Upgrading My Audio Setup

[BRadjeff7]

Now that I've built a solid gaming PC, I'm looking to upgrade my audio. I'm currently using a pair of 2015 model Astro A40 TRs. These are okay for gaming and mild content consumption (i.e., Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc.), but even with some mild EQ tweaks I find them to be lacking something. As such, I've been looking to invest in a solid set of quality headphones and a good DAC to go along with them. However, I am no audiophile, and am a novice when it comes to quality audio equipment. I've looked at such things as the Sennheiser HD 6XX and the Audio Technica ATH-M50X, but honestly I don't fully understand the difference between such headphones. Also, considering the current state of affairs with the world right now, I don't want to spend an absolute boatload of money on a set up just yet. And as I've stated, I'm no audiophile so I don't need some insane setup to be pleased. I say all that to ask this: Can anyone who is familiar with quality audio equipment recommend a solid headphone and DAC combo that sounds really good without breaking the bank?

[rice guru]

Is this purely for gaming or will.music listening be involved as well? If so what genre's?  and please state how much cash you are willing to drop 

[BRadjeff7]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

Is this purely for gaming or will.music listening be involved as well? If so what genre's?  and please state how much cash you are willing to drop 

It will be used for a mix of everything: both gaming and media consumption (video and music included). In regards to the genre of music that I listen to, it will be a mix of everything. While I mostly listen to metal and hip hop, I do switch it up sometimes and listen to things like American country music, EDM, and ethereal synth pop stuff. As for price range, I would like to keep it affordable, but I would be willing to spend up to $500 to $600 dollars if the price to performance is worth it.

[rice guru]

Aight sounds great. So we don't need to spend that much like $500 at most. So for headphones whole the 6xx is a good value headphone it's not very good for gaming it lacks in the most important part for comp gaming which is imaging. Imaging is how sound is placed around you as well as lacking soundstage which is howuch space the headphone presents around you. The m50x suffers with this even more with just having flat out no soundstage but that's by design its not made for gaming. 

 

I would reccomend the dt 990 as a possibility it's really great for metal and hip hop due to the low end I will say the high end can be pretty sharp and really kill some enjoyment but it's awesome for gaming. The dt 880 on the other hand is more neutral you get less bass but you get amore balanced sound less treble than the 990 it a very good all rounder headphone sounds awesome for gaming and most types of music. 

Another all rounder alternative is the he 58x from massdrop. It has great imaging capabilities easy to drive but the soundstage isn't very wide but sounds great for most types of music. 

In terms of powering them I would reccomend the monoprice liquid spark the way it sounds with Beywrdynamics is great as it adds a little bid of low end and mid emphasis and smooths down the treble a little bit. For a DAC the topping d10 and e30 are great.

Other amp alternatives are the schiit magni 3+ or heresy but the amp pairing isn't that great with the 990 but the 880 with those sound pretty great. 

Or the geshelli stack if you want a nicer dac and amp the enog pro 2 and archel 2.5   right away that's good enough for whatever you upgrade to in the future. 

 

[BRadjeff7]

50 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Aight sounds great. So we don't need to spend that much like $500 at most. So for headphones whole the 6xx is a good value headphone it's not very good for gaming it lacks in the most important part for comp gaming which is imaging. Imaging is how sound is placed around you as well as lacking soundstage which is howuch space the headphone presents around you. The m50x suffers with this even more with just having flat out no soundstage but that's by design its not made for gaming. 

 

I would reccomend the dt 990 as a possibility it's really great for metal and hip hop due to the low end I will say the high end can be pretty sharp and really kill some enjoyment but it's awesome for gaming. The dt 880 on the other hand is more neutral you get less bass but you get amore balanced sound less treble than the 990 it a very good all rounder headphone sounds awesome for gaming and most types of music. 

Another all rounder alternative is the he 58x from massdrop. It has great imaging capabilities easy to drive but the soundstage isn't very wide but sounds great for most types of music. 

In terms of powering them I would reccomend the monoprice liquid spark the way it sounds with Beywrdynamics is great as it adds a little bid of low end and mid emphasis and smooths down the treble a little bit. For a DAC the topping d10 and e30 are great.

Other amp alternatives are the schiit magni 3+ or heresy but the amp pairing isn't that great with the 990 but the 880 with those sound pretty great. 

Or the geshelli stack if you want a nicer dac and amp the enog pro 2 and archel 2.5   right away that's good enough for whatever you upgrade to in the future. 

 

Sweet! After doing a little research, all of that sounds great to me. Based on what you've said here, it looks like for my use case the best combination would be the dt 990 pros paired with the Liquid Spark and the e30. All together they come out to $377 which is perfect. The only snag I ran into is that the Liquid Spark was listed as a Monolith product and not a Monoprice (as shown below). Is this still the correct amp?

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, BRadjeff7 said:

Sweet! After doing a little research, all of that sounds great to me. Based on what you've said here, it looks like for my use case the best combination would be the dt 990 pros paired with the Liquid Spark and the e30. All together they come out to $377 which is perfect. The only snag I ran into is that the Liquid Spark was listed as a Monolith product and not a Monoprice (as shown below). Is this still the correct amp?

yep its the right product monolith is just monoprice's audiophile gear branding https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33304 i reccomend ordering from monoprice's website its cheaper shipping is a bit slower but you save money 

[BRadjeff7]

18 hours ago, rice guru said:

yep its the right product monolith is just monoprice's audiophile gear branding https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33304 i reccomend ordering from monoprice's website its cheaper shipping is a bit slower but you save money 

Thanks! That does drop the price quite significantly. I do however have one final question. Once I have the amp and DAC in hand, how do I go about sitting the two up? Do they link together and then the DAC connects via USB?

[maestro0428]

I would actually go with something from Schiit Audio.  This one is designed for headsets/headphones, but they do sell others.  https://www.schiit.com/products/hel  Just connect your usb to the dac and your headphones to the other end and your good to go.

[BRadjeff7]

After doing a little more research, I kind of like the idea of going with a Schiit stack, using the Magni 3 Heresy coupled with the Modi 3. From what I've seen, the dt990 has a bass boost compared to the dt880. How significant is the difference? Also, what causes the dt990 not to sound good with the Schiit stack?

[BRadjeff7]

3 minutes ago, maestro0428 said:

I would actually go with something from Schiit Audio.  This one is designed for headsets/headphones, but they do sell others.  https://www.schiit.com/products/hel  Just connect your usb to the dac and your headphones to the other end and your good to go.

As I just stated, I was looking at going with the Schiit stack combining the Magni 3 Heresy and the Modi 3. What would be the benefit of going with the Hel over the stack?

[maestro0428]

I use a Modi 3 and besides the quality (made in usa), it sounds awesome.  I typically listen using speakers though, so I don't use a headphone amp yet.  Schiit has a great reputation too.  I don't have experience with the other device, so I can't speak to its performance.

 

As for set up though, I run an optical cable from my PC to the dac as it receives the least amount of interference from the PC.  Then run an decent RCA cable to the amplifier.

[BRadjeff7]

2 minutes ago, maestro0428 said:

I use a Modi 3 and besides the quality (made in usa), it sounds awesome.  I typically listen using speakers though, so I don't use a headphone amp yet.  Schiit has a great reputation too.  I don't have experience with the other device, so I can't speak to its performance.

 

As for set up though, I run an optical cable from my PC to the dac as it receives the least amount of interference from the PC.  Then run an decent RCA cable to the amplifier.

Sounds like a solid plan to me. And considering the price of the Magni and Modi combined, that makes them even more appealing. I have spare optical cables laying around, so I'm good to go on that front. I think that just may be the way I go.

[rice guru]

As a big fan of the heresy and the 3+ and having heard other dacs at the same price point. I have to say the modi 3 is one of my least favorite dacs. It's old schiit and doesn't  as good as the topping d10 or something like a d30 or e30. It u fortunately suffers from noticable compression. the reason I suggested the liquid spark is because of previously noted reasons of them being very good parings with Beyerdynamics reason why I own the amp over something like a heresy or a jds labs atom. If you insist on a schiit stack I would get an amp like the magni 3+ and wait for them to improve the modi as it stands right now it's not as good as other offerings

[maestro0428]

He compares several affordable dacs too.

[artuc]

Do you have somewhere that you can actually listen to headphones ?

 

Not a great time for it but you'd be surprised, I didn't like what I thought I would.

 

 

[rice guru]

17 hours ago, maestro0428 said:

He compares several affordable dacs too.

But he doesn't compare it to the good cheaper dacs like the toppings or geshellis and instead goes for a drgomfly red which is arguably overpriced in the first place and is more of a portable amp/dac, the mojo which is also a portable amp/dac. And I don't think he's ever heard or considered the topping offerings or at least at the time of making the video especially given the e30 just came out

[maestro0428]

The Topping Dacs maybe good, I have never heard them either.  I gotta say, the Schiit, for the price and the fact that its made in the US is a winner for me (and it sounds better than my PCs dac).  Gotta be honest though and say I haven't heard a lot of external dacs.  So I dont have a lot of to compare to.  You may have much more experience on that front than me.  That's good, the OP can get more info that way.  That said, OP has my 2c and can take it or leave it.