I have Corda Cantante.2 Maybe I need an upgrade for DAC/AMP combo for my headphones?
Jul 11, 2009 at 6:49 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 15
hifidk

hifidk

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My main headphones at the moment are W5000, AD2000, HD580 Jubilee, D2000 and HF2 (ordered). Might want to upgrade D2000 to D7000 later on but it is not going to happen anytime soon. So I have low to mid to high impedance headphones and I am not sure if there is some other amp that does well with low to relatively high impedance phones.

I currently don't have much complains regarding the Cantate.2 but was wondering if there is any better option for me. I just thought suggestions from more experienced head-fiers might help me get the best out of my headphones. I don't mind getting tubes or separate DAC unit but my main concern would be the budget. I don't want to use much more than what I will be getting back from selling the Cantate.2 I guess I can put additional ~$100 or $200, which would be around $500-600 total.

So, is there anything you feel that I am missing out? Is there any better option? Would it be better to save up more and get higher-end gears?

Any input would help.

By the way, if it matters, I listen to most music genres except classical music. I mainly listen to Rock, Electronica and little bit of Pop/Jazz/Vocal stuff.
 
Jul 11, 2009 at 9:59 AM Post #2 of 15
maybe the corda symphony but that's way over your budget
wink.gif
 
Jul 11, 2009 at 11:36 AM Post #4 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by anadin /img/forum/go_quote.gif
That would be a downgrade.


How's that?

EDIT: To the OP: Unless you really want to go from DAC/Amp to DAC/Amp (in which case, upgrade options from the Cantate.2 seem to be limited, the only ones I can think of are the Corda Symphony, Lavry DA11 and the Benchmark DAC1), you might start looking into separates. And since the DAC appears to be the less highly performing part of the Cantate (at least, that's the way it certainly is with the Corda Opera), you could start looking into an upgrade in that department.
 
Jul 11, 2009 at 3:55 PM Post #6 of 15
Yes, like I mentioned in the original post, I don't mind getting separate DAC unit, but I have limited budget at the moment and don't know if that is feasible. Corda Symphony does look good, but as you know they are way over my budget.
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 6:08 AM Post #7 of 15
I guess there isn't much better solution in this price range?
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 7:03 PM Post #10 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by eroarex /img/forum/go_quote.gif
what about the cambridge dac magic?
smily_headphones1.gif

or maybe you should wait for dr Meier's Stagedac release
biggrin.gif



I was thinking about getting dac magic + little dot VII and get balanced set-up but I don't know if its worth the money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atothex /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You don't really need all those phones, do you?


Are you saying that I should sell some phones and get better amp?
 
Jul 12, 2009 at 7:22 PM Post #12 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by eroarex /img/forum/go_quote.gif
but i believe that the meier stagedac is a major improvement over the cantate's dac and it fits in your budget too
wink.gif



I think you misunderstood my question, I am looking for both AMP and DAC within ~$600 and this is after selling my current dac/amp. I think Stagedac is out of my budget?
 
Jul 13, 2009 at 12:23 AM Post #14 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by atothex /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You should consider it, yes. A shiny new source would help, too.


I was considering that option myself but I cannot let my babies go
frown.gif
 
Jul 15, 2009 at 5:19 PM Post #15 of 15
You can consider to use the Pico DAC. I use it with my Opera to replace the built-in USB DAC and get slightly improvement. It improves on the clarity and sound stage mainly.
 
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