here is my 2 cents in quest for some better audio
since i always used some gaming headphones, in the last half year i started to carve more into better audio world with reading what are the options and the benefits of the pure stereo audio and not 7.1 gaming virtual surround
i was using steelseries usb soundcard for more then 4 years now, so i was quite keen to it's sound, and since it was usb and outside of my laptop, sound was better then onboard in every way
latest gaming headset i used were hyperx cloud 1, and i bought them because they were / or still are, best sounding gaming headphones, hence they are rebrand of takstar pro80 with addon mic
i was quite satisfied with them, specially when i swapped stock pads with brainwavz hm5 ones, they become more comfortable and sounded better
but knowing that there is something better in audio, and i didn't even used mic, i started to look around for some headphones and dac/amp combo for my first buy
recently music store in my town had a holiday discount on beyerdynamic gear, and i was hooked to get something, and after watching options and reviews, i settled on buying dt770 pro 80 ohm because i need closed back headphones
i snatched them on 30% off, and even then, here in croatia, they are quite expensive
when i first started to use them on that usb gaming soundcard, the difference between clouds and dt770's was easily noticeable, and since they are my first decent pair of headphones, i was happy as a mofo, i sat through half of day, just listening and discovering new details in music i didn't even know it's there
and today i was lucky to find used fiio e10k near me available for purchase, it was half of the price of the new one, so i didn't think too much and bought it
i know that there are better dac / amp combos in the same price range (brand new prices ofc), but considering that here in croatia options are quite limited, and you need to buy that stuff from other countries makes it even more painfull
for the price i paid for my fiio, in mint condition, half year old, it was no brainer to get it
i was looking at schiit fulla 2, but that thing is 4,5 times more in price from the used fiio i got, more expensive then my headphones...
since i was looking for something nice to enter the audiophile world, that wont leave a giant mark in my pocket or wallet, i am more then pleased with my first audiophile purchases
maybe one day i will be able to get a schiit stack, which is my dream dac / amp combo, but for now, e10k and dt770 will do more then enough
cheers