AMP, DAC, Standalone Subwoofer, and Headphones

[Tadgh]

Hola audiophiles!

 

After a long slog of cheaper audio solutions I've decided to dedicate some money to moving up the chain, and I'd really appreciate your help in deciding on what setup to.. Set up.

 

I'm no audiophile, but I'm finicky with my audio, which is a start I suppose. I like a clean sound and fairly flat sound curve. I do spend pretty much all day listening to music, on speakers at home, and on headphones when out and about. Here's my current setup, and planned purchases:

 

 

 

Input: Webcam mic (My old condenser and Eurorack UB802 both passed away)

 

Input *planned purchase*: t.bone MB 78 Beta, Behringer Xenyx Q802, Millenium MS-2003 stand.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Output: Creative T40s II, Senhiser HD 201s (on their last legs), Senhiser MX 170s.

 

Output *planned purchase*: AMP+DAC (???), ATH-M50xs, Third Party Subwoofer (???)

 

 

 

My rationale for these planned purchases is:

The Input stuff was largely from recommendation from Audio Technicians in the family (Uncle and Father)

 

Having an AMP and DAC seems to be common place in any higher-end audio setup, and I may move onto higher impedance headphones at some point.

 

The ATH-M50xs are critically acclaimed, and as my first venture into higher-end headphones I feel like I'm not going too far wrong here - they're also mobile and sturdy - two VERY important factors for me.

 

The Creative T40 IIs are wonderful for their price, I feel like they'll do for now, nice detailed mids and highs. But honestly even for a 2.0 setup the bass response is just AWFUL. Anything above about 30% volume becomes more distorted and loose than it already is. Hence I'd opt for buying a good subwoofer as I do spend a lot of time listening to not bass heavy, but bass centric music on them. If I use the Phones or Control Room outputs to bring signal to the subwoofer I recon I could solve the worst of this issue. I also plan to wall mount the T40s.

 

 

 

Any recommendations regarding an AMP and DAC, an extra subwoofer, or my setup as a whole would be greatly appreciated. Any suggestions should look nice, and clean. Extra points goes for if someone can suggest something out of the box to do with my setup.

 

My budget Is around 700 euro all in all - but I'd rather have a fair bit left over for reallocation than spend it all, so for any extra/more expensive purchases than what I've already listed there'd have to be a pretty substantial improvement!

 

Thanks a bunch, my knights in shining armor

Tadgh

Edited April 25, 2015 by Tadgh

[Tadgh]

My bad

[ShearMe]

Guise. Ples.

 

Bumping a post less than a day old... I almost don't want to help.

 

 

 

SMSL SD793II is the latest and greatest cheapo DAC/amp from China. I'm sure you could find something more expensive if you really wanted.

 

You say you want the M50 because it's also portable and durable - I'd recommend getting completely different headphones for home and outside use. The M50 is overrated anyways. HD 518 for home use is a popular recommendation, and I personally love my Momentum on-ear for portability. Plenty of other options though, and some swear by IEMs for out n about due to typically better isolation. Getting two different offerings will also help you in figuring out what your preferred frequency response is, which is half the battle in finding your favorite pair of cans.

 

Speakers:

SMSL SA-50 + Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 + Diamond SW150 + speaker wire

[Tadgh]

Bumping a post less than a day old... I almost don't want to help.

 

 

 

SMSL SD793II is the latest and greatest cheapo DAC/amp from China. I'm sure you could find something more expensive if you really wanted.

 

You say you want the M50 because it's also portable and durable - I'd recommend getting completely different headphones for home and outside use. The M50 is overrated anyways. HD 518 for home use is a popular recommendation, and I personally love my Momentum on-ear for portability. Plenty of other options though, and some swear by IEMs for out n about due to typically better isolation. Getting two different offerings will also help you in figuring out what your preferred frequency response is, which is half the battle in finding your favorite pair of cans.

 

Speakers:

SMSL SA-50 + Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 + Diamond SW150 + speaker wire

Ouch, sorry, my forum etiquette is lacking, it's been a frustrating day.

Would there be much advantage in something more expensive?

 

I had always gone for two separate pairs of headphones myself, but then I thought it might make sense to move back to one solid pair. I could stretch to some decent out and about headphones though .

 

Interesting ideas for the speakers as well! Thanks for your time

(As a side note, any inventive ways I could use my T40s? It'd be a shame to see them go to waste)

[ShearMe]

Would there be much advantage in something more expensive?

 

I don't think so. I've owned a very expensive setup in the past, but aside from looking and feeling nice there wasn't any sound improvement over cheaper products I had at the time.

 

 

I had always gone for two separate pairs of headphones myself, but then I thought it might make sense to move back to one solid pair. I could stretch to some decent out and about headphones though .

 

There's cheaper good headphones worth trying if you don't want to stretch as well. it's hard to justify emptying your wallet for your first few pairs unless you've just won the lottery.

 

 

(As a side note, any inventive ways I could use my T40s? It'd be a shame to see them go to waste)

 

You don't have to replace them with bookshelf units if you don't wish, but there should be a noticeable sound improvement if you do. I'd sell them as they should still fetch a decent price since they're good for what they are, or maybe gift them to a friend/relative.

[Tadgh]

There's cheaper good headphones worth trying if you don't want to stretch as well. it's hard to justify emptying your wallet for your first few pairs unless you've just won the lottery.

This had been a concern of mine yeah, I'm not always at liberty to spend money like this so I was reluctant to go much beyond 150/200 euro. I'll look into some cheaper maybe open-back cans for at home, and some closed back (or possibly IEMs) for outdoor use.

 

Thanks again, I think I might buy those bookshelf speakers

[ShearMe]

This had been a concern of mine yeah, I'm not always at liberty to spend money like this so I was reluctant to go much beyond 150/200 euro. I'll look into some cheaper maybe open-back cans for at home, and some closed back (or possibly IEMs) for outdoor use.

 

Thanks again, I think I might buy those bookshelf speakers

Takstar's HI2050 is well regarded. The Pro80 is the same thing but closed back, though it's not the small portable I'd normally consider. Philips Downtown got good reviews when it came to market. AKG and audio-technica have so many options I can't easily pick any to recommend.

 

The SoundMagic E10 is a popular cheaper IEM in Europe - The RHA MA350 has a braided cord if that interests you.

[Tadgh]

Takstar's HI2050 is well regarded. The Pro80 is the same thing but closed back, though it's not the small portable I'd normally consider. Philips Downtown got good reviews when it came to market. AKG and audio-technica have so many options I can't easily pick any to recommend.

 

The SoundMagic E10 is a popular cheaper IEM in Europe - The RHA MA350 has a braided cord if that interests you.

The Takstar's look nice, would you imagine that there'd be a noticeable difference from the 201s? I'm fine with playing around with a few different cans with different sound curves - but I'd need something nice to bridge the gap for a while considering how much I'm ending up spending on this.

As for IEMs, I'll probably save some and get something a little higher end too, to tide me over now I have my MX170s, and will purchase a pair of Brainwave Deltas (check them out, they're astoundingly priced, owned a pair before the MX170s).

P.S. What's the deal with the AKG K553s? I've seen them about being highly praised and I have a chance to grab a pair for about 100 euro off a family friend.

[SSL]

What's the deal with the AKG K553s? I've seen them about being highly praised and I have a chance to grab a pair for about 100 euro off a family friend.

 

Might as well.

[Tadgh]

Might as well.

Sorry mate, I misunderstood the deal being offered to me - a pair of K550s for 130 euro. Could you recommend them? And if so, why?