[Androxylo]

The question from the beginner audiophile about every component is actually how much impact this component has on overall sound. It's related a lot to the budget question as well. Suppose you want to build a $300 (or $3,000) setup - how much you should spend on the DAC?

In my case I have Musiland MD10 $300 DAC. Never heard anything else, except simple sound cards. How good my headphones must be before it is worth to invest into better DAC?

So in term of weight, will the $300 DAC + $400 headphones sound better than $600 DAC with $200 headphones? Or $200 DAC with $600 cans? (here by $$$ price I mean the best choice for that price, not some overpriced garbage)

 

[chews89]

I'm not sure which would sound better but maybe these threads could help?

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/pe...ponents-14918/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/rel...onents-175955/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/ran...rtance-180403/

 

[Curly19]

IMHO, headphones/speakers are more important than the DAC. But that doesn't mean one can get by with a crummy DAC. The MD10 is not a crummy DAC - I have one.

If I was starting from zero and had $600 to spend, I'd put $200 tops in the DAC and the rest in the phones.

Mike

 

[Currawong]

I wouldn't set a value on it personally. Some people like just using, say, a Lavry DA-10 with their headphones, which is a DAC primarily, but with a built-in amp. That makes it half to two-thirds of their budget depending how much the headphones are. Also, are you buying new or second-hand? That will make a considerable difference. Are you using dynamic headphones or electrostats (Stax)? The latter will benefit from a better, more detailed DAC. Are you using K701s, which can subjectively sound cold and un-musical with a studio-oriented DAC such as an Apogee Duet.

There's really not a clear figure you can put on these things IMO.

 

[zestinger]

^ agreed. I think it really depends on what phone and what kind of source you're using. For example, I tried out two different Amp/DAC combo that were about the same cost as my phones (200) and decided that although listening to mp3's were better, in the end, I still got amazing sound from my k271 + a CD in my macbook.

But then again my k271's are pretty easy to drive. The K701 need a dedicated amp, and depending on what kind of music you like and how you want it to sound, that means either tube or solid state (or hybrid), which puts you in a different cost ballpark altogether.

 

[Androxylo]

Thanks for the answers! Well, in my future setup my current phones and amp (low end, doesn't matter) will be replaced with Denon D5000 and Kicas amp. But it seems from the answers above that I can keep my md10 unless I get very rich (unlikely).