| Originally posted by davidmiya My current rig (before more stuff arrives in the mail) is: NAD c541i --> Transparent Premium Coax --> Bel Canto DAC2 --> Cardas Microtwin --> Meta42 --> Sennheiser HD650. I can seriously say that no component has made more of a difference than the Bel Canto. DAMN! Even with the lowly Meta42, the sound is authoritative and clear. There's hardly any harshness or mud that I usually get. Just to try things out, I tried swapping some Sony earbuds in place of my HD650's. Same conclusion. Crisp, clear sound. I would go as far as to say that NAD/DAC2/Meta42/earbuds rivals my previous setup: NAD/PPA/HD600. If you've got $1000 to drop, don't buy cables, don't buy power, don't even buy a high-end amp. Pick up a used HD580 or a pair of cheap Grados and buy yourself a nice external DAC. Either that, or get a Sony 555es modded. Source is the REAL DEAL. Don't listen to all those whiners who talk about hearing miracles from their $2000 cables. On a modest setup like mine (and most likely yours), source is KING. edit: If you've got more money to burn, think about some <$200 cables, a <$1000 amp, and maybe a <$150 power conditioner. |
| Originally posted by Spent&Bent Source is indeed the key, it can very well be the reason why certain people diss perfectly good headphone / amp combo's. With another, maybe better source they very well might decide differently and save themselves lots of money going through headphones / amps looking for that magic that just won't happen with their particular source, all IMHO ofcourse... |
| Originally posted by raif hey davidmiya, have you heard the benchmark dac1? Would you say that the bel canto is a definite improvement over the benchmark? Anyone who has heard both can feel free to respond. |
