[wired00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carter54 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am currently considering the same list for my HD600's. I only hav ethe Zero ATM.

Cool

I've pretty much settled on either a DV 336se or classic. You can grab the classic from head-direct which is $309 including shipping.

Later I'm keen on the zero dac at Audiophilechina. Emailed to find out if they have the USB input version though... seems they only have the Coax+optic input versions?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wired00 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Larry thanks for another great review I'm tight on budget (wife constraints) and keen to upgrade my amp for HD650's. What would you recommend out of these valve amps: - EF2 - Darkvoice 336SE - ($246US) - Little Dott MkIII - ($199) - LIttle Dott MkII - ($159) Have you (or anyone else here) tried any of these amps along with the EF2? I only have a ibasso D2 atm Cheers for any help

Quote:

Originally Posted by koven /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ All of those choices have great synergy with the HD650. I've asked HeadphoneAddict the same question when deciding to buy the EF2... but he said he has not heard any Little Dot or Darkvoice amps. BTW, just FYI, Skylab is selling a 336 w/ upgraded tubes in the for sale section. And also want to add that I had a D2 Boa before the EF2... the improvement a night and day difference and got me hooked on the tube sound.

DV336SE should be just as good as the 336i. I've posted before that the 300 ohm HD600 was the one headphone the DV336i seems to beat the EF1/EF2. So I assume the HD650 would get along with the 336i/336SE just as well. But I preferred the EF1/EF2 with most of my low impedance phones like RS-1, HF-1, RS-2, Ultrasones, Denons - and it still sounds nice with HD600. The DV336i was okay with some IEM, but the EF2 is better with IEM than the DV (but EF1 volume control makes IEM almost un-usable).

You can make the DV336i or SE work a little better with the lower impedance phones like Grado and Denon if you really experiment a lot with a bunch of tubes (not cheap). After $600 in tubes I ended up with a Hytron brown-base 5692 in front and a Tung Sol 5998 in the rear to get decent performance from the 336i with Grados. But it still excelled with HD600 which sounded best with a Sylvania VT-231 or a Sylvania "bad boy" in front and the Tung Sol 5998 in the rear. That's $200 in two sets of tubes just to match it with two different headphones.

If the HD650 will be your primary headphone, the Dark Voice might be a better choice, assuming you can afford a $75-100 Sylvania tube and a $40 Tung Sol tube for it.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I almost got the Little Dot I+ care to enlighten us on the differences between the two? btw, you'd be the first to answer that million dollar question

Well, if I did from where I am right now (college), it'll be heavily skewed in many ways:

1. the Little Dot I+ is at home; seven hours away, so I'll be poorly comparing from memory
2. The tubes in the Little Dot I+ are not "stock," so the sound is probably different from what other people hear
3. I have a different cable on the Little Dot I+, which actually significantly changes its sound to a way more bassy, maybe slightly muddy, way

We'll see...I have 30 days to refund in case things don't work out.

 

[boomy3555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cheers, I think I'll just first play it with the supplied tubes, and then swap them out with the better ones to see if there's a difference.

I've just burned in some NOS 60's Mullards and you'll find that although the Stock tubes are really nice overall, the sound can change significantly with "Tube Rolling"

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomy3555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've just burned in some NOS 60's Mullards and you'll find that although the Stock tubes are really nice overall, the sound can change significantly with "Tube Rolling"

Oh indeed, I found that out last year with the Little Dot I+; Im 99% sure that the two models and their tube compatibility is the same. I was just wondering if tube rolling would affect the output of the DAC path.

 

[nzstudent]

How does the EF2 compare with a mini3/gamma1? Thanks

 

[will0957]

I'm a noob. I've never owned a USB DAC / AMP, don't quite understand it all. I've read this entire thread.

I've got a pair of Denon AHD2000's coming today. I used to own a pair of Grado SR225's, but they've been sold a long time ago. The D2000's are my only headphones for home use.

I want to have a quality means of listening to music, using my computer as the source, without spending a fortune. That's how I came across the EF2.

Considering that I'm a noob and a lot of this stuff doesn't make sense to me (yet), please be kind when responding

1) EF2 plugs in to USB port on the computer, and has nothing to do with the sound card, correct?
2) How does it work with the PC? How do you tell the PC to play music using the EF2? I've never been one to understand audio that uses data cables. Confuses me.
3) Would you recommend the EF2 for pairing with Denon AHD2000's for someone on a budget of under $200-250?

Thanks

 

[thechungster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Computer => USB cable => DAC => RCA cable (or whatever works) => EF2

Ah thank you. If I was to get a Headroom micro DAC in the future, I would simple connect it to my MacBook, and use the line out part of the DAC and connect it to the EF2 right?

 

[roker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechungster /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah thank you. If I was to get a Headroom micro DAC in the future, I would simple connect it to my MacBook, and use the line out part of the DAC and connect it to the EF2 right?

yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by will0957 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1) EF2 plugs in to USB port on the computer, and has nothing to do with the sound card, correct? 2) How does it work with the PC? How do you tell the PC to play music using the EF2? I've never been one to understand audio that uses data cables. Confuses me. 3) Would you recommend the EF2 for pairing with Denon AHD2000's for someone on a budget of under $200-250? Thanks

1) That's one option or you could use another source and bypass the internal DAC of the EF2.

2) Go to your hardware settings after plugging in the USB cord and make sure the audio is now playing through the USB (it should show up as Burr Brown USB).

3)Headphone Addict and Mr. Arroyo recommend it for the D2000s.

I say take a leap and if you don't like it, sell it on the forums.

 

[boomy3555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by will0957 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a noob. I've never owned a USB DAC / AMP, don't quite understand it all. I've read this entire thread. I've got a pair of Denon AHD2000's coming today. I used to own a pair of Grado SR225's, but they've been sold a long time ago. The D2000's are my only headphones for home use. I want to have a quality means of listening to music, using my computer as the source, without spending a fortune. That's how I came across the EF2. Considering that I'm a noob and a lot of this stuff doesn't make sense to me (yet), please be kind when responding 1) EF2 plugs in to USB port on the computer, and has nothing to do with the sound card, correct? 2) How does it work with the PC? How do you tell the PC to play music using the EF2? I've never been one to understand audio that uses data cables. Confuses me. 3) Would you recommend the EF2 for pairing with Denon AHD2000's for someone on a budget of under $200-250? Thanks

When you plug in the USB from the EF2 to the computer it will recognize it as a seperate sound card and will list it as USB sound device in the "Sound Devices" file of the computer (PC).and will bypass the onboard soundcard in favor of the EF-2 so basically the EF2 acts as an external sound card.

You may need to restart the computer or you media player (Itunes,WMP,Foobar, etc after attaching the EF2. You simply play your computer music the same way you always have. The computer will send the signal to the EF2 instead of your headphone out. While the EF2 is plugged into your PC, you will not get sound from the headphone out jack. It should default back to the onboard soundcard once you disconnect the EF2 but again, the PC may need to be restarted for it to find the default onboard soundcard after removing the EF2. It sounds like alot of work but it pretty much does all he work it'self.

Many of us feel that the Denons have an incredible synergy with the hybrid EF1 and EF2 models from HeadDirect, so the EF-2 and Denon 2K's are probably perfect for each other. Both in synergy and price range.

The DAC that HeadDirect chose for the EF2 is used in many other devices but is considered just pretty good. One thing that Fang can improve on in the future, so some have chosen to use a seperate external DAC running into the RCA inputs of the EF2 for that extra upgrade. I use it mostly directly from my headphone out to the RCA's of the EF2, as I have no external DAC's at my disposal. I have also run from my CD player to the EF2 directly, but as I like to EQ a bit I don't have that option directly from the CD (Marantz DV6001)

Overall this EF2 hybrid would be an excelent choice for your budget and the Denons and we can go into "Tube Rolling" (switching different manufacturers and ages of tubes), later

Cheers

 

[wired00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carter54 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am currently considering the same list for my HD600's. I only hav ethe Zero ATM.

Hi Carter how are your 600's with the Zero alone? I'm considering just getting a Zero Dac for now to run 650's then upgrade later with a Darkvoice 336 or LD Mk3. Budget is a concern atm and i can get a Zero DAC/USB for $180AUS including shipping

 

[wired00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by will0957 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a noob. I've never owned a USB DAC / AMP, don't quite understand it all. I've read this entire thread. I've got a pair of Denon AHD2000's coming today. I used to own a pair of Grado SR225's, but they've been sold a long time ago. The D2000's are my only headphones for home use. I want to have a quality means of listening to music, using my computer as the source, without spending a fortune. That's how I came across the EF2. Considering that I'm a noob and a lot of this stuff doesn't make sense to me (yet), please be kind when responding 1) EF2 plugs in to USB port on the computer, and has nothing to do with the sound card, correct? 2) How does it work with the PC? How do you tell the PC to play music using the EF2? I've never been one to understand audio that uses data cables. Confuses me. 3) Would you recommend the EF2 for pairing with Denon AHD2000's for someone on a budget of under $200-250? Thanks

1) yeah as others said the DAC(digital to audio converter) in the EF2 is used purely as a soundcard in the PC. It allows bypassing the DAC in your PC which would be worse quality. Also the headphone jacks frequently used are rubbish. With IEM you can especially notice the lack of quality in laptop/pc/ipod headphone outs.
2) you plug in the USB DAC and automatically windows/linux etc will detect the device and sound should start playing via the new "sound card".

 

[Carter54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wired00 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Carter how are your 600's with the Zero alone? I'm considering just getting a Zero Dac for now to run 650's then upgrade later with a Darkvoice 336 or LD Mk3. Budget is a concern atm and i can get a Zero DAC/USB for $180AUS including shipping

At first I hated it but the issues was with my headphones not the amp. I bought my headphones used on the FS forum and the pads were really warn so the sound was lacking detail and sound stage. I replaced the pads with new ones from sennheiser this week and I am now in headphone nirvana.

I know penchum the reviewer of the Original Zero (like I have) used HD650's for his review and was enjoying them very much with it. For my first amp I have really liked it. I am not an audiophile just someone who enjoys good sounding music so these are just my opinions but I have put the Zero up agains a Headroom supreme and my headstage Lyrix and it blows them both away IMHO. With the gain on the Zero I never go above 50% volume and I think it would hurt my ears if I did so it seems to drive the HD600's ok. I have been thinking about getting into tubes though especially with the HD600's just to see if I like the sound changes with them. I rolled through a bunch of Opamps on the zero and was able to hear only slight differences if any with the different configurations.

Zero Review thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...re-amp-269458/

 

[will0957]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomy3555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif When you plug in the USB from the EF2 to the computer it will recognize it as a seperate sound card and will list it as USB sound device in the "Sound Devices" file of the computer (PC).and will bypass the onboard soundcard in favor of the EF-2 so basically the EF2 acts as an external sound card. You may need to restart the computer or you media player (Itunes,WMP,Foobar, etc after attaching the EF2. You simply play your computer music the same way you always have. The computer will send the signal to the EF2 instead of your headphone out. While the EF2 is plugged into your PC, you will not get sound from the headphone out jack. It should default back to the onboard soundcard once you disconnect the EF2 but again, the PC may need to be restarted for it to find the default onboard soundcard after removing the EF2. It sounds like alot of work but it pretty much does all he work it'self. Many of us feel that the Denons have an incredible synergy with the hybrid EF1 and EF2 models from HeadDirect, so the EF-2 and Denon 2K's are probably perfect for each other. Both in synergy and price range. The DAC that HeadDirect chose for the EF2 is used in many other devices but is considered just pretty good. One thing that Fang can improve on in the future, so some have chosen to use a seperate external DAC running into the RCA inputs of the EF2 for that extra upgrade. I use it mostly directly from my headphone out to the RCA's of the EF2, as I have no external DAC's at my disposal. I have also run from my CD player to the EF2 directly, but as I like to EQ a bit I don't have that option directly from the CD (Marantz DV6001) Overall this EF2 hybrid would be an excelent choice for your budget and the Denons and we can go into "Tube Rolling" (switching different manufacturers and ages of tubes), later Cheers

Thanks for the post. I went ahead and ordered the EF2. Cheers!

 

[koven]

Just for the record, I've been listening to the LD MKIII and, from memory, it does sound better than the EF2.