[zrossiter]

hello, sorry for the common theme of dac amp help but I am a bit lost still. I am looking for something to run off my macbook pro to drive some grado sr325's. Since i am in college the cheaper the better, looking to start out spending around 100 bucks, thanks in advance
-Zach

 

[milkweg]

Are those headphones very demanding? If not I would say just get an EMU 0202 USB. They cost about $100.00 or just over.

 

[obobskivich]

X2 the 0202 suggestion

and no, the 325's aren't really all that hard to drive (they're Grado's, they're pretty civil)

 

[zrossiter]

What about a Zero amp/dac? Ive heard lots of good stuff on here about them, only a few bucks more ...is it worth it?

 

[Currawong]

A Zero would be more musical and would drive them easily. Upgrading them is cheap too.

 

[incubated]

i am also looking to purchase a dac. is it only for headphones or can it cover a 2.1 altec lansing set? i have alessandro ms-1 also that i would want to improve.

 

[obobskivich]

hey, starting a new thread is always fun

 

[incubated]

sure is, i have been tempted to but i saw you respond so i will just ask here.

if i were to go out and buy either a dac or soundcard for my alessandro ms-1s and altec lansing 2.1 which one should i get, first at least. i think eventually later on i will have both, and more, but right now what is the most sensible upgrade? i am using onboard sound with foobar. sounds very good but i can hear distortion often, especially on li john stuff. do dacs support 2.1 set up?

also, what brands would you recomend? in sound cards i lean towards m-audio, probably because of its price, but i have no idea about dacs. what do you guys think about this neko one that is advertised here?

 

[obobskivich]

i'm just gonna spam and troll, no answers for you

 

[milkweg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif A Zero would be more musical and would drive them easily. Upgrading them is cheap too.

In what way is it more musical? A DAC/amp should be transparent so don't get what is meant by "more musical".

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkweg /img/forum/go_quote.gif In what way is it more musical? A DAC/amp should be transparent so don't get what is meant by "more musical".

I think he's trying to highlight that the 0202 is a "baby studio interface" while the Zero is a "home audio component", perhaps??

 

[incubated]

oh sorry. didn't mean to be rude.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkweg /img/forum/go_quote.gif In what way is it more musical? A DAC/amp should be transparent so don't get what is meant by "more musical".

My first serious DAC was an Apogee Duet (which at $500 is reportedly great with Grados). At the time I had a very neutral Little Dot MKV amp and AKG K701s. It didn't sound great. I changed to the Zero and suddenly the music sounded musical, not cold and analytical. Subsequent devices revealed that pro audio gear tended to be less enjoyable to listen with if the rest of what I was using was similar. Ultimately what you're choosing is what colouration in equipment suits your ears best, and what works well with your headphones and other gear.