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Dac and Amp or DAC/Amp combo for under 500 bones?

post #1 of 18
9/10/11 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 

Looking for recommendations for a DAC/Amp combo or DAC and Amp with a nice sleek look.  This will primarily be for home use for my PC in my office.  The cans I'm using are the HFI-780 w/ an Fiio E7 for portability.  I would like to piece everything together under 500$, however if I need to spend a bit more I can.  I'd like to make a purchase that will last me for years and that will cure the upgrade itch lol.

 

Music:  Liquid Dnb, Dubstep, Deep House, Hip Hop/Rap

Budget:  $500 (can spend a bit more)

Cans:  Ultrasone HFI-780

Priorities:  Looks and SQ (of course)

 

 

Thanks

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultrasone HFI-780 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional Headphones
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FiiO E7 USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier (Black)
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FiiO E9 Desktop Headphone Amplifier and Dock for E7 USB DAC
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post #2 of 18
9/11/11 at 10:24pm

I am going to go ahead and bump this thread for you.

 

I don't have experience with any amps.

 

Hopefully, another member can lead you in the right direction.  

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post #3 of 18
9/11/11 at 10:50pm

If you already have E7 why not buying E9 to complete it.

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post #4 of 18
9/12/11 at 7:31am
Thread Starter 

Actually, I've seen some Head-fi'ers posting about the E9 + E7, but haven't dug anymore into it.  I'll do some researching though. 

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post #5 of 18
9/14/11 at 1:52am
Thread Starter 

Anyone with any other options to choose from please?

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post #6 of 18
9/14/11 at 1:59am
Thread Starter 

I've checked out some iBasso products and Audio-GD as well


Edited by Daveman1820 - 9/14/11 at 2:06am
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post #7 of 18
9/14/11 at 2:06am

Nuforce Icon HDP. Read Headphoneaddicts review... He still uses it.

 

Yuolong D100 is another good choice. hmm..... There are many others...

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post #8 of 18
9/14/11 at 3:44am

HRT Music Streamer 2 + Matrix M-Stage. I think it might honestly be the best standalone solid state amp under 300 bucks.

 

The former is a great 24-bit/96khz max sampling (most music is 16/44.1 though) DAC with everything you need and none of what you don't. Literally just turns data into sound and does it cleanly. 

 

Chris

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post #9 of 18
9/14/11 at 9:28am

Once nice thing about going with separates is that if you get the upgrade itch again, you may only have to replace one piece of gear wink_face.gif.  I like the HRT music streamer a lot and it makes sense to pair it with a good amp. 

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post #10 of 18
9/14/11 at 10:07am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the rec and also good point alexsj, that's makes alot of sense.

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post #11 of 18
9/17/11 at 7:59am

Another +1 for the icon HDP, great DAC, amp combo. You can also use the icon as DAC only if you ever want to upgrade the amp. The icon HDP stopped my upgrade mania. Am happy now.

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post #12 of 18
9/18/11 at 6:48am

I recommend YULONG D100 DAC AMP for your bdget.....

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post #13 of 18
9/18/11 at 8:57am

Daveman, I recomend a Little dot MK3(amp, look at my avatar) + Xonar essence STX (for the DAC it has). It is what I currently use and I dont see the day I will change. MK3= ~250$     Xonar STX=~200$     And the nice thing about the MK3 is tube rolling, so with that extra 50$ you could buy 2-3 pairs of tubes.

Good luck,

Alain.G

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post #14 of 18
9/18/11 at 9:18am

You can also check the newly launched Asus Xonar Essence One Dac/Amp...

http://soundnews.ro/2011/09/09/asus-xonar-essence-one-review-english-version/

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post #15 of 18
9/18/11 at 11:23am

Btw, I have an Asus STX I'm willing to sell at a cheap price if anybody's interested. I used to feed my speakers with it but no longer use it.

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Ultrasone HFI-780 S-Logic Surround Sound Professional Headphones
Powered by NexTag
FiiO E7 USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier (Black)
Powered by NexTag
FiiO E9 Desktop Headphone Amplifier and Dock for E7 USB DAC
Powered by NexTag
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › Dac and Amp or DAC/Amp combo for under 500 bones?