[remilard]

I got my Benchmark Dac1, I got my chaintech av-710, I got my banana hanger, the only thing I am missing is my HD650s which I will be ordering as soon as they are available from Todd or Headroom. I even took a picture of my empty banana hanger but it was too sad to post.

I do have the ER4s and they sound great with the dac1 surprisingly. A lot of people say that the dac1 is bass weak and bright, which is, as we all know, the same criticism the etys get. The etys are no brighter than I have heard with any other source and the bass is the best I have heard. Admittedly the previous best setup I heard the etys on was my DV-563a and go-vibe. Suffice it to say, the dac1 + etys is very detailed. But I digress, I want the sennheisers!

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard I got my Benchmark Dac1, I got my chaintech av-710, I got my banana hanger, the only thing I am missing is my HD650s which I will be ordering as soon as they are available from Todd or Headroom. I even took a picture of my empty banana hanger but it was too sad to post. I do have the ER4s and they sound great with the dac1 surprisingly. A lot of people say that the dac1 is bass weak and bright, which is, as we all know, the same criticism the etys get. The etys are no brighter than I have heard with any other source and the bass is the best I have heard. Admittedly the previous best setup I heard the etys on was my DV-563a and go-vibe. Suffice it to say, the dac1 + etys is very detailed. But I digress, I want the sennheisers!

i had the er4s + dac-1 as my main setup for around a month and the etys were extremely treble heavy, the 'brightness' was worse than the xp-7 and the prehead, also it sounded real harsh as if the music was piercing my eardrums. yea the bass was nice, but still no match for what you can get from a high end amp.
i am waiting for my sennheisers from todd too

.

 

[remilard]

Yeah the etys definately aren't an ideal match, as soon as I can get the 650s the etys are back to portable only. In the near future I think I will add a singlepower amp, mpx3-6cq7 maybe into the mix, it will be interesting to try the etys there but I have no doubt that the 650s will be my home headphone of choice either way. Now that I have my dac1 I may take it down to a local store to listen to the 650s on it in the meantime, if they still have a demo in stock.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard But I digress, I want the sennheisers!

You sure do! HD650+DAC1 will put you straight in the heart of synergy city. Then you just have to save up for that balanced amp and cables

 

[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer You sure do! HD650+DAC1 will put you straight in the heart of synergy city. Then you just have to save up for that balanced amp and cables

Is that your current plan? I'm not sure if I want to go that route or the singlepower route. I would love to hear the DAC1 with the gilmore balanced reference and HD650, or with any of the singlepower amps, I need to find someone in portland with these amps. My wallet will hate me if I do.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard Is that your current plan? I'm not sure if I want to go that route or the singlepower route. I would love to hear the DAC1 with the gilmore balanced reference and HD650, or with any of the singlepower amps, I need to find someone in portland with these amps. My wallet will hate me if I do.

I am happy enough with things that I am not really concerned about an amp. If I had a boatload of cash though, I'd probably set up a shootout of the Emmeline Stealth, Headamp Balanced Gilmore, and whatever Mikhail could cook up. Considering those options would cost more than my whole rig at this point, I'll be some time before I get to that point. I also think that I'll be getting some nice speakers before I buy another headphone amp.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard I'm not sure if I want to go that route or the singlepower route.

Get both and choose which ever you like the most

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan Get both and choose which ever you like the most

"I pity the fool" who takes that advice. Or at least pity their wallet.

 

[NeilPeart]

I am in the same boat as you fellas. The internal amp within the DAC1 is above the PIMETA level and far beyond that of most integrated amps. It approaches PPA-quality, but a DAC of this quality deserves even better amplification – since it can output a balanced signal then I must take advantage of that! I am considering only balanced amps now, and the Gilmore Reference, Blockhead and Supra XLR sit atop my list. With a source as good as the DAC1, which contains a built-in amp that is already very good, it doesn’t make any sense NOT to get a top-range amp. This is why I will be saving my pennies for a LONG time until I can afford such an amp (probably next summer)!

 

[remilard]

We'll have to move this to the amp forum soon......

I kinda want to go balanced but don't know when I'll be able to afford it. Gilmore seems like the cheapest route < $2k for amp + senn cable iirc. I'm assuming the balanced supra will be at least $2k.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer I also think that I'll be getting some nice speakers before I buy another headphone amp.

hehehehehe...

 

[Publius]

I've been happily using ER-4S with a Gilmore V2 and an unmodded RME PAD for something like 6-8 months now and can find no significant need to upgrade whatsoever.

I consider myself very, very lucky.