sigmo66
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2011
- Posts
- 5
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- 0
First off, let me say that I'm still essentially new to the audiophile world, though I find it very interesting, and I love music and high quality electronics, so I'm looking to upgrade my audio stuff. I has questions:
My priority of music genres are: indie (Bright Eyes), electronic/indie (The Postal Service), rock (Tool), classic rock (Pink Floyd), softer metal (Slipknot), electronica (Daft Punk), and rap (Eminem). I think that means my taste in music is kind of all over the place, so would that mean I'd want a balanced phone/SS amp, or would the HD650 do all genres justice, but especially the indie (acoustic) stuff? If it was driven by a tube amp, would that be too much warmth for the genres that don't need warmth?
I have a fairly small and narrow head. My ATH-AD700's were a little big, as are my Grado sr225i's. But they aren't really too big so to speak, I just don't know if they fit me properly, because in games, I can't really tell where things are too well, and I know the soundstage is more than adequate. Would HD650's fit a narrow/smallish head?
What is a good price ratio to follow as a general rule, or is there not really one? For example, I'm considering the HD650 ($350), Schiit Valhalla ($350), Schiit Bifrost ($350), which is of course a 1:1:1 ratio. I think the only thing I may be overspending on would be the DAC, since the HD650 apparently needs a decent amp to drive it properly. I'm mainly considering the Bifrost because it matches the Valhalla, and it's the same company, so I'd assume it would have optimal synergy?
For the DAC, is USB inferior to SPDIF coaxial? I have an Asus Xonar DX soundcard, does that mean I have an SPDIF thing? Do I just plug the DAC into the SPDIF on my Xonar DX, then my amp into my DAC, then my headphones into my amp? Does that mean my soundcard's quality is essentially irrelevant, because all the work that matters would now be on my DAC/amp, or would my Xonar DX's SPDIF port likely be superior to my onboard port?
I care mostly about music, but I do play games as well. For games, would my soundcard then be taken out of the equation completely in games, just like it would be for my music?
I realize that I should first visit a quality audio shop to try out headphones, but I don't know of any around where I live, so I may just try the HD650s. I also realize there are many, many forum posts about the HD650s, especially regarding what amp/dac goes well with it, but I didn't find answers to my other questions too well. I apologize for the length of this thread, and how much of a newbie I am. I appreciate any response!
My priority of music genres are: indie (Bright Eyes), electronic/indie (The Postal Service), rock (Tool), classic rock (Pink Floyd), softer metal (Slipknot), electronica (Daft Punk), and rap (Eminem). I think that means my taste in music is kind of all over the place, so would that mean I'd want a balanced phone/SS amp, or would the HD650 do all genres justice, but especially the indie (acoustic) stuff? If it was driven by a tube amp, would that be too much warmth for the genres that don't need warmth?
I have a fairly small and narrow head. My ATH-AD700's were a little big, as are my Grado sr225i's. But they aren't really too big so to speak, I just don't know if they fit me properly, because in games, I can't really tell where things are too well, and I know the soundstage is more than adequate. Would HD650's fit a narrow/smallish head?
What is a good price ratio to follow as a general rule, or is there not really one? For example, I'm considering the HD650 ($350), Schiit Valhalla ($350), Schiit Bifrost ($350), which is of course a 1:1:1 ratio. I think the only thing I may be overspending on would be the DAC, since the HD650 apparently needs a decent amp to drive it properly. I'm mainly considering the Bifrost because it matches the Valhalla, and it's the same company, so I'd assume it would have optimal synergy?
For the DAC, is USB inferior to SPDIF coaxial? I have an Asus Xonar DX soundcard, does that mean I have an SPDIF thing? Do I just plug the DAC into the SPDIF on my Xonar DX, then my amp into my DAC, then my headphones into my amp? Does that mean my soundcard's quality is essentially irrelevant, because all the work that matters would now be on my DAC/amp, or would my Xonar DX's SPDIF port likely be superior to my onboard port?
I care mostly about music, but I do play games as well. For games, would my soundcard then be taken out of the equation completely in games, just like it would be for my music?
I realize that I should first visit a quality audio shop to try out headphones, but I don't know of any around where I live, so I may just try the HD650s. I also realize there are many, many forum posts about the HD650s, especially regarding what amp/dac goes well with it, but I didn't find answers to my other questions too well. I apologize for the length of this thread, and how much of a newbie I am. I appreciate any response!