[Nooc]

hi, I officially caught the head-fi bug and spent last week of my life reading these forums. Right now I'm dealing with HD555 and unmodded X-Fi (I know). But that's all about to change since I got some moneeyz for a serious upgrade. So far from reading over I settled on HD650s and X-Fi prelude. I got a CMoy on ebay from juice but it looks like I'll need a better amp so that's where you guys come in.

so far I got:

Gilmore Lite
Little Dot MKIII
M Cubed

In your opinion, which one of the listed above will serve me best? Are there any other amps that I should know about? Any help/suggestions is greatly appreciated!

 

[kevg73]

actually with that setup you might want to consider a DAC. It should eliminate the need to upgrade your sound card and will greatly improve your sound quality. I am considering getting a Beresford TC-7510 MK6. It is $200 on ebay (ebay.co.uk). It is a great DAC for the money and has a built in amp and headphone out. But with the amp isnt great. But with not having to get a new sound card you could get a separate amp and have X-Fi>DAC>Amp>HD650 and that would be a great setup. As for your original question... I really dont know which of those is better

 

[arterius2]

i agree with kevg73, beresford tc-7510 mk6 is an exellent choice, by getting the dac, you are also getting an amp as well, because the built-in amp on the beresford is very good, even better than some of the stand-alone amps you can buy for $200.

 

[Nooc]

Forgive me if I'm having a dumb moment, but isn't the Prelude already a DAC

? So why do I need a second DAC ?...

 

[kevg73]

soundcards are DAC's as well as all the other stuff they do. But generally the DAC section is where the most quality is lost. A dedicated DAC will sound much better. And if you get a dedicated DAC you wont have to buy a new soundcard because the one you have is good enough to basically just transport the digital signal to the DAC. Then the DAC converts it into something your headphones can use.

 

[ChickenGod]

Take a look at the DV336i.

 

[Nooc]

Thanks for clarification. I'll probably settle on Prelude anyway, since I need 4GB memory support in Vista 64-bit, and the benefits of an optical out (for my speakers).

Now can anyone please suggest me an amp

?

 

[Nooc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChickenGod /img/forum/go_quote.gif Take a look at the DV336i.

I read they are comparable to MKII but I was leaning more towards MKIII.

 

[ChickenGod]

Any particular reason?

 

[Chewy]

Having heard all the Little Dot amps I would say MKIV is closer to 336i. MKIII is nice but has less depth, soundstage and detail.

 

[arterius2]

i believe that the MKIII is better bang for the buck for equal or better SQ. the warm, liquid and detailed sound produced by the MKIII is what most people look for in a tube amp. mkiii has amazing soundstage and detail. the bass with my k701 goes down all the way to sub 10khz

 

[Penchum]

The LD MKIII easily fits your criteria, plus it costs less and would leave you some bucks for tube rolling!! Go for it!!

Dave McLaughlin

 

[Nooc]

Thanks guys! Now the real question is where to get them. Ebay only sells from China

 

[mrarroyo]

Nooc, since you will be getting an HD650, an amp, and a dac have you thougth of a HeadRoom's combo?

 

[Nooc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nooc, since you will be getting an HD650, an amp, and a dac have you thougth of a HeadRoom's combo?

Well I'm not getting an external DAC, and right now I'm actually leaning toward AKG K701. And the cheapest of HeadRoom products are WAY too much for me. As far as amps go, I'll end up with MKIII or M3 (if I can find them

).