[joker97]

Hi thanks for any info on this -


I have some high end headphones ie Senheiser HD 600 and instead of buying a headphone amp I am wondering how will the Denon perform as a headphone amp?


Intuitively I thought it would be powerful enough but when you plug it in you can really hear background buzz (i use stereo direct mode with no other processing hoping to bypass circuitry for cleanest signal) ... does background buzz mean that the signal to noise ratio is a bit high or inadequate circuitry/isolation inside the amp, or should it not affect sound quality?


Thanks.


(I have a portable headphone DAC/AMP ie Fiio E17 but it clips my 600Ohm headphones hence I am trying out the Denon as my DAC/AMP playing lossless off my laptop via HDMI. My laptop has all the high definition audio drivers for the HDMI and I play bluray HD audio with this setup.)

 

[glangford]

I've used my denon 3311ci with senn 650 hds. I heard no hum whatsoever. You don' t need to put it on pure direct. The headphone connection bypasses all signal processing anyway. It should be ok. I eventually upgraded to a small headphone amp, the cute beyond that I can use without cutting on my reciever. But I still use the reciever heaphone port for tv watching occasionally. (The cable box goes to reciever, not heaphone amp. )

 

[joker97]

could it be ... maybe your 3 series costing 3x more has better headphone circuitry?

 

[jdsmoothie]

More likely there's a loose ground on the 789 headphone jack to main board connection. As you're out of warranty, pop the top on the 789 and check to see if you can spot any loose wiring where the jack connects to the main board.

 

[joker97]

Aha found the culprit


if i plug the headphones with no HDMI from laptop no hum


If i plug in the laptop HDMI hum comes on


If I mute the master volume on laptop no hum


AAARGH dump computer


(Dell XPS 1645)


note if i plug headphones straight into laptop there is a mega hum like you're in a sawmill/machinery factory but i thought it wouldn't transmit this crap thru HDMI

 

[joker97]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jdsmoothie  /t/1414579/how-is-denon-avr-789-1909-as-a-headphone-amp#post_22114531


More likely there's a loose ground on the 789 headphone jack to main board connection. As you're out of warranty, pop the top on the 789 and check to see if you can spot any loose wiring where the jack connects to the main board.

thanks for the tip - no loose connection seen ... hum source isolated though, as above ... not sure if there's much i can do as it's a laptop issue

 

[cosorio]

You problem seems to be caused by noise inside the PC. Why not use the fiio as a USB soundcard. You'd have to get a fiio E9 or an L7 to connect it to the receiver but it would be less expensive than getting a new PC ;-)


BTW, I got a E17 because my crappy Dell XPS13 headphone output is too noisy.