Will an amp give a Denon headphone a wow improvement?

[tamleo]

Hi everybody,
I have saved some money.  Now i want a quite improvement sound from my system(laptop connects directly the headphone

). My headphone is Denon A100 and this have 32ohm impedance. My friend says that although my A100 has a low impedance like AKG 70x(60ohm) but this does not need an amp because the Denon headphones are quite sensitive and amp will make a tiny change, so it is a waste of money. It is true?
I plan to buy a Schiit asgard that cost $250 or a Audiotrak drdac that cost about $350. Do you think the improvement that an amp brings will worth ~ $300? or should i sell my A100 and continue to save money to get a new headphone like d7000?

it maybe even charge me more.
Sorry about my bad English and thank you so much!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I have saved some money.  Now i want a quite improvement sound from my system(laptop connects directly the headphone

). My headphone is Denon A100 and this have 32ohm impedance. My friend says that although my A100 has a low impedance like AKG 70x(60ohm) but this does not need an amp because the Denon headphones are quite sensitive and amp will make a tiny change, so it is a waste of money. It is true?
I plan to buy a Schiit Asgard that cost $250 or a Audiotrak DrDAC that cost about $350. Do you think the improvement that an amp brings will worth ~ $300? or should i sell my A100 and continue to save money to get a new headphone like d7000?

it maybe even charge me more.
Sorry about my bad English and thank you so much!

Usually laptop come with low cost DAC and very basic headphone outputs.
HRT Musicstreamer II DAC (USB/DAC, $149) should make improvements to the sound of your Denon A100 cans.
Or at least a Fiio E10 ($80) USB/DAC/headphone amp.
I think the Schiit Asgard or Audiotrak DrDAC might be overkill.
 
 

 

[MattTCG]

I agree with the above. The fiio will drive the denon's plenty and has a decent dac as well. Would only cost you about $50 used here to find out...
 
good luck!!

 

[iamthem]

Denons are generally easy to drive and an amp isn't absolutely essential, although I'd expect some improvements. I'd be more concerned about getting a DAC, as laptops generally use low cost low quality components.

 

[KG Jag]

The $169 at Amazon Hi-Fi Man EF2A Tube USB DAC Headphone Amp works very well for my D2000, 5000 & 7000.  I'm listening to it with my Denon AH-D5000 now.

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

The $169 at Amazon Hi-Fi Man EF2A Tube USB DAC Headphone Amp works very well for my D2000, 5000 & 7000.  I'm listening to it with my Denon AH-D5000 now.

I wondered how the denon series would respond to tube amps.Glad to hear that it's working out for you. I plan to try the LD soon!!

 

[Canadian411]

To tell you the truth, (IMO), adding an amp do not give you that "WOW" factor.

Going from entry level headphone to a high end will give you that jaw dropping experience., but this is just me after owning many amps, headphones, etc, ended up selling bunch, bought it back etc. (A long journey per say)

For example, going from Denon AH-D2000 to LCD2/HD800/T1, you will get that experience.

You won't get that much sound improvement other than warming, losing the hissing (with dac), etc.

 

[tamleo]

Quote:

The $169 at Amazon Hi-Fi Man EF2A Tube USB DAC Headphone Amp works very well for my D2000, 5000 & 7000.  I'm listening to it with my Denon AH-D5000 now.

Ohh, according what i read, the tube amp just for hight impedance can, except a few special tube lamps that i don't remember the name. And the solid or hybrid amp will be better for low impedance..So if u said that, i think i have more choices now. thank u!
 

 

[Papander]

Amp wont give you any night and day kind of effects. It's more like the difference of sun being at 12 o'clock and then it being at 2 o'clock. The difference is very small, so you definitely wont get any wow effects. Most important reason to get amp in my opinion is that if your volume is too low without an amp.
 
I have fiio E10 and its sound is really close to my MSI K9A2 CF motherboards integrated Realtek ALC888 chipset. Only big difference is that I have all volume settings at 100% with the motherboard, whereas with E10 I could still get more volume if needed.
 
Edit: I have the AKG K601 headphones which are said to be hard to drive and need lots of power. I have now tested these headphones with my motherboards integrated ALC888 chipset, Fiio E10 amp/dac, X-fi Xtreme Gamer soundcard and Fiio E9 amp. There are differences in sound, but they are really subtle. I think amps are just really over hyped in regards to what they will do to your sound.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Hi everybody,
I have saved some money.  Now i want a quite improvement sound from my system(laptop connects directly the headphone

). My headphone is Denon A100 and this have 32ohm impedance. My friend says that although my A100 has a low impedance like AKG 70x(60ohm) but this does not need an amp because the Denon headphones are quite sensitive and amp will make a tiny change, so it is a waste of money. It is true?
I plan to buy a Schiit asgard that cost $250 or a Audiotrak drdac that cost about $350. Do you think the improvement that an amp brings will worth ~ $300? or should i sell my A100 and continue to save money to get a new headphone like d7000?

it maybe even charge me more.
Sorry about my bad English and thank you so much!

Save your money for a new headphone.
 
Very best,
 

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Amp wont give you any night and day kind of effects. It's more like the difference of sun being at 12 o'clock and then it being at 2 o'clock. The difference is very small, so you definitely wont get any wow effects. Most important reason to get amp in my opinion is that if your volume is too low without an amp.
 
I have fiio E10 and its sound is really close to my MSI K9A2 CF motherboards integrated Realtek ALC888 chipset. Only big difference is that I have all volume settings at 100% with the motherboard, whereas with E10 I could still get more volume if needed.
 
Edit: I have the AKG K601 headphones which are said to be hard to drive and need lots of power. I have now tested these headphones with my motherboards integrated ALC888 chipset, Fiio E10 amp/dac, X-fi Xtreme Gamer soundcard and Fiio E9 amp. There are differences in sound, but they are really subtle. I think amps are just really over hyped in regards to what they will do to your sound.

Like so many things in life, it depends...
 
Unlike most, my usual "unamped" source is a CD played through my Yamaha Adventage A/V receiver.  When I more a can to my dedicated headphone amp, sometimes there is little difference in sound, except perhaps a colorization/warming which is the result of going from a solid state receiver to hybrid tube amp.  Once in a while, the amp even makes a can worse by adding brightness that is not needed.  Other times there is a night and day difference when one or all of the following occurs:
 
The EQ expands on one or both ends
 
The sound stage opens up
 
Voices of the instruments are pulled out the mix and I hear hear each individual voice where before I could not (or least could not this easily).
 
The night and day applies best to the Denon D5000 & 7000.
 

 

[Melvins]

I think a LD1+ would work great with your can! They excel at low impedance headphones

 

[tamleo]

thank you guys. I think I will spend money for new headphone first and amp/dac latter.still saving..