Hi there head-fi, greetings from the UK (and Ukraine also, depending on time of year). Been considering about cashing out on a proper audio setup for quite some time now, and thought why not start a new year with some proper audio quality. Sorry in advance for the rather lengthy post
Gear I own: ATH-M50x (worn out, looking to replace), MDR-1000x's (I don't own them per se, but they are my brother's and he rarely uses them), Blue Yeti Microphone with boom arm.
What I'm looking for: I've had m50x's for quite a while now, but by now they're extremely worn down, so I thought it's time to upgrade audio for my PC setup. The priority list of the products I want to get from what I understand of how this works is:
1. Headphones
2. Amp
3. DAC
4. Anything else advised
but some headphones don't even require a DAC/Amp so considering my budget that's up in the air. No need for portability, but am looking for a setup that can be as middle-of-the road as humanly possible. I know that's not really a thing and ideally you'd want a bass-heavy setup, and one that could be used for listening to hi-fi music, or even one for every different genre or what have you but I'd much rather just get a jack of all trades master of none. My lossless collection is also really small - I do eventually plan on having a much larger library but as for now it remains small so ideally I'd like a pair that doesn't emphasize the shittiness of audio quality if played through youtube or other streaming websites. Been also looking to maybe upgrade my blue yeti to a condenser mic, but not sure if I should considering Romer-G switches are pretty loud on the release and condenser mics will pick them up pretty well.
Source & Use: Source will be from PC, will mainly use this for gaming, watching movies and videos but also listening to some music while studying. Maybe also streaming (motherboard is the ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING motherboard - just in case that matters at all).
Musical Preferences: While gaming may listen to some chill trap / edm etc. While studying probably to some classical music. Also vocal clarity is quite important for me. So I guess I need a balance between gaming and that. As I said, very limited lossless collection at the moment but I'm looking to expand that in the future so this is sort of pre-emptive, I still use youtube for the most part to listen to music (since I've never really had a hi-fi solution, so didn't see the need).
Budget: Around £200-400 for headphones / DAC / amp, microphone would probably come at extra, not really willing to buy used unless strongly advised otherwise (I know people say that it's best to try out a pair used and then swap after a few months but I'd still much prefer to try to just get it right on the first try)
My Research So Far: I've been thinking about He400i's, but the problem with those is that their connectors are too weak apparently so I'm afraid I'll rip them out since I have a tendency to absentmindedly stand up from my desk at times. Also looking into the akg 712 pros, but for those you apparently need a pretty good amp and I'm not sure if that's necessarily within my budget? No idea when to even begin with the amp, should I even with this budget, or think about it later when I have the money to upgrade? Been thinking to get a solid state one, but I've been recommended the little dot mk2? Not sure if starting out with a tube amp is best, or if the general extra maintenance around it is worth it so unless strongly advised I'd prefer a solid state amp.
TL;DR - looking for a £2-400 audio setup for general use on my PC (gaming, music (basically all genres but rap), movies, etc.) that has the capacity for an upgrade later down the line.
Thank you in advance for bearing with me (since I'm quite new to this), and for helping me out! <3
EDIT: correct terminology
Gear I own: ATH-M50x (worn out, looking to replace), MDR-1000x's (I don't own them per se, but they are my brother's and he rarely uses them), Blue Yeti Microphone with boom arm.
What I'm looking for: I've had m50x's for quite a while now, but by now they're extremely worn down, so I thought it's time to upgrade audio for my PC setup. The priority list of the products I want to get from what I understand of how this works is:
1. Headphones
2. Amp
3. DAC
4. Anything else advised
but some headphones don't even require a DAC/Amp so considering my budget that's up in the air. No need for portability, but am looking for a setup that can be as middle-of-the road as humanly possible. I know that's not really a thing and ideally you'd want a bass-heavy setup, and one that could be used for listening to hi-fi music, or even one for every different genre or what have you but I'd much rather just get a jack of all trades master of none. My lossless collection is also really small - I do eventually plan on having a much larger library but as for now it remains small so ideally I'd like a pair that doesn't emphasize the shittiness of audio quality if played through youtube or other streaming websites. Been also looking to maybe upgrade my blue yeti to a condenser mic, but not sure if I should considering Romer-G switches are pretty loud on the release and condenser mics will pick them up pretty well.
Source & Use: Source will be from PC, will mainly use this for gaming, watching movies and videos but also listening to some music while studying. Maybe also streaming (motherboard is the ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING motherboard - just in case that matters at all).
Musical Preferences: While gaming may listen to some chill trap / edm etc. While studying probably to some classical music. Also vocal clarity is quite important for me. So I guess I need a balance between gaming and that. As I said, very limited lossless collection at the moment but I'm looking to expand that in the future so this is sort of pre-emptive, I still use youtube for the most part to listen to music (since I've never really had a hi-fi solution, so didn't see the need).
Budget: Around £200-400 for headphones / DAC / amp, microphone would probably come at extra, not really willing to buy used unless strongly advised otherwise (I know people say that it's best to try out a pair used and then swap after a few months but I'd still much prefer to try to just get it right on the first try)
My Research So Far: I've been thinking about He400i's, but the problem with those is that their connectors are too weak apparently so I'm afraid I'll rip them out since I have a tendency to absentmindedly stand up from my desk at times. Also looking into the akg 712 pros, but for those you apparently need a pretty good amp and I'm not sure if that's necessarily within my budget? No idea when to even begin with the amp, should I even with this budget, or think about it later when I have the money to upgrade? Been thinking to get a solid state one, but I've been recommended the little dot mk2? Not sure if starting out with a tube amp is best, or if the general extra maintenance around it is worth it so unless strongly advised I'd prefer a solid state amp.
TL;DR - looking for a £2-400 audio setup for general use on my PC (gaming, music (basically all genres but rap), movies, etc.) that has the capacity for an upgrade later down the line.
Thank you in advance for bearing with me (since I'm quite new to this), and for helping me out! <3
EDIT: correct terminology
Last edited: