What to get audio setup to get? I have no idea

Quote:

Originally Posted by jchu 

Hi, looking to get the best audio at or below $300

 

This is what I currently have:

 

Logitech Z623 speakers

Monster Turbine Pro Coppers

Asus Xonar DX

 

I'm in the market for a pair of full-sized headphones because I want nice clear audio, the z623s have a lot of boom, but not very clear

The turbines are great and sound nice, but they're not very comfortable for long periods of time

 

Where would you allocate $300 or under to get the best sound? Excluding a sound card of course.

I listen to electro, house, and trance if that helps

and also something not too over the top because I'm pretty sure my music quality will bottleneck the rest

The Xonar DX is not the best for driving headphones, but plugging an external headphone amplifier into it makes a great combo.

Maybe the PAV2V headphone amplifier, $70.

Headphone wise? looking for open or closed?

I've found the ATH-A900X to have a great over all sound quality.

Listening outdoors or indoors? Source?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jchu 

closed back for only pc use

mostly music, but some gaming too

How about the HD 25-1 II ?

So...couldn't figure out where to post first.

Here looks good.

I'm having a bit a music rediscovery lately. Lately as in like 4 days ago. I've done a little research and yesterday I ordered:

1. HeadRoom Total BitHead (combo Amp and Dac)

2. Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones

I also set-up Foobar 2000 on my laptop and then ripped every single CD in the house into WAV format and sorted everything out.

Just cd-ripped music, and maybe internet music from laptop to Dac to headphones - we'll see what happens.

I'm pretty much starting from scratch, but I'm a movie and music lover and I learn VERY fast. I researched and installed my own home theater a few years ago so I know a few things.  I'll follow the thread as we learn from the experts.

I've been using the M50s for 2 months now, my first pair of decent headphones. I've been using the standard iPhone earbuds before that, and the M50s just blew them away. It was like an "audiophile revelation" if you could call it that. Music was so clear and crisp, it's like the band was right up next to me. Made me want to throw away all my other earphones.

One thing to take note is that the source audio is a key element, meaning you would only get the best experience if you have the good audio files or CDs to begin with. 

I'd say the HD25-1-II will have a tighter bass, and better separation, but the ATH-M50 is also cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cel4145 


This might help. Use flac instead of wav in the future. It's lossless--you don't lose any audio quality--but flac files are often 30 to 40% smaller than wav files. Will save you some room on your drive as you expand your collection.

But then I won't "need" to get the shiny Multi-Terabyte External Drive!

...I remember in High School, day-dreaming about "Terabyte Systems" with friends. Now its no big thang.

All my CD's in WAV format made just a small dent in my 300 gig laptop drive, but I'm sure space will quickly dry up - my music reawakening has seen 6 new CD purchases in just 2 days.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into flac format.