Oh I forgot to mention it has to be USB which makes the bifrost quite a bit pricier. The question is, can I go wrong with the audio gd? I'd rather not go wrong with that considering the price difference..

Hey guys,   So I got into HiFi quite recently. I made the conscious decision not to buy a DAC right away because I wanted to start by feeling the world of HiFi out a bit and see if I wanted to invest more. As it turns out, I do want to invest more. What I currently have is a crack and a...

Quote: I will be using mostly 320k MP3s and some 192k. I'm not a spotify user, is their high rate stream really that good?   I'm already not a fan of electronic music, so I guess that won't be a problem ;)   You're the first one saying tube amps aren't a good match for HD 650's...

Alright, you guys made your point. I will probably end up spending about three times my planned budget on this ;)

I'm not sure I need a DAC though. Multiple people have made the point that my soundcard has a relatively decent DAC, so I would end up with a better result if I spend that extra money on a better amp. You guys disagree?

I've read amazing things about the crack but putting it together, I honestly just can't be bothered. I'm no good at that stuff plus I don't have the tools.   I'll probably go with the WA3. It's more money than I was planning to spend but, what the hell. I decided I want a tube amp anyway...

How do I find out if my soundcard has noise issues, since I don't have an amp yet?

First of all thanks for the suggestions!   I had decided on not getting a DAC (I guess what I'm using would be my onboard soundcard (Realtek ALC889)), from what I've read it's only if you have a high end amp that lack of a DAC becomes a real bottleneck. I guess considering my very limited...

Hello Head Fi   I am a complete noob, who finally has enough money to get into (relatively) high end audio. I've decided on getting the senn HD 650 headphones but am at a loss as to which amplifier to get. My budget ranges from I guess 200 to 300$ but I don't mind going slightly over that if...