appologize to Ryan for my impatience. I just checked the DHL site and although it is still in Shanghai, it is no longer in "Hold" status. It says it has departed origin location but still shows it in Shanghai. I'm sure it will be smooth sailing from now on.

 

[CrazyNikel]

Hey guys, do you think this amp would drive the Denon 2000's well enough? Also what about the 5000's? Looking at this amp to drive my purchase of either the 2.


Thanks for the help!

 

[minktoast]

Just received my D1. As reported elsewhere - excellent build quality and service from Ryan.

Unfortunately I also have a problem with a hum noise on the headphone output. I am using HD 650's and in my fairly quiet room it is very audible. The unit is connected via optical S/PDIF to my computer. I have also tried taking the unit elsewhere in the house and just plugging it in on it's own. I get the same noise through my headphones when it's turned on.

The characteristics of the noise at different volumes through my HD 650's:

1. 0 volume (7 o'clock on the pot): quiet 50hz hum (audible above my relatively quiet PC)
2. 10 o'clock: louder 50hz hum
3. 3 o'clock: white noise (hiss) takes over from hum

As noted elsewhere the gain is very high so even with my HD 650's I wouldn't be able to listen at levels above 9 o'clock with 100% output from my PC.

I suspect it's a 50hz mains hum see here:

Mains hum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am in Ireland on 240v. I have a D1 with the upgraded GE 5670 tube. I'm no electrical expert but from the above Wikipedia page it seems that:

a) there are a number of possible causes of the hum (including issues related to the heating of the tube even though this is not used in the head amp stage)
b) these issues are solvable by good design.

The sound quality from the unit is very good but I'm not impressed with the background hum. On my Corda Aria there is no background noise. Is this acceptable from a headphone amp at this price in 2010?

Any suggestions from anyone?

 

[blitzpirate]

Mine came in the mail today, really nice build quality i can still smell the paint, I like how when you change the volume or source theres a click. havent rolled the tubes or the opamps yet. initial impression was that the treble isnt very good out the SS headphone amp. maybe it needs to be burned in or i need to put in the lm4562

 

[_Spanky_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blitzpirate /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mine came in the mail today, really nice build quality i can still smell the paint, I like how when you change the volume or source theres a click. havent rolled the tubes or the opamps yet. initial impression was that the treble isnt very good out the SS headphone amp. maybe it needs to be burned in or i need to put in the lm4562

Several others and me all agree that the LM4562 helps with the shrill highs.

I see you have the Zero in your sig. Would you mind giving a quick comparison?

 

[minktoast]

Just to add to my post above, I have now tested with speakers (Rubicon R5a monitors) also get a hum noise when connecting my monitors to the tube pre-amp out and solid state out. The hum characteristics are exactly the same as for the headphones.

Any suggestions on how to get rid of this noise?

 

[ninjikiran]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minktoast /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just to add to my post above, I have now tested with speakers (Rubicon R5a monitors) also get a hum noise when connecting my monitors to the tube pre-amp out and solid state out. The hum characteristics are exactly the same as for the headphones. Any suggestions on how to get rid of this noise?

I think it has to do with your box in some way shape or form, I don't get any hum in a silent environment.

 

[ninjikiran]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ƒractaL /img/forum/go_quote.gif How do I know if I have a "bit-perfect" sound card?

Many onboard cards are not, right off the bat. Basically any card where you can disable any and all enhancements and the master sample rate can be a variable rather than static(on my Realtek AC885 onboard for instance this is not true, even with WASAPI). On the D1 you can hear an audible change going from 48/96 to 44.1 and vice versa.

I know for sure most of the X-Fi's can, the Chaintek AV-710 card is supposed to be capable as well.

 

[B-Dawk20]

Hey boomy3555, I saw your profile and it says you have the EF2 and Compass. When you get your D1, do you mind comparing them?

 

[DannyBuoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mysteek /img/forum/go_quote.gif What a bummer! I hope all goes well. Maybe its just something with the shipping company.. a temporary hold that doesnt have anything to do with the new year.

Don't worry. Everyone that has wondered about this was pleasently surprised (as I was) when the status changed from "On Hold" to processed, and BAM! the next day it showed up at my doorstep, frozen like a popsicle (my location is half a mile from the airport and the unit must have been at 20 degrees F when I opened the box).

But the thing is. It stays in the "On Hold" status for a day or two and then it is at your doorstep the next day.

You will be so happy with the performance of the D1 you will forget about the DHL wait altogether.

 

[sfrancis]

@minktoast: please let us know the outcome of the issues you see. I have the same DAC/amp/headphone setup (D1 + HD650) and I'm curious about the noise. Already got HD650 yesterday and still waiting for D1 ...

 

[boomy3555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyNikel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey guys, do you think this amp would drive the Denon 2000's well enough? Also what about the 5000's? Looking at this amp to drive my purchase of either the 2. Thanks for the help!

The Denon 2K and 5K have the same drivers and the Maverick will run either of them as well as the 7K's with ease. The only dowside I see to the Mav as far as the Denons go is that the Denons realy love the "Tube" flavor and as the Tube Section runs to the RCA out's in the back and not the headphone out, you won't be giving the Denons the flavor they want unless you use the Maverick as a pre-amp/Dac and run to another amp for the Denons. My recommendation for the Denons are the Tube/SS hybrids such as the EF2, Little Dot, Darkvoice, and Xiang Sheng Little Singer (HAo1 or something like that)

 

[boomy3555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DannyBuoy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't worry. Everyone that has wondered about this was pleasently surprised (as I was) when the status changed from "On Hold" to processed, and BAM! the next day it showed up at my doorstep, frozen like a popsicle (my location is half a mile from the airport and the unit must have been at 20 degrees F when I opened the box). But the thing is. It stays in the "On Hold" status for a day or two and then it is at your doorstep the next day. You will be so happy with the performance of the D1 you will forget about the DHL wait altogether.

It's out of "Hold" status but still in China. I'll breathe easier when I see it track out of China.

 

[boomy3555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-Dawk20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey boomy3555, I saw your profile and it says you have the EF2 and Compass. When you get your D1, do you mind comparing them?

I had a Maverick before and as DAC's the EF2 and the Maverick are very similar. The Solid state headphone out of the Mav is more powerful than the EF2 and better for cans higher than 100 ohms ( Senns, Beyers). But as all of my cans are low impedence the EF2 is my AMP of choice since I like Tubes. I did try the Tube pre out of the Maverick into both the EF2 and my RA1. but still feel that the sig of the EF2 alone is better from Headphone out. I will refrain from comparing the EF and the Compass as they are to disssimilar. At the Seattle/Portland meet on 2/27. I'll have The Maverick,Zero, and Compass all there side by side for Head-Fi'ers to A/B/C..

 

[thearrow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minktoast /img/forum/go_quote.gif The characteristics of the noise at different volumes through my HD 650's: 0 volume (7 o'clock on the pot): quiet 50hz hum (audible above my relatively quiet PC) 10 o'clock: louder 50hz hum 3 o'clock: white noise (hiss) takes over from hum As noted elsewhere the gain is very high so even with my HD 650's I wouldn't be able to listen at levels above 9 o'clock with 100% output from my PC. I suspect it's a 50hz mains hum see here: Mains hum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is exactly what I'm experiencing, too (except 60Hz since I'm in the US).

What can we do to eliminate this?