Long term audio system overhaul and questions associated with it

[saras]

So yes, having only used shitty ~20-50$ computer speakers all my life... getting to use some basic 150$ headphones was something akin to a revelation to me. Because of that, I got interested in upgrading my complete audio gear to something that's acceptable. That however comes with a few issues, a major one is me being a student and having wind instead of money in my wallet. Having said that I can splunge out every now and then so I kind of intend on getting the whole thing overhauled over a period of say a year or three(As I understand this is a fairly long term investment, am I correct?). (Note, this setup is intended to be used purely for music, I do not care about game specific advantages) 

 

I intend to upgrade my heaphones and get some good speakers eventually(probably 2.0... perhaps 2.1, I'm not too interested in surround). And as much as I could figure out, that means DAC/Amp + good heaphones and a good receiver paired with some good speakers for the rest.

 

So here we come to my first question, do I need both a good DAC/Amp combo and a receiver? Would investing in just a good receiver be better or worse(sound quality wise)? And having said that, could I plug a receiver to a laptop over say USB? Am I missing some equipment in between it all? Is a receiver a good thing to consider buying first and roughly how much should I consider investing into one? Would a budget of say 300-500 euros be sufficient for such a purchase? Do receivers even have DACs in them(Yes, I'm that new to the subject)?

 

Also, how good of an investment is this? Would it say last me a decade or is it something along the lines of video cards, that are basically shit after two winters?

 

I intend to go with the overhaul in a progression similar to this, Get a receiver > Upgrade Heaphones > Get some speakers > Perhaps get a subwoofer. Is this a logical progression or am I making some very stupid mistakes somewhere along the line? Oh right, the source is going to be my laptop at the moment, and a desktop once I finish uni.

[josh_05]

Ok, i would go with a class A/B integrated amplifier instead of a receiver if the setup is intended for music only. The Speakers connect to amp, amp to DAC, DAC to PC/laptop. You may need to spend a little more than that to get yourself a nice entry level separate's hifi but it should be achievable. What type of music do you listen to? would you prefer a warmer presentation as opposed to bright? something with emphasis on a certain frequency range E.G. more bass, mids etc? is second hand ok? 

[saras]

It is intended for music at the moment, but as said, I don't plan to get an upgrade over this any time soon. So a receiver sounds like a bit of a better idea as unless I'm losing out on a lot of the quality, I'd rather have the extra, just in case I need it.

 

My musical preferences are quite wide, it's mostly something along the lines of chill out jazz, but I expect the system to not freak out at me whenever I decide to play something electronic, rocky or classical. I prefer a slightly warm sound, however I don't want it to be overpowering.

 

As for second hand, I generally have no objections either way, however I'd like to avoid that this time round. As I simply don't know enough about the subject to know whether I'm being ripped off or not.

 

As for integrated amps, I'm not really sure about their capabilities, or anything at all about them really.

[t0wer]

I'd upgrade headphones > receiver > speakers.

 

most headphones will be listenable using onboard until you get a receiver.

[josh_05]

What advantage are you referring to when you say a receiver over an amp? most receivers dont have as good SQ for the money as integrated amps as the majority are class D amplification whereas even cheaper integrated amps are class A/B and you can still connect a sub to most if you decide to later on... 

[saras]

That I did not know, I suppose there's little reason not to go for that. Could you recommend me some combinations? Or at least some pointers what to look at?

 

Do you mean my pc/laptop connected to something like this, that connects to the headphones and to something like this, that's then connected to the speakers? As said I'm new to the field, and I'm kind of running on assumptions.

[t0wer]

you'd still need a nice dac, but somehting like this is what I've thought about replacing my tube amp with.

http://www.amazon.com/Marantz-PM5004-Integrated-Amplifier-Black/dp/B003R7KMTC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=VUHYF2O0OKWM&coliid=IELJ4H2GSYPU0

[josh_05]

That I did not know, I suppose there's little reason not to go for that. Could you recommend me some combinations? Or at least some pointers what to look at?

 

Do you mean my pc/laptop connected to something like this, that connects to the headphones and to something like this, that's then connected to the speakers? As said I'm new to the field, and I'm kind of running on assumptions.

90% of integrated amplifiers have a built in headphone amp that will run through the same DAC your speakers are using. With your budget i would be looking at something like the Cambridge Audio 351A which is an amp with integrated headphone amp and DAC paired with the likes of some Wharfedale or Q Acoustics bookshelf speakers.

 

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/azur-351a-integrated-amplifier

 

With the 351A you can connect it to your PC/Laptop via usb, that will then run the signal through the built in DAC and in to your headphones and speakers. Speakers I'm still looking in to for you as Cambridge gear tends to be a little bright which imo is a good thing, pair it up with some good warm sounding speakers and your going to get a very detailed sound without being harsh or shirll in the high frequencies.

[saras]

That actually sounds like the best option so far. Thanks a lot.

 

I didn't think about using the amp for amplifying my headphones, because I kind of assumed that it'd pretty much burn them in miliseconds.