[JamieMcC]

Bottlehead Crack + Speedball             $290                in BH sale
 
Valab 23 step attenuator                    $24
 
Film Capacitors  2x100uf 250V            $66                             
 
Beyerdynamic T1 Second hand           $550                FS on forum
 
Tung sol 5998 NOS ebay                    $45                   (a dozen of these came up they went like hot cakes)
 
Mullard 12au7  ebay                           $15 or less
 
 
The Crack fitted with the step attenuator and Film Capacitors is a absolutely killer set up for the money it must be one of the best bang for the buck upgrades about.  It take the BHC which is already a fantastic amp to a whole new level of refinement and sonic ability which is simply stunning with the Beyerdynamic T1's
 
Its close to end game territory for me.

 

[Sonido]

My current setup, while not quite under $1000, for only $300 more is by far the best setup I've heard:
 
Bottlehead Quickie w/ PJCCS - $135
Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball - $275 (Got Speedball for free in special offer sale last year)
HD800 - $890 (Amazon sale)

 

[kramer5150]

K701/Q701/K702 paired with a headamp GS-1

 

[ubs28]

- Shure SRH 1840 (can be had for $450 new, probably cheaper used)
 
-  Apogee One for iOS devices + MAC.  $300 (However this thing can do much more than just function as a DAC/AMP for headphones and speakers) 

 

[ComradeDylie]

LCD...oh yeah...under 1k..

 

[ericfarrell85]

Depends to a great degree on the type of music you prefer, but here are a couple of setups I had: 
 
HD650 > Singlepower Extreme (tremendous amp if you can get your hands on a useable one)
AD2000 > CSP2+ 
 
OR.... 
 
For a few hundred more ($1200 if all goes right) a setup that imo stomps most if not all of things listed here: 
 
HE6 > Vintage Marantz 2285 (magical pairing). 

 

[Master Shake]

My current system which consists of an he400 which is 300$ right now, 400 regular and a modi and magni at 100$ each. So 500$ total, 600$ with shipping and taxes. Sounds really awesome, dat he400 bass is soooo good

 

[marshallmole]

Audio-gd NFB-10SE ($500)-->Balanced Hifiman HE-5LE ($500)
For 1000 you get DAC+amp+headphones. Might be my end-game setup already. 
I tried amping the 5LE with Emotiva a-100, to my disappointment, it sounds a little bit narrow than direct from the Audio-gd. 
 
The downside of course is that both are now discontinued and hard to get. 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

FAD Pandora Hope VI -> Fiio E18. $850 before shipping total and you're good for life. 

 

[dmxvz]

Does anyone know if the Bottlehead crack can also be purchased already built ? how much is it ?

Or if DIY set can be done with no electric/engineering skills at all (I mean do I need to weld something or is just putting all the pieces together haha)

 

[Law87]

My setup @ 1k lol

Alpha dog - 600 (you cannot beat the comfort, isolation, and sound quality for the price.)
DHC peptide syngery - 250
Alo Rx original amp - 150
 

 

[wahsmoh]

Beyer DT880 - $350 (purchased on sale at $250) - 
Asgard 2 - $250
Bfirost Uber - $500 (purchased open box + Uber +USBgen2)
 
And that is exactly $1000. I also didn't include shipping costs and tax 

 
I broke the budget and purchased the Alpha Dogs a few weeks ago like Law87 above me. He's right about what he said, you can't beat the ADs when it comes to that combination in a brand new closed headphone. They image vocals much better than my DT880 and convey a 3D soundstage believable enough for me to not care that the headphones are closed.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

He-4 with a fully balanced Wolfson based Audio-GD (NFB-10SE).

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Edit, just noticed you already have those lol

Audio-gd NFB-10SE ($500)-->Balanced Hifiman HE-5LE ($500)
For 1000 you get DAC+amp+headphones. Might be my end-game setup already. 
I tried amping the 5LE with Emotiva a-100, to my disappointment, it sounds a little bit narrow than direct from the Audio-gd. 

The downside of course is that both are now discontinued and hard to get. 

As for the he5le, if you keep an eye on the classifieds they pop up here and there. I think I watched 3-4 of them sell in the last 6 months for around $450.

 

[Sir Tmotts III]

Grado 325i with a Lttle dot MK3 and a Modi/Biffrost. Bonus points if you grab a pair of Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV tubes