Modded x-fi xtrememusic to x-fi prelude. Worth it?

[Brando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soloz2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif buffalo and millet max!

Links? I found a diy site for the millet maxed amp but what's a buffalo? Nothing turned up right away.
EDIT: I found the buffalo dac page. $2-300 for the parts plus $150 for the millet hybrid maxed is close to within budget. Unfortunately it looks like something I'd botch as I have almost no experience assembling electronics from scratch. Looks nice though. I think maybe waiting for a used gilmore lite and asking about dacs in the source section is the way to go. $150-200 can get a good used dac right?

 

[cotdt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brando /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is there a dac\amp combo you know of that would fit the bill? I was considering that route too but I'm confused by what seem to be conflicting opinions on the subject. I'd really like to upgrade the amp and dac, I just have to be able to afford something that doesn't compromise either aspect. I don't want to go with something that's skimpy on power. I know AT's are supposed to be easy to drive but they really do sound much better coming from my receiver which I assume has more power than the front l\r jack on my sound card. If I need to I'll just get a used gilmore lite and a used separate dac. But, I'm definitley open to suggestions that will save me money without sacrificing quality (dac\amp combo?).

i think you'll be happier with separate DAC and amp, so that you could upgrade them independently whenever you decide to. there are plenty of nice amps under $300, even under $200. power is never anything you need to worry about with dedicated headphone amps, but rather the quality of the sound. personally, i would recommend against DAC/amp combos. they are just putting a DAC and an amp in the same box, you're not saving much money from that, just giving up versatility. though it might be smaller to have the DAC and amp combined.

and you will always sacrifice sound quality, it's a matter of degree.

 

[Brando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif i think you'll be happier with separate DAC and amp, so that you could upgrade them independently whenever you decide to. there are plenty of nice amps under $300, even under $200. power is never anything you need to worry about with dedicated headphone amps, but rather the quality of the sound. personally, i would recommend against DAC/amp combos. they are just putting a DAC and an amp in the same box, you're not saving much money from that, just giving up versatility. though it might be smaller to have the DAC and amp combined. and you will always sacrifice sound quality.

That's kind of what I'm leaning towards. The reason I'm inclined towards the gilmore lite is that somebody recommended it from personal experience with my ad2000's and said they go together really well. If I have to get one thing first, I'd rather go with the amp...then the dac when it shows up in the for sale section.

 

[hadouken]

I'd stronly recommend looking into the Little Dot MK V Amp ( Link: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...lifier-289765/ ). I was looking into this as a solution for my HD650's sounding dull and lifeless. After reading that thread and lots of other opinion on it, I was convinced. It's priced quite reasonably too at around $290.

 

[Brando]

I got a response to my WTB gilmore lite ad so what I'll probably do is run the x-fi spdif to my receiver and rca from my receiver to the gilmore. If I notice a worthwhile improvement from the receiver's dac I'll take that as a sign to start saving for another high end external dac.