[grevock]

I'm really not sure that people are generally happy with the 660S. And I don't have any low power amps anymore. Maybe a JDS amp would be a good choice. I don't have recommendations on DACs below 1000 USD. But I would avoid entry level schiit and all their DACs since they don't support DSD (at least last time I looked they decryed DSD publicly) and they don't support MQA.

Good points. Maybe the Schiit DACs, being "upgradeable", can handle the newer encoding systems in the future. That said, considering the cost of the 660s, if I go that route I don't want to go for the high end DACs, seems like overkill but maybe I'm wrong. Would rather spend more money on a good amp. Any thoughts on the THX AAA 789 from Massdrop?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Good points. Maybe the Schiit DACs, being "upgradeable", can handle the newer encoding systems in the future. That said, considering the cost of the 660s, if I go that route I don't want to go for the high end DACs, seems like overkill but maybe I'm wrong. Would rather spend more money on a good amp. Any thoughts on the THX AAA 789 from Massdrop?

Well Schiit is using chips that support DSD like the AKM4493 but they have said in the past DSD is a scam etc. Their upgradability so far is only on paper IMHO. I don't like the brand. Their high end stuff is ok but personally I wouldn't touch it with a thousand foot pole after the customer disservice I got from them.

A lot of people like the THX amps, they're cheap, one guy claims they measure better than anything. But not everybody likes the build quality although for the money the build quality is as you would expect. Depending on your headphones THX amps might not be a good pairing.

If you go with the 660S you can buy a very good dacamp with top quality which will have plenty of power for your cans. Still I haven't read anything that would make me buy a pair of those. Headphones are the most personal thing, they affect the sound the most and fit and comfort make or break a pair. After that amps can affect the sound and after that, chip DACs. That said, you do get different sound from FPGA DACs (Chord) and people who own R2R say the same thing.

If you can get to a shop, try various headphones with music you know. Then try amps with those headphones, then DACs. Otherwise just read and ask questions as much as you can and take a chance.

 

[HBen]

a bit of (general/regular) advice:
- if anyhow possible listen to the headphones yourself before buying.
- don't listen to people going like "these headphones are not good at xxx" or "these headphones are not good all-round headphones " etc... because
- a lot is about synergy between amp, dac and headphones and
- a lot is about your personal hearing, music preference etc. and
- most people who post their recommendations and opinions have only heard these headphones on certain amp and dac combination which basically means it tells nothing about your preference on your (future) headphone/amplifier/dac-chain.
Cheers and good luck