Need help deciding(audiophiles please help)

[Lolsmurf64]

Hello I have a Schiit magni 2 amp, Akg k7xx, and ath-m50x. However, I don't have the modi 2. I've been struggling to decide between the Schiit modi 2 or to get the jbl lsr305 speakers which are supposedly a steal for their price. And I heard the Schiit stack has unbelievable sound. I have tight budget of 100$ so please help me decide!

[Aytex]

nvm

[Silverplushie]

Finish your Schiit stack, trust me, its worth it.

[spwath]

Depends if you need speakers or not

[spwath]

558's?

????

Did you even read his post?

This doesn't help in the least bit

[NannerBeans]

Speakers. Dac/amps have a much lower benefit to dollar ratio than speakers or headphones when you need them. 

[Aytex]

????

Did you even read his post?

This doesn't help in the least bit

o sry mom

[Tenelia]

Hello I have a Schiit magni 2 amp, Akg k7xx, and ath-m50x. However, I don't have the modi 2. I've been struggling to decide between the Schiit modi 2 or to get the jbl lsr305 speakers which are supposedly a steal for their price. And I heard the Schiit stack has unbelievable sound. I have tight budget of 100$ so please help me decide!

Not an audiophile, just a sound engineer.

 

For $100, you're wasting money on these items. There's nothing worth getting at that price range. If your budget is that tight, you're much better off saving for a rainy day.

[Lolsmurf64]

Sorry I didn't clarify, I can spend more but I'd rather not. I want to upgrade my audio setup without spending too much that's all. And since I have the magni 2 of course the modi2 will go perfectly with it.(but like I said some speakers would be nice and they are really a steal for the price they are right now.)

Also I don't really need speakers but they would be nice to add to my setup. Same thing with the Dac. If you have any recommendations for better equipment please tell me. I just don't want to get into the thousands of dollars(I'm not an audiophile) as I just listen to music for enjoyment and buy my products by the recommendations of audiophiles and people that are knowledgable in that area.(The magni sounds amazing with the k7xx!)One more thing, I don't need another pair of headphones as I have a pair for home use and travel.

[Silverplushie]

Get the magni 2. I went from a FiiO E10K to a Magni/modi 2 stack, and I was able to notice a difference.

I can't say anything in regards to those speakers, as I've never used them.

[Lolsmurf64]

I have the magni 2 but not the modi Im guessing that's what you meant.

[Philosobyte]

Not an audiophile, just a sound engineer.

 

For $100, you're wasting money on these items. There's nothing worth getting at that price range. If your budget is that tight, you're much better off saving for a rainy day.

If JBL LSR305s aren't worth getting, then what are the cheapest studio monitors/speakers worth getting?

[Lolsmurf64]

Also I'd to request a favor, can you listen with and without the modi and tell me the difference be that would help a lot! Also I think those speakers aren't worth it it's 100$ for one speaker and I thought it was a pair my mistake. If so what other speaker recommendations?

[dylan43270]

Also I'd to request a favor, can you listen with and without the modi and tell me the difference be that would help a lot! Also I think those speakers aren't worth it it's 100$ for one speaker and I thought it was a pair my mistake. If so what other speaker recommendations?

If you have decent on-board audio then a DAC is going to be the least noticeable difference in your audio system. The LSR305s may be $99 a speaker, but they are really worth every penny at that price, and are even a good deal at the $300 price point. If you don't plan on using speakers, get the DAC. If you want a new experience get the LSR305s. 

[Tenelia]

Also I'd to request a favor, can you listen with and without the modi and tell me the difference be that would help a lot! Also I think those speakers aren't worth it it's 100$ for one speaker and I thought it was a pair my mistake. If so what other speaker recommendations?

 

If JBL LSR305s aren't worth getting, then what are the cheapest studio monitors/speakers worth getting?

 

You're gonna save much more money building your own amplifiers and speakers that most likely sound just as good or better (See: http://www.diyaudioandvideo.com). I'm assuming you have time to spare.

 

Let me explain.

 

There are very few circumstances for someone to get their own studio monitors at home. If someone just wants to enjoy a listening experience, the first criteria to spend on studio monitors is if you already have disposable cash for it. You need to understand that headphones don't operate on the same level as speakers. If you get a speaker system, you need to set up your room for it as well. That means you may need to rig up material that counters resonance, rearrange furniture, or even add stuff onto the floor and ceilings. That's why recording studios are built in a certain way and with very specific standards, which costs them upwards of $20,000. Can you afford to keep splurging on this pastime? 

 

Second, assuming you really want to go ahead with this anyway, I suggest the Yamaha HS5, paired with reference amplifiers. Unfortunately, none of those amps you have are suitable for studio grade. You'll need to ensure that the entire sound chain is studio grade. This not only means getting wav files that are at least 44.1KHz/16-bit, but also ensuring that the original recording engineer and musicians actually did a proper job of recording the sound in the first place. It also means spending an obscene amount of money to purchase such music. So this means that you need to spend money on this entire chain of sound to ensure that you actually experience any real difference:

1. Music track (recorded and mastered properly)
2. Lossless sound file (wav, aiff, whatever)
3. Accurate and precise digital-to-analog convertor (DAC output should not add extra bass and etc)
4. Lossless DAC (If your sound file is 24-bit/48KHz, your DAC shouldn't be downsampling to 16-bit/44.1KHz)
5. Decent analog cables connecting to amplifier (It doesn't have to be gold/silver plated, it just shouldn't be too thin.)
6. Accurate and precise amplifier (There is no objective measurement for anything that Schiit manufactures. Studio grade equipment usually come with this. If any piece of equipment doesn't have this, I have no reason to believe it is accurate or precise.)
7. Accurate and precise speaker (same as all above)
8. Listening room (You'll need to purchase a microphone that allows you to catch areas in the room that may be causing resonance, and then do the necessary mathematics to see what kind of material to counter the resonance.)

So tell me, why are you spending money on a speaker set up? You're better off spending on a pair of custom in-ear monitors. As far as I know, the cheapest is by Advanced AcousticWerkes at http://aaw.me/

 

With CIEMS, at least you can carry them around and wear them comfortably.

[Guest]

Interesting that not one person has noted that the LSR305s are $100 per speaker. They aren't in the OP's budget.

 

le snip

 

Cute. You're vastly overthinking this. I would image the OP does not care about studio-grade audio.

 

The LSR305 by and large do not need a dedicated room, thanks to the waveguide. For near-field listening, a pair of speakers like the LSR305 will compete strongly against any headphone in the same price range.

[NannerBeans]

-snip-

You've been at prom for a while now lol

[Guest]

You've been at prom for a while now lol

 

It's all over now.

[dylan43270]

Interesting that not one person has noted that the LSR305s are $100 per speaker. They aren't in the OP's budget.

 

 

Cute. You're vastly overthinking this. I would image the OP does not care about studio-grade audio.

 

The LSR305 by and large do not need a dedicated room, thanks to the waveguide. For near-field listening, a pair of speakers like the LSR305 will compete strongly against any headphone in the same price range.

Technically $99 a speaker, not $100. 

[cragger89]

Technically $99 a speaker, not $100. 

 

...

 

So they're still out of budget by $98.

[Lolsmurf64]

I've made up my mind I'll get the jbl lsr 305's. Someone mentioned earlier that a Dac won't really do much. I also read that a Dac is the least important thing in a audio setup. I want a great listening experience and I guess that's what the speakers will give me. Also I'm not a doing engineer and won't really know what I'm doing if try building some speakers, I really don't have time for it.

[Lolsmurf64]

Wait, i just found some really old speakers lying in my house. Called my dad and he said they were from the 80's or 90's. Right now they are plugged into a huge amplifier where you can adjust base treble and other things like that. The amplifier is plugged into a disc reader(the old fashioned black disc that spins and you put a arm on it and it reads the disc) with rca cables. This gives me a bright idea! I'll use a rca to 3.5mm converter and plug the amp and speakers in my computer(the speakers are floorstanding and huge). I don't know whether to use the super old one that looks like a box you put under your tv or my Schiit magni for headphones.

[Lolsmurf64]

Just noticed that the rca cables are connected into my huge old amp through a port labeled phones and the other part of the rca is in the disc reader. It also has a 6.5mm input called phones so I'm wondering that's where you plug in headphones. I just want to use this amp and speakers with my computer and try it with my headphones can someone please tell how to do this?

[Guest]

Just noticed that the rca cables are connected into my huge old amp through a port labeled phones and the other part of the rca is in the disc reader. It also has a 6.5mm input called phones so I'm wondering that's where you plug in headphones. I just want to use this amp and speakers with my computer and try it with my headphones can someone please tell how to do this?

 

Pictures or model number of the components in question. I don't recommend using a receiver or speaker amp with headphones.

[spwath]

The amplifier is plugged into a disc reader(the old fashioned black disc that spins and you put a arm on it and it reads the disc) with rca cables.

Uh....

Do you mean a record player?