HI folks,
 
Long time lurker, first time poster here.
 
Courtesy of advice here and elsewhere, 18 months ago I got a decent'ish set of headphones & a DAC & AMP, and now find myself wanting to upgrade my setup.
 
What I have now:
- home-built PC (specs not important, I think)
- Fiio E09k Amp connected to PC via USB
- Fiio E17 USB DAC docked in the E09k
- Audio Technica M50 headphones
- Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 powered speakers/sub (connected to pre-out on the E09k)
 
What I listen to:
- Spotify, home-ripped CDs, iTunes/Amazon, likely will get into higher-quality rips as time goes on
- all genres, but especially folk/bluegrass, funk, industrial, and electronica
- I listen pretty much exclusively in my home office, which is pretty quiet, and in which I do not need to worry about sound bleed
 
Why I want to upgrade:
- ears get tired & hot after more than ~1hr of using the M50s
- The Klipsch speakers aren't that good
 
What I want:
soon: new headphones, budget US$300-$500. 
- Must work with current amp/dac as well as later
- open back or on-ear, not closed-back over-ear
- Sennheiser HD600?
 
later: new dac/amp, budget US$300-$500
- must work with headphones and 2.1 speakers
- no idea if I want a headphone amp w/pre-outs for powered speakers, or if there exist amps/dacs in that budget that will drive headphones & un-powered speakers
 
later: new 2.1 speakers, budget US$1000
- really have no clue here.  I suppose whether the dac/amp has powered speaker outs will determine much of this.
 
What say you?  I don't suppose there's anywhere in/near San Francisco where one can poke at a wide variety of these things in person?
 
Regards,
     Adam

I would recommend getting an open box HE-560  ($700 from Razordog or on the classified section of the forum).  Spend the other $300 on a decent amp/dac combo.  A lot of people here love the NFB15 which is in that price range.  Some others like it out of speaker taps, so you could try to find a decent vintage receiver and hook it up with an adapter box like the one Hifiman sells.

Thanks for the reply, Za Warudo,
 
An open box even at $700 is pretty far over budget, tho I suppose the Headphones+AMP/DAC total is on target.  The reason I want to upgrade in pieces, though, is to avoid any >$500 purchases until I replace the speakers.
 
Any other thoughts?
 
Thanks!
     Adam

adamsf said:

  Thanks for the reply, Za Warudo,
 
An open box even at $700 is pretty far over budget, tho I suppose the Headphones+AMP/DAC total is on target.  The reason I want to upgrade in pieces, though, is to avoid any >$500 purchases until I replace the speakers.
 
Any other thoughts?
 
Thanks!
     Adam

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You could actually get a Hifiman HE 4 for about $450 ish, fun fact the HE 4 and HE 560 measure very closely! The HE 560 how ever has a touch less distortion <3 and is easier to drive
 
An the Audio GD Amp/Dac Combo would drive them very nicely! I own the HE 4 and I love it, I'm honestly not in a rush to get the HE 560, which is better but I still think the HE 4 is a better overall Value. In addition the HE 4 is still lighter in weight than the HE 560, so it's going to be comfortable as well, While the HE 560 has a nicer headband it is still a touch heavier
 
In short, get HE 4 I think you'll very much enjoy it
 
now on the other end you could go for a closed back headphone. I think the Mr Speakers Mad Dog would be a nice upgrade to your M50, and the Mad Dog would pair nice with the Audio GD Amp same as the HE 4
 
The differance though is the HE 4 is going to sound better overall, but the Mad Dog will isolate you, or block incoming sound. Plus the Mad Dog can be upgraded, so when you want something better your Mad Dog can be upgraded to an Alpha Dog! Which is a nice way to save money in the long run 

Just to add to that, you can sometimes find the Centrance DACmini PX for $600 (on a site I'm not allowed to mention) which include a DAC, headphone amp, and speaker amp.  Another option (speaker amp only) is the Emotiva mini-x a100 ($200) which is popular here for driving speakers and power hungry planar magnetic headphones like the HE4 or HE6.

adamsf said:

later: new dac/amp, budget US$300-$500 - must work with headphones and 2.1 speakers
- no idea if I want a headphone amp w/pre-outs for powered speakers, or if there exist amps/dacs in that budget that will drive headphones & un-powered speakers
 
later: new 2.1 speakers, budget US$1000
- really have no clue here.  I suppose whether the dac/amp has powered speaker outs will determine much of this.
 

Click to expand...

 
Audio-GD NFB-15 ($270+shipping) or NFB-11 ($370+shipping) external DAC & head amp
Comes with a separate line-output (for speakers)
http://www.audio-gd.com/Products-EN.htm
 
Emotiva Airmotiv 5s, ($332) self powered studio monitors
http://www.amazon.com/Emotiva-Airmotiv-5s-Powered-Monitor/dp/B00JMQB1VA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

purpleangel said:

   
Audio-GD NFB-15 ($270+shipping) or NFB-11 ($370+shipping) external DAC & head amp
Comes with a separate line-output (for speakers)
http://www.audio-gd.com/Products-EN.htm
 
Emotiva Airmotiv 5s, ($332) self powered studio monitors
http://www.amazon.com/Emotiva-Airmotiv-5s-Powered-Monitor/dp/B00JMQB1VA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

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+1 for the Audio GD, those amps are pretty beefy 

mshenay said:

+1 for the Audio GD, those amps are pretty beefy 

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Another vote for Audio-GD

cel4145 said:

Another vote for Audio-GD

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Oh lookie here " All Audio-GD’s products are designed and developed under the leadership of Mr. He Qinghua, the “First Prize Winner” of the National Semiconductor (USA) Audio Design Contest."
 
In case your Curious, Mr He Quinghua also goes by Kingwa here on head Fi, and the guy is a mad scientist... like seriously... he's got more new crap coming out of his shop then a Holly Wood Plastic Surgeon, but the differances is Audio GD is always improving what ever they are offering. So what you get TODAY, is like GREAT, and if you wait till tommorow you'll get something even greater! 

OK cool, thanks folks.  Looks like a semi-consensus for Hifiman - are the HE-500s at $500 worth an extra $50 over the HE-4?  Reviews would seem to suggest that the answer is "yes!" 
 
Is my Fiio E09k/E17 are capable of driving these until such time as I plunk down for either an Audio GD amp/dac or Schiit separates (Lyr2 + Bifrost seem quite well-liked, despite being a bit over my budget, but I can always get them one by one)?
 
On the DAC front, given that I have no dedicated sound card, what is the most ideal connection type from the computer to the DAC?  Is it better to get a sound card and run optical/coax to the DAC, or to use USB (and pay the extra $150 if I go the Schiit route)?
 
Thanks!
     Adam

adamsf said:

  OK cool, thanks folks.  Looks like a semi-consensus for Hifiman - are the HE-500s at $500 worth an extra $50 over the HE-4?  Reviews would seem to suggest that the answer is "yes!" 
 
Is my Fiio E09k/E17 are capable of driving these until such time as I plunk down for either an Audio GD amp/dac or Schiit separates (Lyr2 + Bifrost seem quite well-liked, despite being a bit over my budget, but I can always get them one by one)?
 
On the DAC front, given that I have no dedicated sound card, what is the most ideal connection type from the computer to the DAC?  Is it better to get a sound card and run optical/coax to the DAC, or to use USB (and pay the extra $150 if I go the Schiit route)?
 
Thanks!
     Adam

Click to expand...

whoa, no no no
 
The HE 4 and HE 500 sound rather different from each other. Hard to describe, if it helps at all the HE 4 is lighter on your head, the HE 500 may be a smidge heavy and strain your neck a little
 
As for the Amps go, the Audio GD is the best Value, your welcome to go with the Schiit Stack though, but you need a new amp. The Fiio will not drive the Hifiman headphones, so if you go schiit get a Beringher UAC 202 Dac and a Lyr 2 

mshenay said:

  whoa, no no no
 
The HE 4 and HE 500 sound rather different from each other. Hard to describe, if it helps at all the HE 4 is lighter on your head, the HE 500 may be a smidge heavy and strain your neck a little
 
As for the Amps go, the Audio GD is the best Value, your welcome to go with the Schiit Stack though, but you need a new amp. The Fiio will not drive the Hifiman headphones, so if you go schiit get a Beringher UAC 202 Dac and a Lyr 2 

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Oh well that simplifies things then - Audio GD NFB11, then HE-{4,500}

adamsf said:

   
Oh well that simplifies things then - Audio GD NFB11, then HE-{4,500}

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Ehh the Audio GD NFB 11 is $315 [365 with shipping] where as the NFB 15 is $250 or $300 with shipping, now the NFB 11 You get DSD and DXD support [which isn't worth it imo] 
 
So I would go with the NFB 15, IF you think you want DSD then the NFB 11 is the way to go, if you don't know what DSD is I suggest you get the NFB 15 

Easier still then - I sort of know what DSD is, and I don't care about it

adamsf said:

  Easier still then - I sort of know what DSD is, and I don't care about it

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*fist bump* 
 
Yea I'm not buying into the DSD thing, grab your self a Audio GD 15 and enjoy it man!