[nicuptown]

hi not new to the forum but i just joined as im ready now to delve into the world of high-end audio. i have decided to purchase a pair of headphones and narrowed it down to the audio technica ath-m50's or the sennheiser hd558's. im looking for a combo amplifier and DAC (im aware that separate boxes for each would be ideal but figured i could get more based on my budget) for whatever headphone i choose and would love some suggestions. i would be listening to these mostly at home therefore portability doesnt mean that much to me and the audio sources are my laptop (black macbook) and 1st gen ipad. the budget is $250-$300
 
thanks

 

[nicuptown]

bump

 

[nicuptown]

i was thinking along the lines of a nuforce udac 2 or maybe a fiio e7. was trying to avoid the portable ones but its not a big deal. or maybe one of those algorithm solos. those look nice.
 
oh and bump.

 

[nicuptown]

bump?

 

[sridhar3]

Let me start by saying I haven't owned or heard either of these phones.  Hence, I am probably not qualified to answer your question.  But I'm going to try anyway, seeing as your concerns have fallen upon deaf ears up until this point.
 
Based on the impedance specifications, as well as what I've read on Head-Fi, the M50 perform admirably without amplification, and would only benefit marginally from an amp.  The HD 558 have a slightly higher impedance, but not by much, and also probably don't need too much along the lines of an amp.
 
That said, as far as an amp/DAC combinations, the E7/E9 are popular on Head-Fi and will cost about $200.  For the same $200, you can also get the Audio-gd NFB-12 (Link: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB12/NFB12EN.htm).  Audio-gd is well-known and well-regarded on these forums for their excellent performance to price ratio.  The only issue you might have with Audio-gd is that they're currently having a problem with meeting demand.  Your best bet would be to get in touch with them for possible delivery dates prior to placing an order.  That is to say, make sure they have the item in stock, else you might end up waiting longer than you'd like to.

 

[nicuptown]

thank you!
 
wow its hard to get an answer around here! okay i see the lower the impedance the less benefit from amplification. understandable. therefore it would be better to get a standalone DAC then, and in that case what suggestions do you have for that? im not sure if my ears are trained enough to notice the difference between a discrete DAC and the onboard ones in my laptop/i devices. therefore something on the less expensive side would be more suitable. would i just simply get the e7 then?

 

[juman231]

I thnk the reason why people aren't answering your question is because it's been asked a lot of times. And the general consensus was that the M50 sounts good out of a regular DAP and would improve only a little with an amp, and therefore the amp is usually not worth it for the M50. Not sure about the Senns.

 

[nicuptown]

yeah the previous commenter mentioned as much. i changed the question to what a suitable entry level DAC would be but ill continue searching the forums for that
 

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

thank you!
 
wow its hard to get an answer around here! okay i see the lower the impedance the less benefit from amplification. understandable. therefore it would be better to get a standalone DAC then, and in that case what suggestions do you have for that? im not sure if my ears are trained enough to notice the difference between a discrete DAC and the onboard ones in my laptop/i devices. therefore something on the less expensive side would be more suitable. would i just simply get the e7 then?

Well, if you're looking to budget the same $250-$300 towards just a DAC, you've just opened yourself up to a lot of potential options, a few of which I can comment on.  The E7 is an option, but it's one of many in that price range.  Once again, you really can't go wrong with Audio-gd.  If you can pick up a used FUN (Link: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/FUN/FUNEN.htm), Compass or Sparrow (Link: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/Sparrow/SparrowEN.htm) on the For Sale forums, that would meet your needs and would be within your budget.  A new NFB-3 (Link: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/NFB-2/NFB2EN.htm), NFB-11 (non-USB) (Link: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB11.1/NFB11.1EN.htm) or NFB-12 (Link: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB12/NFB12EN.htm) can be had for within that price as well.  Of course, if you buy new, you'll need to get in touch with Audio-gd to see if they have supply (as I mentioned before).
 
Things I haven't heard that you might want to research:
Little Dot DAC_I (Link: http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=814&sid=69c1475966c2566c83ea45db95b52860)
Little Dot DAC_II (Link: http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=818&sid=69c1475966c2566c83ea45db95b52860)
Meier Corda Swing (Link: http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/swing.htm)
Meier Corda Move
NuForce uDAC 2 (Link: http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconudac2/)
iBasso D2+/D4/D10/DB2/D6/D12 (Link: http://www.ibasso.com/en/home/)
Firestone Audio Fubar I-O/II/III/IV (Link: http://www.audiophileproducts.com/firestoneaudio)
 
I'd lurk on the FS forums and search Head-Fi for impressions on stuff that's available there too.
 
Edit: Just looking at the FS forums quickly, I already see people selling:
E7 (Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/553737/fs-fiio-e7-dac-amp)
Yulong DAH1 MkII (Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/550828/fs-yulong-dah1-mark-ii)
Valab Teradak (Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/554431/valab-nos-dac-teradak-v2-6d-newest-version)
Pico DAC (Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/549581/fs-pico-dac-only-black)
Little Dot DAC_I (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/553977/fs-little-dot-dac-i)
NuForce uDAC (Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/554552/nuforce-udac-for-sale-40-shipped)
Millett Starving Student Hybrid w/ GrubDAC (Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/553917/fs-12au7-starving-student-millett-hybrid-ssmh-headphone-amplifier-with-built-in-grubdac-usb)
Keeping an ear to the ground on the FS forums can land you some great deals on excellent gear.
 

 

[Rawrbington]

nicuptown, im basically in a similar place as you.  i think im either gonna grab a Xonar or a E7 (i have a reciever for power, kinda want to start with jsut a DAC maybe) and see about the difference and go from there.  others ive consideredare a Firestone Fubar and a Maverick A1 or D1.
 
Please post what you end up with as ill be interested.

 

[Optimus Praim]

Quote:

nicuptown, im basically in a similar place as you.  i think im either gonna grab a Xonar or a E7 (i have a reciever for power, kinda want to start with jsut a DAC maybe) and see about the difference and go from there.  others ive consideredare a Firestone Fubar and a Maverick A1 or D1.
 
Please post what you end up with as ill be interested.

What Xonar model are you up too?