Bonobo Loco
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2012
- Posts
- 220
- Likes
- 36
I'm pretty new to the audiophile community. At this point what I'm using is the hd380 with my laptop as source, flac > foobar/wasapi, and a Creative X-Fi go pro external usb sound card.
With this setup, which I guess most of the head-fi community would probably refer to as "budget fi", since I got the headphones and sound card for a combined ~$200, I've been enjoying music more than ever before in my life. It's been a really great addition to my life and money well spent. So what I want to do is take the next step up into the world of hi-fi, or at least "mid fi"... different people would draw the line in different places but I'm sure you get what I'm saying.
So my intention is just to get more of the same kind of sound. I really like the Sennheiser signature compared with some of the other high end brands I've heard. So I want to pick up the hd650 and need to decide on some kind of dac/amp. I can run it straight from the sound card like I am with the 380's, but I have a feeling that I wouldn't really get the "true" sound of the 650's without some kind of proper dac/amp. I've
A few things to consider:
1. I listen to mostly indie rock, classical, and sometimes electronica. I know that the 650 isn't really the best set for electronica but it's ok, that doesn't make up the bulk of my listening.
2. I've been listening for the most part, quietly. My laptop volume is normally from like 10-25% of max. For whatever reason, I normally enjoy that better than super loud. So I don't need an amp to blow me away with volume.
3. What I'm looking for is clarity of sound and a big, expansive, draws-you-in feeling. I don't want anything that could add any signal noise.
4. I'm buying on a budget, so the goal is something that accomplishes all this without a huge capital investment. I'm open to portable, non-portable or semi-portable, tube, solid state, whatever. Something reliable, durable, and economical (not cheap stuff but high price/performance ratio).
I looked around the forum for a while before posting this... if there is already a good thread for people in my situation, links to threads like that would be helpful.
Anyway guys thanks in advance for any help. It's been really nice to have a place like this where you can learn from the expertise of audiophiles around the world before making any big (and potentially stupid and wasteful) financial decisions.
With this setup, which I guess most of the head-fi community would probably refer to as "budget fi", since I got the headphones and sound card for a combined ~$200, I've been enjoying music more than ever before in my life. It's been a really great addition to my life and money well spent. So what I want to do is take the next step up into the world of hi-fi, or at least "mid fi"... different people would draw the line in different places but I'm sure you get what I'm saying.
So my intention is just to get more of the same kind of sound. I really like the Sennheiser signature compared with some of the other high end brands I've heard. So I want to pick up the hd650 and need to decide on some kind of dac/amp. I can run it straight from the sound card like I am with the 380's, but I have a feeling that I wouldn't really get the "true" sound of the 650's without some kind of proper dac/amp. I've
A few things to consider:
1. I listen to mostly indie rock, classical, and sometimes electronica. I know that the 650 isn't really the best set for electronica but it's ok, that doesn't make up the bulk of my listening.
2. I've been listening for the most part, quietly. My laptop volume is normally from like 10-25% of max. For whatever reason, I normally enjoy that better than super loud. So I don't need an amp to blow me away with volume.
3. What I'm looking for is clarity of sound and a big, expansive, draws-you-in feeling. I don't want anything that could add any signal noise.
4. I'm buying on a budget, so the goal is something that accomplishes all this without a huge capital investment. I'm open to portable, non-portable or semi-portable, tube, solid state, whatever. Something reliable, durable, and economical (not cheap stuff but high price/performance ratio).
I looked around the forum for a while before posting this... if there is already a good thread for people in my situation, links to threads like that would be helpful.
Anyway guys thanks in advance for any help. It's been really nice to have a place like this where you can learn from the expertise of audiophiles around the world before making any big (and potentially stupid and wasteful) financial decisions.
