Want to be an Audiophile?(FULL BUDGET SETUP GUIDE)

[Marziman]

Below is my personal suggestion for starting a FULL BUDGET audiophile setup.  You can buy pieces at a time or not agree with the choices.  This is my own personal opinion on a fantastic FULL set up for new audiophiles on a BUDGET.

To start we get a good pair of open back headphones

These Fidelio X2's are TOUGH to beat in their price point and pretty much reign supreme. You could, although get a pair of Sennheiser HD 598's but the Fidelios are better.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-X2-27-Fidelio-Headphones/dp/B00O2Y2MZG

Everything about these is awesome, from the cable to the sound, to the build I strongly recommend it.

Now for a CLOSED BACK pair

Sony MDR V6 are a decent closed back pair of headphones that are quite flat but unfortunately lack the bass some desire.Overall the clarity is decent and the PtoP is good.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRV6-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00001WRSJ

You will need an AMP/DAC to drive these, now you could go any direction.  Maybe you want a wooden more hipster looking AMP/DAC(Grado) or you want something cheap and reliable. Though for a REAL AMP/DAC set you will have to go with

The Schiit Magni 2 and Modi 2

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Schiit-SCH-0702-Magni-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00SCBKPW2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1453689450&sr=1-1&keywords=schiit

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Modi-USB-Digital-Analog-Converter/dp/B00SCCSJVA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1453689534&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=schiit+modi+2

For those of you who want a cheaper DAC/AMP combo unit get a Micca OriGEN not the E10k that Linus suggests.  The E10K is still great(I own one) but the Micc is simply better and more professional looking.

 

For the audiophile on the go, this is a good combo because it INCLUDES  a pair of fantastic IEM's(In Ear Monitors) and it can power the headphones on this list, it also has a decent DAC inside of it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016AM1OVK/ref=twister_B0176Z371U?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Edited January 25, 2016 by Marziman

[givingtnt]

my monitor speakers are just fine for 300$

[r1Ns3]

But beats is just overpriced junk   

[Kherm]

My JBL Decade Studio Monitors are just fine for the low, low price of $300

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Pair-of-JBL-Decade-26-Speakers-With-Original-Box-and-Manual-/151957713320?hash=item236162b1a8:g:pbAAAOSwwPhWkFP2

[Fluffinator]

Lol this thread is plain awful.. please be a joke.. please be a joke.. *shivers in corner*

Firstly the ATH-M50x are not the best, don't need a $100-200 amp and dac to run.... horrible value.. ya ya ya..

[Unhelpful]

Oh dear god this post is special...

 

Alright...

 

Ugh...

 

No time to deconstruct it all atm. But to cover one or two points...

 

ATH-M50x's are shit for the price. M40x's are near identical and cheaper.

 

I've never personally used the X2's, but I should point out that they are in a different pricepoint than the 598s. The comparing it to the HD600 would be a better comparison. Almost double the going price of 598. And nobody should really get 598s since the 558s are almost identical. I got 598SE's because black friday was nice and they were like... $85-$95.

 

There's lots else that's horrendous in this post, but I'm strapped for time atm. 

 

TLDR, the m50x's aren't "audiophile" headphones. They are an audiopile. Of poo, for those of you too slow to get it...

 

@SSL to make you quiver in pain

[Hman1250]

Bruh, I have $30CAD headphones...

[Guest Kloaked]

Now for a CLOSED BACK pair

The Audio-Technica M50x are pretty much a staple nowadays as people transition away from Beats.  They look good, sound fantastic at their price point.  Also they're pretty flat but you can expect them to be bassier than others so they're still listenable.

 

You will need an AMP/DAC to drive these, now you could go any direction.  Maybe you want a wooden more hipster looking AMP/DAC(Grado) or you want something cheap and reliable. Though for a REAL AMP/DAC set you will have to go with

The Schiit Magni 2 and Modi 2

 

Criticism on this part.

 

I've owned M50s before (they're the same headphone as the M50x) and they are not worth the money, and do not sound good enough for the money. They're not flat at all either - even you said they can be bassy. That's not flat.

 

You also don't need an amp for those headphones unless you just have crappy motherboard audio. Even my phone could push them just fine.

 

Final criticism: we have a thread dedicated to this: @SSL has a huge list of what he recommends here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/531248-ltt-audio-sub-recommended-gear/

[dizmo]

*slap*

[iShad]

I can finally be an audiophile!

[Marziman]

Lol this thread is plain awful.. please be a joke.. please be a joke.. *shivers in corner*

Firstly the ATH-M50x are not the best, don't need a $100-200 amp and dac to run.... horrible value.. ya ya ya..

Notice the opinion part

I chose the Schiit stack here because of the expansion ability.  You can get higher Ohm headphones as you move up. Now to address the ATH-M50X's, I put them in this list because they're more recognizable and mainstream.  Not a lot of people know Shure and I think that one of their closed backs deserved a place in this list. I left the list open for suggestions. Thanks for the feedback I'll fix it   The AMP/DAC will stay.

[Marziman]

Oh dear god this post is special...

 

Alright...

 

Ugh...

 

No time to deconstruct it all atm. But to cover one or two points...

 

ATH-M50x's are shit for the price. M40x's are near identical and cheaper.

 

I've never personally used the X2's, but I should point out that they are in a different pricepoint than the 598s. The comparing it to the HD600 would be a better comparison. Almost double the going price of 598. And nobody should really get 598s since the 558s are almost identical. I got 598SE's because black friday was nice and they were like... $85-$95.

 

There's lots else that's horrendous in this post, but I'm strapped for time atm. 

 

TLDR, the m50x's aren't "audiophile" headphones. They are an audiopile. Of poo, for those of you too slow to get it...

 

@SSL to make you quiver in pain

Meh bring SSL, I don't exactly care what he has to say notice the "Opinion"  Though I agree, I am amending my mistakes.  Now as far as the 598's and the 558's, the Fidelios are just shy of the 600's in terms of price point.

[Unhelpful]

 the Fidelios are just shy of the 600's in terms of price point.

That's my point... Fidelio X2 to 598 is a stupid comparison due to the X2's being double the going price.

[LancerBG]

I was drawn in by the "full budget" thing and was fooled grr. 

[Fluffinator]

Meh bring SSL, I don't exactly care what he has to say notice the "Opinion"  Though I agree, I am amending my mistakes.  Now as far as the 598's and the 558's, the Fidelios are just shy of the 600's in terms of price point.

"Opinion" it's clear you have no idea what your talking about that's not opinion.. I can't say in my opinion the Earth is flat, it doesn't work like that.. 

Also they were saying there's no point in recommending the HD 598 as you either get the HD 558 or HD 600

Also the M50x is known to be overpriced and the same thing as the M40x, and how you think you need a DAC is absurd, and Ohms has nothing to do with whether you can run a headphone or not so it depends on sensitivity Db/w, and impedance it's a combination M50x's do not need a Dac/Amp..

[Octavialicious]

 

Below is my personal suggestion for starting a FULL BUDGET audiophile setup.  You can buy pieces at a time or not agree with the choices.  This is my own personal opinion on a fantastic FULL 

 

Saying the M50X needs an amp just made me disregard all of what you said

[Guest Kloaked]

Meh bring SSL, I don't exactly care what he has to say notice the "Opinion"  Though I agree, I am amending my mistakes.  Now as far as the 598's and the 558's, the Fidelios are just shy of the 600's in terms of price point.

 

 

"Opinion" it's clear you have no idea what your talking about that's not opinion.. I can't say in my opinion the Earth is flat, it doesn't work like that.. 

Also they were saying there's no point in recommending the HD 598 as you either get the HD 558 or HD 600

Also the M50x is known to be overpriced and the same thing as the M40x, and how you think you need a DAC is absurd, and Ohms has nothing to do with whether you can run a headphone or not so it depends on sensitivity Db/w, and impedance it's a combination M50x's do not need a Dac/Amp..

 

Plus it'd be way easier, if someone wanted to just link a thread, to link to SSL's stickied thread.

[flexluthor]

Congratulations, you now have a doctorate in every musical field and you can start expressing your opinions by starting with the phrase "I'm an audiophile and....." to make them look more legit.

[SSL]

Plus it'd be way easier, if someone wanted to just link a thread, to link to SSL's stickied thread.

 

Speaking of the recc thread, those are not just my words in there. KaminKevCrew pretty much wrote the whole IEM post, and a number of people contributed to the heapdhone post.

 

Basically, if you have suggestions, I want to hear them so that the recommendations can be better.

 

As for the thread we're in, thanks for trying OP, I guess. Excepting the M50X I have no problem with any of the gear recommended, the issue is how to intelligently fit them into a budget. Since no effort was made to do so, the information presented here is of little use.

[Guest Kloaked]

Congratulations, you now have a doctorate in every musical field and you can start expressing your opinions by starting with the phrase "I'm an audiophile and....." to make them look more legit.

 

We've all been there, I think.

 

At least that's what I tell myself since I did the same thing at one time.

[SSL]

Notice the opinion part

I chose the Schiit stack here because of the expansion ability.  You can get higher Ohm headphones as you move up. Now to address the ATH-M50X's, I put them in this list because they're more recognizable and mainstream.  Not a lot of people know Shure and I think that one of their closed backs deserved a place in this list. I left the list open for suggestions. Thanks for the feedback I'll fix it   The AMP/DAC will stay.

 

What use is a guide if not to introduce people to a good product with which they might not hitherto been acquainted?

 

How does spending 20%-30% of a budget on a DAC make sense? Given that in terms of overall sound quality impact, headphone > musical program/source file > amp > dac, that's a huge mismanagement of funds in terms of value and price/performance.

 

Have you used a high sensitivity, low impedance headphone like the M50X with the Schiit stack? Do you enjoy having basically no usable volume control range, even on low gain? The Magni 2 puts 1.2W into 32 ohms, while the M50X requires just 0.064W and 1.5V to get to 120dB. Ouch.

 

If you want to argue that someone is going to upgrade to a "hard to drive" headphone in the future, why waste $150 on a headphone that isn't even usable with this amp?

[Marziman]

Speaking of the recc thread, those are not just my words in there. KaminKevCrew pretty much wrote the whole IEM post, and a number of people contributed to the heapdhone post.

 

Basically, if you have suggestions, I want to hear them so that the recommendations can be better.

 

As for the thread we're in, thanks for trying OP, I guess. Excepting the M50X I have no problem with any of the gear recommended, the issue is how to intelligently fit them into a budget. Since no effort was made to do so, the information presented here is of little use.

Thank you for handling it civilly, I amended my mistake with the M50x and placed the MDRV6's in their steed. As far as budget, I'd say mid range, though I'd suggest they look at your list for closed because I am not a fan of closed back.  The only closed back I adore are the HD 8 DJ's and they're out of what I'd call mid range for 380$ USD retail.  The HD7's bass is floppy and the HD6 mixes sound weird to me, the vocals are uppity the bass is almost anemic but you can feel it, it's hard to describe

[SSL]

Thank you for handling it civilly, I amended my mistake with the M50x and placed the MDRV6's in their steed. As far as budget, I'd say mid range, though I'd suggest they look at your list for closed because I am not a fan of closed back.  The only closed back I adore are the HD 8 DJ's and they're out of what I'd call mid range for 380$ USD retail.  The HD7's bass is floppy and the HD6 mixes sound weird to me, the vocals are uppity the bass is almost anemic but you can feel it, it's hard to describe

 

And my point about pairing the Magni 2 with a high sensitivity, low impedance headphone? Not addressed by swapping out the M50X for the MDRV6.

 

As for budget, what is "mid-range" supposed to mean exactly? You say that the HD8DJ is out of "mid-range" budget, but you recommend the $200 Schiit stack and $300 X2. Why not go for the HD8DJ and ... yeah, just that?

 

This is what I mean when I say that your guide doesn't properly address the allocation of funds. Anyone can put together a list of gear that isn't terrible; the real utility in such a list is telling people what to get given specific monetary constraints.

[Jacona]

This screams Zeos and other YouTubers influence. 

[Fluffinator]

This screams Zeos and other YouTubers influence. 

I watched Tek Syndicate does that make me a audiophile now? "As I listen to my M50x's on my O2DAC/AMP"