Alright, so I was previously planning on getting studio monitors rather than headphones, but I listen to a lot more music than watch tv/movies, so I can get a cheap 2.1 set of speakers for those things (PC is center for all of this)...

I have $800 for an entire setup, which I know isn't much here, but it's what I have to work with and the budget won't go up for a while...Could you all recommend headphone + soundcard or dac + amp? Most of the music I listen to is Jack Johnson, Old 97s, Ben Harper, etc, but I do listen to rap/hip-hop and classical when studying, so I need a good all around set...

I was thinking Keces DA-152 (dac+amp) ($475)...and then headphones.....yeaaa, i'm pretty clueless as to what will work well with the music i have...any advice at all is appreciated...

(and sorry for posting so many questions last few days, i was going back and forth with speakers and headphones so anyone who responded to those, dont hurt me...)

there are the usual responses, or you could go crazy

something along the lines of a Stax 2050A system + Zero DAC. and if youre willing to go used, you could do even better!


just throwing the idea of cheaper electrostats your way, to change the pace around here

Yeah, I figure HD650 and Denon D2000 are going to come out, but I don't know which one would work with the music I want to listen to...and yeah, forgive me here, what are electrostats? It looks like you don't have an amp included, so I'm guessing they have an amp built into the headphone?

Try the M-Audio Fast Track Pro DAC/headphone amp ($150-$200) and Sennheiser HD 595 about $200. For a grand total of: $350 - $400. It's a really nice combo that won't break the bank and that will give you the type of performance you could only dream of.

What is your budget for your speaker set-up?

And what is your budget for your headphones rig?

Oh, I meant $800 is the hard limit for the headphone setup (of course, anything lower and I'm not going to complain...)...I already set aside the money for the speakers, should have made that more clear, sorry...

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actually that system includes the amp, which is in fact a separate box just like any dynamic setup would have. in this case though, the amp includes a high voltage step-up circuit, which is required to drive electrostatic headphones. to oversimplify, they use static electricity to move a diaphram that is only a few microns thick

I have not heard this particular system, though I have heard the headphones that come with it. they are really fun overall, though I will be blunt, you will probably find bass "oomph" lacking. those cans do go deep, but dont quite have "punch" - this can be interpreted as a good thing, though

FWIR, for guitars and vocals, I'd go with a used K601. There's a nice one auctioning on eBay; check it out soon though. I don't suggest buying "do it all" headphones and thereby sacrifice what you like to listen to most. IMO, it's better to get headphones that are great for what you like to listen to most, that also will suffice for the rest of what you listen to. But that's just me. I'd rather experience greatness with my favorite music than to experience less than that with all of it. I also suggest reading and posting in the PC source and amp forums for more help with selecting a DAC/amp. First choose the headphones and then the equipment to compliment it.

I actually like that idea better than do-it-all headphones...more than 80% of my music is of that genre...i could always use my desktop speakers for other bass heavy music...Suppose I get the Xonar Essence STX for now, what would be the highest impedance headphones I should look for? This would be temporary, but I would love to get a great set of headphones now and then upgrade the parts later...or is this backwards thinking?

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Just a note, DA-152 is $450 if you do not go through ebay. IMHO, don't let ebay take their share if you don't have to. Sometimes they might have some discount that could make it cheaper than the direct buy price, then I suppose would be a good time to go through ebay.


Thanks

David