$1500CAD Audio Setup

[Statik]

Hey guys, so my current setup for audio is:

 

PC:

Sennhesier HD 598

Blue Yeti w/ Shockmount & Boom

 

TV:

LAS450F

 

I'm strongly considering doing a big audio upgrade later this year/early next year. And I'm curious what the "ideal" amount to spend is, for a solid upgrade to both. I was considering a possible budget of $1,500CAD for both. If I could get near similar quality sound for less, I'd strongly consider it, and I'd maybe budge if just a little more will give me a big bump.

 

My Audio "use":

PC: For my PC I mainly game, and I play lots of games where clear nice sound is a factor (Escape from Tarkov, etc), but I also love being immersed in single player stories, etc. I love the current comfort, and sound of my HD598. I love the open back, but when I'm not gaming I'm listening to music and browsing the web/etc, and my main choice of music is hiphop, and am a big old head, and more grimy hip hop, and I'd love headphones with just a little more bass and punch, but don't necessarily want to lose the open back. So a balance between music and gaming is ideal.

 

I'm also 100% game for an AMP/DAC to fine tune the listening experience.

 

TV: Pretty much solely Movies, the odd console game. But I'd love a deep immersive movie experience.

 

I'll add any more required info if needed! Thanks!

[Volbet]

Are you looking for a headphone setup, speaker setup or both?

Also, are you only looking at upgrading your audio playback, or do you wanna upgrade your recording setup, as well?

 

For CAD$1.500 you can get a pretty decent setup whichever it is, but it's just a question as to where to allocate the funds.

[shuri]

Definitely don't spend too much on headphones (or source gear for that matter). Perhaps just some good old DT 880s would do if you want more low end.

As for a stereo system for movies, I'd suggest starting with looking for a solid subwoofer (SVS, Rythmik) and two front channels (KEF, ELAC).

[Statik]

5 hours ago, Volbet said:

Are you looking for a headphone setup, speaker setup or both?

Also, are you only looking at upgrading your audio playback, or do you wanna upgrade your recording setup, as well?

 

For CAD$1.500 you can get a pretty decent setup whichever it is, but it's just a question as to where to allocate the funds.

Sorry I’m not looking to upgrade my recording setup. If I can get some soldi desktop speakers I’d be interested, but I’m mostly concerned about headphones for the PC, and speakers obviously for the TV

[Derkoli]

6 hours ago, Statik said:

Sorry I’m not looking to upgrade my recording setup. If I can get some soldi desktop speakers I’d be interested, but I’m mostly concerned about headphones for the PC, and speakers obviously for the TV

For 1500 dollars, I would allocate 500 (roughly) to the headphones, then 1000 to speakers. Speaker stuff is often more expensive than equivalent headphone gear.

 

 

For 700 dollars, the KEF Q350 are a great deal. Essentially the simplified KEF LS50. Uses the UNI-Q driver, so are great for both on-axis and off-axis listening.

 

https://www.amazon.ca/KEF-Q350-Bookshelf-Speakers-Black/dp/B071VYGRML/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Q350&qid=1588710551&sr=8-1

 

Then for an amplifier, a Pioneer SX-10AE would fit the bill nicely. Would provide enough current for the minimum impedance of the speakers. Also has a line out, and subwoofer pre-out, and a Remote control for controlling it when sat down, away from the TV

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Pioneer-Bluetooth-Component-Receiver-SX-10AE/dp/B075SY52NL/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=pioneer+SX-10&qid=1588710959&s=electronics&sr=1-3

 

For headphones, I'm not massively experienced, but @rice guru could help for DAC/AMP combo, and new headphones of course.

[Statik]

2 hours ago, Derkoli said:

For 1500 dollars, I would allocate 500 (roughly) to the headphones, then 1000 to speakers. Speaker stuff is often more expensive than equivalent headphone gear.

 

 

For 700 dollars, the KEF Q350 are a great deal. Essentially the simplified KEF LS50. Uses the UNI-Q driver, so are great for both on-axis and off-axis listening.

 

https://www.amazon.ca/KEF-Q350-Bookshelf-Speakers-Black/dp/B071VYGRML/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Q350&qid=1588710551&sr=8-1

 

Then for an amplifier, a Pioneer SX-10AE would fit the bill nicely. Would provide enough current for the minimum impedance of the speakers. Also has a line out, and subwoofer pre-out, and a Remote control for controlling it when sat down, away from the TV

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Pioneer-Bluetooth-Component-Receiver-SX-10AE/dp/B075SY52NL/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=pioneer+SX-10&qid=1588710959&s=electronics&sr=1-3

 

For headphones, I'm not massively experienced, but @rice guru could help for DAC/AMP combo, and new headphones of course.

Thank you. And I've been doing some research and melting my brain this evening trying to wrap my head around everything in the headphone department. I was suggested somewhere else that I should consider HD 600s + JDS Atom, and frankly the Atom looks awesome for the price. I've read a lot about the HD600s and they sound very well loved, and they're actually on sale for $399CAD right now.

 

I'm not planning on buying for a good while (This is going to be bonus money through work), but it's good to know they go on sale that cheap. My main concern with them is that they'll lack a bit when listening to music. I want a  precise, clear gaming experience, but when I switch to music and want to vibe out to some hip hop I don't want the 600s to feel like my 598s, which is great, but I feel like my 598s just need a little more. I just don't want the bass to be lackluster. And while I'm not going all out for pure bass, I still want it to be able to hit hard if it needs to.

 

EDIT: Maybe yourself and @rice guru can share some input. I'm starting to think about spending $500-750 on my PC setup, as that's where I spend the majority of my time, and depending on that hopefully $750-1000 on my "home theater"

[The Flying Sloth]

10 minutes ago, Statik said:

-snip-

Leave some space there to grab a new mic.
If you don't have a tonne of background noise I'd suggest (to stay cheap and leave room for your headphones) a Behringer UM2 and 3U audio CM1 Black

Sloth 

[Statik]

1 hour ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Leave some space there to grab a new mic.
If you don't have a tonne of background noise I'd suggest (to stay cheap and leave room for your headphones) a Behringer UM2 and 3U audio CM1 Black

Sloth 

I'm not sure if that's necessary. To be honest all I use my mic for really is just talking to friends. As much as I would love a XLR mic and a GoXLR or something fancy, or even something just better than a yeti, I feel that a Yeti + Boom + Shockmount is more than enough for chatting to the lads?

[The Flying Sloth]

1 minute ago, Statik said:

I'm not sure if that's necessary. To be honest all I use my mic for really is just talking to friends. As much as I would love a XLR mic and a GoXLR or something fancy, or even something just better than a yeti, I feel that a Yeti + Boom + Shockmount is more than enough for chatting to the lads?

There are a tonne of USB mic horror stories (especially with yetis) and given your're dropping a bunch of cash on audio it makes sense to upgrade the input as well as the output. 
If you're happy with the yeti that's great, it's just not a particularly nice sounding microphone and won't last as long as a real mic setup.

Up to you,
Sloth

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, Statik said:

Thank you. And I've been doing some research and melting my brain this evening trying to wrap my head around everything in the headphone department. I was suggested somewhere else that I should consider HD 600s + JDS Atom, and frankly the Atom looks awesome for the price. I've read a lot about the HD600s and they sound very well loved, and they're actually on sale for $399CAD right now.

 

I'm not planning on buying for a good while (This is going to be bonus money through work), but it's good to know they go on sale that cheap. My main concern with them is that they'll lack a bit when listening to music. I want a  precise, clear gaming experience, but when I switch to music and want to vibe out to some hip hop I don't want the 600s to feel like my 598s, which is great, but I feel like my 598s just need a little more. I just don't want the bass to be lackluster. And while I'm not going all out for pure bass, I still want it to be able to hit hard if it needs to.

 

EDIT: Maybe yourself and @rice guru can share some input. I'm starting to think about spending $500-750 on my PC setup, as that's where I spend the majority of my time, and depending on that hopefully $750-1000 on my "home theater"

So for about $200-300 CAD for a DAC amp setup I would look into the geshelli stack or a monoprice liquid spark and a topping e30 or either of the 2 new magnis . For headpnoes it entirely depends on tastes in music in terms of punchy open backs in quite fond of the 990 personally but won't necessarily be for you. The hd 58x or 660 might be a better fit nice amount of bass to be punchy but not something I consider bassy. Or you can get a can for gaming like a dt 880 600 ohm awesome for gaming wide soundstage accute imgaging. and

 a can for music like a Fidelio x2 hr which is really bassy for am open back maybe a little too bassy for many really fun for hip hop and really forgiving for lo fi and grimey dirty beat. Which should all total to like $600 -750 from my head estimates. Now that I think about my desktop headphone setup is about that budget.

[Derkoli]

1 hour ago, Statik said:

Thank you. And I've been doing some research and melting my brain this evening trying to wrap my head around everything in the headphone department. I was suggested somewhere else that I should consider HD 600s + JDS Atom, and frankly the Atom looks awesome for the price. I've read a lot about the HD600s and they sound very well loved, and they're actually on sale for $399CAD right now.

 

I'm not planning on buying for a good while (This is going to be bonus money through work), but it's good to know they go on sale that cheap. My main concern with them is that they'll lack a bit when listening to music. I want a  precise, clear gaming experience, but when I switch to music and want to vibe out to some hip hop I don't want the 600s to feel like my 598s, which is great, but I feel like my 598s just need a little more. I just don't want the bass to be lackluster. And while I'm not going all out for pure bass, I still want it to be able to hit hard if it needs to.

 

EDIT: Maybe yourself and @rice guru can share some input. I'm starting to think about spending $500-750 on my PC setup, as that's where I spend the majority of my time, and depending on that hopefully $750-1000 on my "home theater"

Oddly enough I find headphone stuff to be alot more complicated than speaker stuff to buy, even though there is generally alot less components. My current 2 channel speaker setup has 9 components, then 2 speakers lol.

[rice guru]

3 hours ago, Derkoli said:

Oddly enough I find headphone stuff to be alot more complicated than speaker stuff to buy, even though there is generally alot less components. My current 2 channel speaker setup has 9 components, then 2 speakers lol.

And I find speaker stuff much more intimidating. Also have to worry about  room treatment and speaker positioning. 

[CTR640]

19 hours ago, rice guru said:

And I find speaker stuff much more intimidating. Also have to worry about  room treatment and speaker positioning. 

I can relate with that lol. I value headphones much more than speaker stuff. Our home is not suitable anyway.

[Statik]

23 hours ago, rice guru said:

So for about $200-300 CAD for a DAC amp setup I would look into the geshelli stack or a monoprice liquid spark and a topping e30 or either of the 2 new magnis . For headpnoes it entirely depends on tastes in music in terms of punchy open backs in quite fond of the 990 personally but won't necessarily be for you. The hd 58x or 660 might be a better fit nice amount of bass to be punchy but not something I consider bassy. Or you can get a can for gaming like a dt 880 600 ohm awesome for gaming wide soundstage accute imgaging. and

 a can for music like a Fidelio x2 hr which is really bassy for am open back maybe a little too bassy for many really fun for hip hop and really forgiving for lo fi and grimey dirty beat. Which should all total to like $600 -750 from my head estimates. Now that I think about my desktop headphone setup is about that budget.

Thank you for the input. I've seen the Liquid Spark reviewed with the JDL Atom, and a few others for the same pricepoint and they all look great.

 

I'd look into both the 58x and 660. I'm not sure if I can get ahold of any 58x's as they're a drop, and Massdrop for Canadians is dogshit. But I'll look into the 990s. My main goal as well is have them be good for music obviously, but also ensure they sound good in games.

 

Thanks for the help!

[CTR640]

35 minutes ago, Statik said:

Thank you for the input. I've seen the Liquid Spark reviewed with the JDL Atom, and a few others for the same pricepoint and they all look great.

 

I'd look into both the 58x and 660. I'm not sure if I can get ahold of any 58x's as they're a drop, and Massdrop for Canadians is dogshit. But I'll look into the 990s. My main goal as well is have them be good for music obviously, but also ensure they sound good in games.

 

Thanks for the help!

If it sounds good for music, then it will sound good in games too. Having here many headphones and I pick one depending on my mood.