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Which to buy first, AMP or DAC?

post #1 of 6
8/3/10 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 

Hi fellow headfi-ers

First post on head-fi - though I've been reading a lot here lately doing some research - I am thinking about getting an amp and/or dac to power my AKG 271-S headphones that I've had for a while. I absolutely love these cans (I've previously owned/still own Sennehiser HD455's, Bose QC3 and AKG K518DJ(sold)) and the 271's sound amazing with whatever I throw at them (mostly electronic dance/trance music and classical/soundtrack). After reading a lot on here and elsewhere I'm interested in getting that bit more out of them.

I am completely undecided what would be the best direction to go - buy an AMP first, then a DAC later? Or buy a DAC first? Or to make things more confusing, an AMP/DAC combo...

Specifically I am looking at the Headroom Micro Stack (Micro Amp and Micro DAC) as they seem to be well reviewed. Any thoughts on this combo or other suggestions?

I'm mainly listening via an HTC Desire at work, and via a Sony Vaio laptop at home - FLAC and MP3 320kbit source music.

Look forward to some advice!

Thanks,
Craig

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

HeadRoom Micro Amp
HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp
post #2 of 6
8/3/10 at 9:20pm

Depends on how much you want to drop.  Both amp and dac are important, and there are some very good combo units out there to be had at a variety of price ranges.  I would say start with a decent little combo unit, like the uDac, Carat Emerald, EF2a, etc and then later on upgrade to separates. 

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post #3 of 6
8/3/10 at 9:25pm

Can he go wrong with the micro stack?

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post #4 of 6
8/3/10 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Max View Post

Can he go wrong with the micro stack?


Yes, these are excellent units, but in my mind once you start to hit that price range, you have a LOT of options.  That's also definitely a separates range.  In my mind you can equal the performance you're going to get from the micro-stack with a v-dac and a matrix m-stage, and that's half the price.

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post #5 of 6
8/4/10 at 5:33am
Thread Starter 


 

Thanks for the info on other amps and DACs to investigate. The Matrix M-Stage certainly sounds like it has the potential to take my interest away from the Micro Amp. My budget is around ~300 for each seperate, but could stretch if I think it's worthwhile. Obviously if I can save money somewhere, I will. Since the Headroom Micro Amp is $350, I have been considering getting that first and looking at a DAC later.

 

Would I see greater benefit from a DAC first?

 

I think I prefer seperates so there is an upgrade path in the future.

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post #6 of 6
8/4/10 at 6:20am

If you have about 300 to spend on each separate, you're in the realm of many, many a good option.  Heck, at that price there are also really quality combos, like the NuForce HDP for 450, the Matrix Mini-i for 420 (about), amongst many others.  If you want to go the separates route, you absolutely CANNOT go wrong with the m-stage in terms of your headphone amp, and that's only going to set you back about 240ish (buy from coolfungadget on ebay, much less drama than trying to get it on HLLY, or look for a head-fier selling theirs, I just sold mine as I had to consolidate pro and home setups).  In terms of the DAC at that price range, again, you have a plethora of options, but I really recommend the Musical Fidelity V-Dac.  It's an absolutely fantastic unit for 300 even.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

HeadRoom Micro Amp
HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp
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