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Best upgrade option here? Options included. $1000

post #1 of 8
9/14/10 at 6:37pm
Thread Starter 

Hello everyone!

 

My birthday is coming up soon, so I'm choosing my next path for upgrading. I'll keep this as short as possible. I listen to mainly Indie/Rock/Post-Rock/Ambient/Metal/Folk. I currently own the Auzentech Forte 7.1 soundcard and ATH-AD900 cans and looking for a great upgrade path. So, here are some choices I have come up with, feel free to mention any other suggestions "COST" is NOT including the original price of the current soundcard and headphones I have. For options with the HD650 I have added +100 as it's roughly the cost after selling the ATH-AD900 and buying the HD650. I have also added +50 US to each option as I live in Australia and would have to pay shipping costs. The Woo Audio 3 has been priced at roughly $400 as I would look for a second hand one.

 

Foobar [FLAC] > Sound Card (Auzentech Forte, which would be used as DAC) > Woo Audio 3 (upgraded tubes) > HD650:

 

COST = $600

 

OR

 

Foobar [FLAC] > Audio-GD FUN (Used as DAC and Amp + Earth Upgrade) > ATH-AD900:

 

COST = $400

 

OR

 

Foobar [FLAC] > NuForce Icon HDP (Used as DAC and Amp) > ATH-AD900:

 

COST = $500

 

Thanks for reading guys! Help get me closer to the holy grail Feel free to add to/chop/cut any of the options if you have better ones. Price range is around $900 max including the cost of the phones (my AD900s were around $270 US). Basically I want the whole setup to cost no more than 1k if possible!


Edited by matthewh133 - 9/14/10 at 7:00pm
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 650 Headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-AD900
post #2 of 8
9/14/10 at 8:37pm

Based on other peoples' impressions of them do you think you would prefer the ATH-AD900 or the Sennheiser HD650?

 

You can eliminate at least one option by answering this question. 

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post #3 of 8
9/14/10 at 11:24pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the reply mate. I really like the AD900s. A little more bass would be awesome, but that being said, it's not a real issue for me as I only listen to a little Drum N' Bass once in a while. I probably wouldn't lean towards the HD650s if it wasn't for the fact that I read that it has incredible synergy with the WA3 and upgraded tubes which fixes the veil of the Senns and really makes them sound out of this world with the pair. So in short, I'm not really sure Just looking for some opinions from others which I can then do some further reading into!


Edited by matthewh133 - 9/14/10 at 11:26pm
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post #4 of 8
9/15/10 at 8:05am
Thread Starter 

^

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post #5 of 8
9/15/10 at 8:41pm
Thread Starter 

Shameless self bump. Anyone else have something helpful to add? :)

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post #6 of 8
9/15/10 at 8:57pm

I'd get the Ultrasone Pro900's as to my ears they were a clear upgrade over the AD900's which I subsequently sold and I listen to predominately metal and hard rock. In order to find a better a pair of headphones and not just a different flavour than the pro900's I have ordered the Audeze LCD-2. They should also play nicely with the Audio-gd Fun. If you do decide to get them make sure you do the Kees mod as it takes less than 5 minutes and uses less than $5 worth of materials. 

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post #7 of 8
9/15/10 at 9:23pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the reply. I will add those cans to my list and do some more research. Hope you enjoy your new ones :) Anyone else have some suggestions?

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post #8 of 8
9/16/10 at 8:29am
Thread Starter 

Bedtime bump. Hope to see some more replies in the morning ;)

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 650 Headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-AD900
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