[Dobrescu George]

Those are all things I wanted to hear gonna have to grab me a pair of those. I was going to get an amp/dac the fulla schiit is what im looking at unless there is something better for $99?

They should serve you well! Please come back to this thread and post your impressions

As for a DAC/AMP, I am not sure if there's anything better at 100 USD... There are great options a little above, but for 100 USD, I don't know that many...

 

[AudioManNewb]

What would be good for a little above?

 

[Climber]

Audioquest Dragonfly Black would be another one for $100 worth recommending. At the $200 level, iFi Nano Black would be my pick. In between ... hmm ... Topping NX4 maybe?

 

[Dobrescu George]

What would be good for a little above?

Quite a bit above, I think iFi xDSD would be awesome, but below it, I liked HIDIZS Sonada HD DAC, and Audirect Beam thingy

Other than those, I haven't heard many options for this price...

 

[AudioManNewb]

I'm looking at the ESS 422h and The Monolith M1060C how would these compare? Does anybody have experience with both?

 

[Dobrescu George]

I'm looking at the ESS 422h and The Monolith M1060C how would these compare? Does anybody have experience with both?

I've no experience with the Monolith, but ESS 422H are absolutely lovely and a headphone I wouldn't miss

 

[AudioManNewb]

Just ordered the ESS 422H from amazon suppose to be here Monday with that prime shippin. For a headphone amp I was going to go for this Monoprice Liquid Spark Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli. I'm looking for a DAC that is $99 only thing I can find is the Schiit Modi 3. Otherwise I can use my computers Realtek® ALC892 but I'm pretty sure its a piece of crap.

 

[nefilim]

Just ordered the ESS 422H from amazon suppose to be here Monday with that prime shippin. For a headphone amp I was going to go for this Monoprice Liquid Spark Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli. I'm looking for a DAC that is $99 only thing I can find is the Schiit Modi 3. Otherwise I can use my computers Realtek® ALC892 but I'm pretty sure its a piece of crap.

Personally I would stay about from the Schitt. If you want to learn why and also find plenty of other cheap DACs/headphones with good objective measurements, have a look here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?forums/digital-audio-converters-dacs.10/

Very happy with my Topping D50 and DX7s.

 

[trellus]

Personally I would stay about from the Schitt. If you want to learn why and also find plenty of other cheap DACs/headphones with good objective measurements, have a look here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?forums/digital-audio-converters-dacs.10/

Very happy with my Topping D50 and DX7s.

That very same forum gave top marks to the Modi 3 for its excellent objective measurements, so I’d say the Modi 3 is an excellent choice as an inexpensive DAC, and substantially lower in price than the Topping D50 and DX7 models. As I recall, it was remarkable since that forum had given previous Schiit DAC’s low marks for (relatively) poor measurements, but the Modi 3 measured extraordinarily well.

 

[AudioManNewb]

I decided to go with the Topping D10 as my DAC was 89.99 on amazon also that prime shipping. The ESS 422H arrived today and from the short amount of play time I had with them through my comps crappy Realtek they sound damn good. Can not wait to try them with the Liquid Spark and Topping.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I decided to go with the Topping D10 as my DAC was 89.99 on amazon also that prime shipping. The ESS 422H arrived today and from the short amount of play time I had with them through my comps crappy Realtek they sound damn good. Can not wait to try them with the Liquid Spark and Topping.

Really glad you found something you like!

I also find them to be quite amazing all around, especially for someone who likes their thick and satisfying sound

 

[PaganDL]

Really glad you found something you like!

I also find them to be quite amazing all around, especially for someone who likes their thick and satisfying sound

Hi @Dobrescu George,

One day, one day I hope to have these in hand though I largely blame the exchange rate as where I am, it's not the greatest which is very annoying, makes purchasing things very 'fun' & irritating sometimes.

But that's life so happy to wait...for now...

Got more than enough already to play with...

Oh, before I forget, keep up the good work !

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hi @Dobrescu George,

One day, one day I hope to have these in hand though I largely blame the exchange rate as where I am, it's not the greatest which is very annoying, makes purchasing things very 'fun' & irritating sometimes.

But that's life so happy to wait...for now...

Got more than enough already to play with...

Oh, before I forget, keep up the good work !

Hope you have a great day !

Thank you very much for your kind words!

I really hope you will manage to get what you want at a fair price!

Romania also gets the short end of the stick when it comes to certain products, so I'm also used to this...

 

[audio_dude]

Alright, I got the SRH1540 pads in last week and all I can say is wow. I was expecting a big bump in comfort, what I wasn't expecting was the amazing transformation in the sound!

After doing a bunch of A/B between my sets with the OG pads and the 1540 pads, I'll try to describe the sonic experience of both to better show what I mean.

Original:

Soundstage: quite narrow, feels like it extends just to the cups. However, feels like it extends upwards to the headband. Imagine a semi-circle with the cups and headband.

Imaging: quite precise within the soundstage, particularly for higher frequencies. Slight quirk I've noticed is that certain things dominant in one channel will sound like they're right at the top of my ear on that side. I hypothesize this is a consequence of the AMT being mounted on top for the newer revisions. The lows and mids tend to feel slightly muddled along a line directly between the ears.

Treble: there's definitely a peak somewhere in the 4-8khz range that's a little piecing to me sometimes. That upper edge tends to be a little sharp, but the rest is very rich and detailed. I suppose that's where the AMT is working its magic.

Mids: mids to upper mids are just silky and delightful. There's a bit of a drop around the lower mids that can be noticeable on certain tracks. As an example, a couple hip hop tracks I noticed the vocal track sounded recessed, like it was being drowned out by the backing track.

Bass: big and boisterous. Can get a little boomy and muddy for certain tracks. Great for movies though!

With Shure SCH1540 pads:

Soundstage: weird semi-circle effect is gone. Now imagine your head got stuck in the middle of a mini concert hall. It's great. The sound now has a 'bigness' to it. They're still closed back, but I now get a much better sense of distance.

Imaging: still great, but in particular the lows and mids are much more defined and separated.

Treble: some of that peak has definitely been smoothed out. All that's left is that silky smooth and rich tone. I'm getting a chills listening to tracks I've heard a hundred times before.

Mids: as above, the definition has increased considerably especially on the lower end. Still a bit of a dip, but it seems like it's not being as blown out by the lows and highs as before.

Lows: less boomy and muddled, still plenty of kick but much more controlled sounding.

 

[Mojo Warrior]

Can you provide more description of the replacement pads ? Are they velour pleather, perforated, brand or angled ?

Are these the ones you tried?

https://www.amazon.com/Shure-HPAEC1540-Replacement-Alcantara-Headphones/dp/B00HXAV0UY