Audio Need suggestion for DAC/Amp for Denon AH-D2000

vivacious_tg

vivacious_tg

Skilled
Hi all,
Planning to buy Denon AH-D2000 in a few days depending on their availability in India.
Please suggest best & VFM DAC/Amp to drive them.
I am thinking of buying anyone out of below mentioned one's
1. Asus Xonar ST
2. Udac
3. D1
Which is best for Denon's among these ?
Do I need DAC/AMP or DAC+AMP(separate) .No plans for future upgrade in terms of headphones as of now

Other suggestions are also welcome.
:eek:hyeah:
Thanks for reading
 
Of all the options you have listed the Maverick and Xonar ST is the best option but D2000 doesn't really need something as powerful as a D1 so incase you don't plan to upgrade in future to something like HD650,AKGs .etc I don't really see the point in spending so much on DAC.

The ST on the other hand is a good option but it seems to have synergy issues with the D2000 .(read it in one of the head-fi threads).

uDAC drives the D2000 pretty well to its best and is very VFM as well :).
 
FaH33m said:
Of all the options you have listed the Maverick and Xonar ST is the best option but D2000 doesn't really need something as powerful as a D1 so incase you don't plan to upgrade in future to something like HD650,AKGs .etc I don't really see the point in spending so much on DAC.

The ST on the other hand is a good option but it seems to have synergy issues with the D2000 .(read it in one of the head-fi threads).

uDAC drives the D2000 pretty well to its best and is very VFM as well :).
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Thanks for suggestion buddy.
Can you please post the head fi link where the synergy issues were discussed.
 
I will be trying out my D2000 today with a Audio GD Compass .. Will let you know how much difference it makes compared to uDAC and EF2A. :)
 
D4 mamba is good and one of the best portable DACs to tweak around with but its expensive and worth it only if you need portability.Desktop DACs of same price sound lot better are lot more powerful ;).
 
^^ Yup have to agree with Faheem on that one. Portable DACs/AMPs are good only for the portability. They cannot compete with desktop amps as desktop amps can utilize better/more powerful components as they do not face any power constraints. :)
 
FaH33m said:
I will be trying out my D2000 today with a Audio GD Compass .. Will let you know how much difference it makes compared to uDAC and EF2A. :)
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Thanks, waiting for your observation
Metalspree said:
D2000+D4+Topkit=real eargasm :D

Suggesting D4 because its portable .
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I have only desktop , no laptop/portable players etc. would like to buy best in quality, doesn't matter if it is a desktop or portable.
FaH33m said:
D4 mamba is good and one of the best portable DACs to tweak around with but its expensive and worth it only if you need portability.Desktop DACs of same price sound lot better are lot more powerful ;).
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I am little bit inclined towards Xonar ST, if you get any opportunity to audition D2000+xonar ST, pls let me know.

Superfrag said:
The FUN's DAC is much better than the Compass.. And it's a great unit for the price( can roll opamps too!), just like the D1.
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Is it available in India?
 
@Super-frag - Btw I swapped the Earth OPAMP for a pair of dual AD797BR OPAMPS. :D

Not a huge difference. But a noticeable improvement in the sound.
 
^^ Don't have much idea about Op amps but did you swapped the Opamps in ST or STX ?

have you compared the sound quality with ST vs Udac/ef2a/d4/d1?
 
Sorry I was replying to Superfrags post. :(

About your query, Faheem has the EF2A and udac. Plus he briefly heard the D4 and the Maverick D1. So he is much more qualified to answer that. :)

I also heard the D4 and D1 but not long enough for me to form an impression of them.

Only thing missing is the ST/STX which none of us have heard.
 
vivacious_tg said:
I am thinking of buying anyone out of below mentioned one's
1. Asus Xonar ST
2. Udac
3. D1
Which is best for Denon's among these ?
Click to expand...
I think out of the mentioned lot, the Tubemagic D1 is the best.

The D1 is able to drive almost any HP you throw at it. Including the power hungry HD6XX.

I guess that would be your one time investment if your not planning to upgrade in the future.
Plus it provides more connectivity options than the Xonar cards unless your planing to buy the Daughter card and use it for a surround system.

If your looking plainly for stereo purposes, then the D1 can drive your D2000, D5000 and the D7000 as well :eek:hyeah:

vivacious_tg said:
No plans for future upgrade in terms of headphones as of now
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I've heard that one before :rofl:
 
FaH33m said:
I will be trying out my D2000 today with a Audio GD Compass .. Will let you know how much difference it makes compared to uDAC and EF2A. :)
Click to expand...
Have PM'ed you regarding the impressions with Audio-GD but I think if you post here , it may help others as well.
 
You should know though,that burn in is something very significant when it comes to audio.

I could barely notice any difference between my claro halo and my audigy value when I first got it. It was only after about 40-50 hours of burn in did the halo show its true potential.40-50 hours could easily translate to anywhere between 1 to 3 months depending upon his usage.
 
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