[masterbrood]

Amp for Denon Ah-D7000

 
Hello Head-fi.
My journey in audiophilia started with a pair of "Steel Series Siberia Gaming Headset", at the time, all reviews I had red about them seemed to be positive, and I thought I really took a step up in the sound quality department through bying them since they also were rather expensive ($100).
 
However, I was so disapointed with the sound I even tried to force my self to like the sound comming from the cans, just to nor cry
A year later and I finally decided to upgrade my headphones, and this time around I've done some more research and finally decided upon a pair of Denon Ah-d7000.
 
The question remains; what amplifier should I get ti get the most out of these cans?
Since the phones are rather expensive, I'd rather the amplifier is not too pricy.

The amps I've been looking at are:

1. Argon HA1            
2. Schiit Asgard 

 
I'd rather not spend more than $250 on the amplifier and tube-amps are out of the question since I'll use the phones for everyday stuff, not just dedicated music sessions.
 
Any suggestions? Should I save my money to buy a more powerful amp, are there any other amps you would recommend, anything special to think about since the cans has a rather low impedance?
 
I'm grateful for all help I can get and will do proper research on the smplifiers suggested.
 
Thanks in advance.
Best regards
John

 

[vladimirK702]

Welcome to head-fi!! sorry about your wallet. 
 
IMO, it would be better if you save a little more to buy a nice amp that drives properly the D7000's. I think there's a head-fi'er who owns the HA-160D with them. 
 
If you don't want to spend more than 1k, you can also check the HA-160 (sometimes there are nice deals on the F/s section) 

 

[TheHighBuilder]

Upgrading your can was definitely a good move.
Try to save some $$$ for a good amp.
In the $500/600 range, you might have some interesting stuff on ebay.....
A portable-desktop amp, it drives 8 to 600Ω loads, has USB DAC option.
The Icon HDP.
 
I think your D7000 deserves the best.

 

[LugBug1]

A solution for now and very affordable is the Little Dot I+ (yes I have been banging on about this quite a lot recently

) It is perfect for low impedance phones and has multiple options to fine tune to your liking.
 
I use it with my Rs1's and Im very happy with the results.

 

[masterbrood]

Wow, thank you for your suggestions.
The Little dot MK1+ is very cool looking, as always with the tube-amps, I love the steampunk feel about them.
However, as I stated in my first post: I do not wish a tube-amp due to the "warm-up" time, I would really like to be able so start listen to my music without waiting 20 mins ^^
 
I REALLY like the idea of owning the Burson amp after reading some stuff about it. I feel however that the price of the 160D is a bit too steep for me, while the 160 might be an actual alternative. Must check them out more properly. I really like their philosofy.
 
The looks of the Icon HDP is less of a thrill, but ofcourse its the sound that counts, I am currently finding out more about this amp ^^
The Portable/stationary amp is not an alternative althoug i appreciate the thought. I somehow feel that the portable amp might be a compromise between soundquality and portability, and that one looks to heavy and big to be really portable anyway :S

I feel that sub $700 is a very attractive pricerange, but I would have to wait maybe 6 months to be able to really afford it ( alot of other expenses at the moment)
But please, if you have more suggestions, keep them comming even above the $700 mark if you wish.
 
 

 

[imademymark]

i use my d7000s with a gilmore lite and it works pretty well. there's one for sale at 250 in the FS section which imo is pretty much a steal

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Wow, thank you for your suggestions.
The Little dot MK1+ is very cool looking, as always with the tube-amps, I love the steampunk feel about them.
However, as I stated in my first post: I do not wish a tube-amp due to the "warm-up" time, I would really like to be able so start listen to my music without waiting 20 mins ^^
 

 
No probs, but I would also just say.. all amps need time to warm up, tubes are no different to transistors in that respect and if anything they probably warm up quicker!

 

[TwoEars]

I would recommend against the Icon line of products, the D7000 is at least 3 steps above that and it'd be a strange match.
 
I'd recommend:
 
1. The Burson HA-160 if you like a dynamic and powerful sound for good money
2. The violectric v181 or v200 if you want something even better than the HA-160 and have money to burn, otherwise the HA-160 is GREAT
3. Woo Audio WA3 is great as an entry level Tube Amp
4. The Schiit Lyr or Valhalla are getting a lot of good rep right now
5. Darkvoice etc etc etc etc etc etc etc..... there is a world out there to be lost in even before you consider tube rolling.....

 

[masterbrood]

Quote:

 
No probs, but I would also just say.. all amps need time to warm up, tubes are no different to transistors in that respect and if anything they probably warm up quicker!

Ahh, ok. I heard a colleague at work say something about tube-amps not being able to produce any sound before they are warmed up; at all. Complete silence in the headphones until the warm up mark. But that is not the case then? I really have no personal experience of the tube amps, so maybe I was excluding them too soon? :O

 

[shipsupt]

+1 on the Little Dot I+ and the Gilmore Lite.

I also think they pair very well with the Headroom Micro Amp and Micro Dac.

On the tube front they sound fantastic from my Woo Audio 6SE.

The D7000's will benefit from good amplification, but they do not absolutely require it like some other less efficient headphones.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Ahh, ok. I heard a colleague at work say something about tube-amps not being able to produce any sound before they are warmed up; at all. Complete silence in the headphones until the warm up mark. But that is not the case then? I really have no personal experience of the tube amps, so maybe I was excluding them too soon? :O

The thing with the Little dotI+ is that it is a hybrid tube amp, so it is half transistor and half tubes. Mine takes no time to warm up, only it sounds better after a while like most amps.
 
I would honestly recommend a hybrid with denon's because you will get the better timing and current associated with SS amps (better for low impedance cans) but the big soundstage of tubes.  
 

 

[earerror]

Man, if you can save a little more for the HA-160, it would make nice match for your hp's. 
 
 

 

[jc9394]

X2 ^^^, the D7000/HA-160 are unbelievable. It actually better match than WA22.

 

[masterbrood]

Yes, I am really interested in the HA-160, but is the difference between the HA-160 and HA-160D worth the price difference?
How much does the in built in DAC matter?
I do not plan on bying a separate DAC unit. I plan on connecting the amp directly to my computer´s audio card - Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music, and I hope this will be sufficient?
 

 

[shanep91]

I'm looking into the asgard for my D7000, Jason said its a great match.