nycenglish
New Head-Fier
I asked this question in the General Help section but didn't get a lot of responses so...
I'd like to set up a compact (no more than 12" wide) desktop headphone system in my home office to drive my LCD-3s.
My main speaker system comprises of a Pass power amp, PS Audio BHK pre, PS Audio DSD DAC, and Merlin VSM speakers. For those familiar with these components, you'll know they deliver a smooth musical sound yet with some bass punch. All my music is via roon and is therefore 100% digital.
roon core runs on a reasonably beefy iMac which streams to my speaker system. The iMac is in the same office as this headphone set up would be.
As far as I can tell this means I need a DAC and a headphone amp to drive my LCD-3s. I am somewhat concerned about using USB to connect the DAC to my Mac so I would like a DAC with a good USB implementation.
I am considering trying a used Chord Hugo 2 and fear it may be a little lean but TBH I don't have a lot of headphone system experience so I may be placing too much emphasis on the DAC side vs. the amp side.
Approx. $2K is my budget.
Any recommendations?
Thanks.
I'd like to set up a compact (no more than 12" wide) desktop headphone system in my home office to drive my LCD-3s.
My main speaker system comprises of a Pass power amp, PS Audio BHK pre, PS Audio DSD DAC, and Merlin VSM speakers. For those familiar with these components, you'll know they deliver a smooth musical sound yet with some bass punch. All my music is via roon and is therefore 100% digital.
roon core runs on a reasonably beefy iMac which streams to my speaker system. The iMac is in the same office as this headphone set up would be.
As far as I can tell this means I need a DAC and a headphone amp to drive my LCD-3s. I am somewhat concerned about using USB to connect the DAC to my Mac so I would like a DAC with a good USB implementation.
I am considering trying a used Chord Hugo 2 and fear it may be a little lean but TBH I don't have a lot of headphone system experience so I may be placing too much emphasis on the DAC side vs. the amp side.
Approx. $2K is my budget.
Any recommendations?
Thanks.