[Hal Rockwell]

What will be the best budget rig for listening to music via foobar on my PC with headphones and powered speakers?
 
1) PC>Optical cable>Fiio D03K>Little Bear
 
2) PC>USB>HiFimeDIY Sabre DAC>Little Bear
 
3) aune T1
 
How do all of these options compare to Fiio E10 that I'm using now?

 

[PurpleAngel]

It would be helpful to know what headphones you are using?
Also those low cost "no name" tube amp. would not be recommend for low impedance headphones.
Headphones in the 250-Ohm to 300-Ohm range would is what i would use those low cost tube amps for.
 
Guess I would take the HifiMeDIY Sabre USB DAC over the Fiio D03K
 
Your Aune link goes to the Little Bear page.

 

[Hal Rockwell]

My highest impedance cans are Superlux 660/330 which are 150 ohm each.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

My highest impedance cans are Superlux 660/330 which are 150 ohm each.

The Superlux HD660 & 330 use the same size ear pads as the Beyerdynamic DT770/DT880/DT990.
I had some well used Beyer ear pads I put on the HD660, really helped the comfort.
For around $16 you can get some generic Velour ear pads, off eBay.
 
The PAV2V (Personal Amp. 2 version 2) headphone amplifier is only $66.30, on eBay.
But if you want tube, go tube.
 
The Little bear comes with two screws that adjust the voltage, you can get a digital multi-meter (DT830) for around $6 to $7.
You can balance and fine tune the voltage on the Little Bear.

 

[Hal Rockwell]

I tried swapping the original pads with velour pads and it had a negative impact on the bass. The treble became dominant and the headphones became extremely fatiguing to listen to.