[KHansen]

Recently I bought Grado 325i's and hearing is my only sense still working.  (Common sense is out the window.)  I now feel compelled to build a set up.  Going to college next year I am not looking for anything huge and expensive but fitting for a dorm room with as high of a quality as I can get before my wallet cries out it's last penny.
 
I asked for advice from a member through PM and he gave me the advice on getting an amp, USB/DAC, and passive speakers.  Browsing without any map and window shopping through clouded windows led me to the conclusion that I need a Sonic Impact T-Amp gen 2, Fubar II, and the Audioengine P4's.  Now that wold get a bit expensive for something I know nothing about.
 
So I was also looking at the iBasso D10 to take the place of the Sonic Impact and the Fubar...  But keeping the P4's in the mixup.
 
So keeping in mind that I know absolutely nothing about anything does this sound reasonable?  Will this setup work well with itself and my 325's?  Or should I go a completely different route and start from scratch?
 
Keep in mind I don't need a portable set-up but a semi transportable set-up.

 

[JxK]

First off, forget all the funky esoteric stuff and focus on the practical.
 
Will you be living with a roommate? If yes, they may be loud (to say nothing of the dorm), so a headphone with isolation would be a much better choice than the grados. Also, a closed and isolating headphone won't leak sound, allowing you to listen when they're studying or sleeping.
 
Once you have a closed headphone you like, consider an amp/DAC combo. Though you don't need to spend huge money to get good sound. Personally, I think the $25 turtle beach audio advantage micro is almost as good as the more expensive setups. Plus easily transportable, cheap, and most important for dorm room living where anyone can just walk in it looks cheap. So people won't be tempted to steal it.

 

[KHansen]

Yes I will be living with a roommate, but I don't think the leak from the Grados will be much of a problem because of usage time and I also own RS 120 from Sennheiser.  Also I have talked with the roommate and (Butler is a liberal arts school) he agrees we need a good sound system.
 
On the lines of looks cheap and won't be jacked the doors in the building I am living in have doors that automatically close and lock.
 
I am focusing mostly on the bookshelf speakers that will act as desktop speakers with a good DAC that I can connect to my laptop and an amp to power the passive speakers.  (If that is what I decide over active speakers.)

 

[Flashpoint603]

I was faced with the same question for my dorm room. I went with a pair of swan d1080mkII's. These are active speakers. Thus eliminating the need for an amp. Pair that up with a $25 turtle beach usb as stated above and you'll have the best sound on the hall for right at $200.

As for the grados you could get an amp for them around the $100 range. Perhaps the ibasso t1 or t2 for example. The sky is the limit for low budget headphone amps that are capable of driving 325's.

 

[KHansen]

Flashpoint603 Thanks for the advice.  The Micro II looks like a sweet deal and I'm thinking hard about getting it but the point of this system is a jumping off point to grow when I have the time, money and space.  When I move into an apartment two years from now I want to build on this not construct a totally different rig.  So to me the Swan D1080 mkII's would be good but the A5 from audioengine sounds better and has way more options and inputs for the active speakers.  Swan M10's also caught my eye on price and sound quality.

 

[Cya|\|]

I'm going to buy a 1000 euros headphone system, and will live in a dorm. Dooes it happen "often" that people steal objects of value?...

 

[transient orca]

What about vintage stereo integrated amps? You can get those for cheap now days.
 
You might also be interested in Nuforce Icon products

 

[RicHSAD]

If you can find a cheap/used stereo receiver somewhere, it would take care of your amp and DAC problem in one. I am guessing your budget is probably limited, so imo you should put as much money as possible on the speakers as they are what will affect the sound the most. I would not worry about getting a fancy DAC or whatever. Also if you could share your budget with us, it would really help us recommend you some speakers that you can actually afford.

 

[Cya|\|]

By the way guys, is there some not expensive insurance, from steal and burn, up to 1300 dollars? Or 1200 euros.

 

[KHansen]

My budget is around 500 for everything as of now.  Will probably raise at the end of this.
 
The NuForce products are really catching my eye.  Are they worth that money?

 

[BlackbeardBen]

After a few days' use, I like my uDAC quite a bit with amp/speakers and as a headphone amp.  I can't compare it to much else besides my NAD CD player and a few other sources, but for $75 (got it refurbished) I'm very happy.
 
If you think you might have a little more room, keep an eye out at thrift stores and on Craigslist for deals on vintage gear.  You can get some surprisingly good deals perfect for a college dorm.  For example, I ended up walking out of the local used CD/vinyl shop with a $40 pair of Polk Monitor 7's and an $80 Carver TFM-15CB as an impulse buy.
 
Something up to the size of the Monitor 7's would be excellent for a dorm room (I had a similar sized pair of Infinity RS 5's when I lived in the dorms).  Get a USB DAC (the uDAC is great because of the volume control) and a vintage power amp (better than receivers), and you'll be set.  No pair of equivalently priced headphones or computer monitors used or new will come close to what a setup like this sounds like.
 
But if you're limited on space or just don't want to deal with a pair of bigger speakers and an amp, there's tons of excellent powered monitors out there.  Maybe even a pair of monitors and a good powered sub would be a good option - although subs are difficult to move and place, and they are often excessive in dorm rooms.
 
Also, I'll have to go against the typical grain here and say that you ought to spend as little as possible on the DAC (as long as it's not integrated sound or a very poor internal sound card), because today DACs are much better than they were 25 years ago - but speakers and amps as a whole aren't.  You can get a very acceptable DAC for $100 or less, but you won't find speakers that can match the $40 used Monitor 7's until you spend $300-$500 or more.  Then, at that price you might as well get a used pair of Klipsch Heritage or Magnepan speakers.
 
Speaking of new speakers, if you have the room for floorstanders and you want new speakers, the Magnepan MMGs are probably the best deal out there.  If you can fit speakers on the wall but not on the floor, there's the MMG W, which is even more inexpensive.  Both have an excellent trial & return policy.

 

[KHansen]

Blackbeard Ben, that seems to be the best response so far.  The day I posted this I saw Audioengine's return policy and decided to try out the A5's.  Heard good things about them and for $300 the USB port on top could make them easily transportable and set up at a different location than just my dorm room desk or floor.
 
If I like them should I get the uDAC?  Also, if I don't should I get a Sonic Impact T-Amp (found one for a good price), uDAC and then possible Magnepan speakers or another brand (passive of course)?

 

[BlackbeardBen]

Well, I can't really say much about the uDAC in comparison to other USB DACs.  The reason I got it (beyond its good reputation) is the decently powerful headphone amp and the RCA line-out for hooking up my power amps.  The features suit me well, and compared to other sources I've used (Audigy 2 line/headphone out, my NAD CD player, portable players) it sounds quite good.
 
You'll need a pretty beefy amp (no T-amp) if you want to try Magnepans, like something at least 50-100 wpc and stable at 4 ohms nominal.  OTOH, a pair of efficient horn speakers like Klipsches would run fine on less power.
 
Try out the Audioengines (I almost went for a pair of A2s myself, but realizing the line voltage difference abroad I decided to go with phones), but in the meantime you should check out Craigslist to see if there is anything locally that would suit you.  For example, I searched for Klipsch on my local CL and came up with this pair of KG 4's that are in great condition for $210.  Pair that with something like this Adcom GFA-535 from Audiogon for $125 (maybe offer $100), and run a USB DAC (with line-out gain control) as your source.  You'd have a killer system for around $400 that would be more than enough for a dorm.  Of course, it would be harder to move than the A5s.