Help me with my Audio setup.

Your friend is right, the problem is with the source. Adding a DAC would probably be the best way to go.

Probably the quickest fix would be to order the SilverStone EB01 USB DAC. They're pretty well-regarded around here and only about $90 USD.

The other weak link may be your amplifier. There's nothing wrong with DIY amps, but what kind is it? If you have a DIY amp intended for speakers, you might have an impedance mismatch.

The rest of what you use, the HD-580, EAC, Foobar, etc. are all quite good. So if your amp is appropriate, a DAC will get you where you should be.

You could search the amplifier section for "HD 580" in the title of the thread, I did it for you: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/searc...archid=2079224

I don't know how much you want to spend, but I remember a lot of people suggesting either a Gilmore Lite or Rega Ear for my HD 580's, I purchased the Gilmore Lite and quite like it, plus it is upgradeable. You may be able to find some cheap ones in the FS/FT section.

Gilmore Lite $300 USD
Rega Ear $250? USD

- Steve

Edit: Here are some reviews of the Gilmore Lite done by members of Head-Fi
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=84554
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=128981

DIY amps are certianly the cheapest if you get the labour for free. Amps aren't really made all that expensive by their components, it's the time that it takes to make them. I think my PPA took about 2-4 hours to fully construct and I had an extremely skilled person working on it (not me).

As for cost, varies wildly because you get to pick the parts. The more expensive parts you pick, the more it costs. I don't have recipts anymore but I think my PPA cost around $250. That was with fairly high end parts, 1% Vishay Dale resistors, 627/637 opamps, 12 buffers, and Cerafine caps. It's pretty close to a maxed out V1 PPA.

I have no basis for comparison since it's the only headphone amp I own, but in theory it should be on the same performance plane as the Headroom Home or Maybe Max line. Same grade components at any rate and similar design. Either way the thing can hit, with my ATH-700 headphones it feels like you are getting your head kicked with bass tests.

One thing to note about the DIY designs you listed is they are all DC amps. They will amplify any signal, down to a steady DC source. Means you need to make sure your source (soundcard or DAC) is low DC offset or that could get amped to unsafe levels. If the person who's building the amps for you knows electronics they can add input caps to deal with DC offset, but there's no place on the boards for them.

In your price range I would probably look at a quality PIMETA build. Don't go overboard with components. You could also look at a PPA, but it's easy for the price ot creep up on that.

Nothing wrong with a PIMETA, but if you have a friend who will build an amp for you, be sure to consider tube amps. You can find many designs here:

http://headwize.com/projects/index.htm

Tube amps are a little easier to source parts for and can be wired point-to-point. Because of that, you can have some fun with the enclosure. You could put it in an old cabinet, or even have someone weld a custom one for you. And you will still save money over a commercial amp. It'll also be wired for your electrical system. By the way, what voltage and frequency AC do you have in India? I'm curious.

Oh, and if a soundcard sounds "cold," a tube amp will fix that.

No you don't need to upgrade IMHO
SennHD580 are very near their max potential on non-EQ music straight out of an ipod. If you're doing things like bass boost however... all bets are off

I think you'll be setting yourself up for another big dissappointment("upgrading" source will show up even less improvement than the headphone upgrade.)

Thats audio in general
Youll be paying thousands for 1% difference

If that isnt your thing, just stop now

I don't think very many people would agree with this. I personally made the source upgrade from Revo 7.1 to EMU 0404 and to my ears the SQ is much better (my setup is Uberstandard MP3's->ASIO->EMU 0404->Gilmore Lite->HD 580). I don't really know how to describe it in audiophile terms, but to me it was a worthwhile upgrade. There is increased clarity and the music/instruments sound more realistic. You may as well try upgrading your source and if it doesn't "do anything for you", i'm sure some places will let you return it.

Have you even had a source better than an Ipod or a Revo 7.1? You can get more than a 1% increase for spending $100 or so on a better source (be it DAC or soundcard)... There would hardly be interest in hi-fidelity audio if this weren't the case.