[sugarshark]

  The more I read and write here the more I am thinking about the "Sorry about your wallet" quote everyone is welcomed here. My wallet already suffered by buying the Primes and my next question might make it suffer again.
 
so, don't sue me for the following, but my setup with the Primes will look the following:
iPhone4 with Camera Connection Kit and the HRT Microstreamer with the Primes on it. Apologies to everyone I am insulting with a good phone on a bad (?) setup. But so far I just wanted phones for the go and things are slowly evolving.
 
I am using the iPhone for Spotify, which is my main source for music at the moment. So I am asking now how good or bad this setup may sound and how I could improve it the most with not spending too much money on it. I am planing to use Spotify as a main source because I can discover music here best (might be upgrading to some HD streaming service sometime in the future) but I have a lot of cds lying around which I could rediscover.
 
so I would appreciate any comments from just head shaking about this setup to suggestions for an amp to go with my microstreamer up to a complete setup like magni/modi which would be in my budget aswell if it is worth it. I think I could spend up to 300 Euros for amp/dac. I am very curious about your reactions as I am feeling like an ape who tries to participate in a debate club while writing this

 
they aren't joking when they say 'sorry about your wallet'

 
I agree with the other posters that if you're happy, then don't over think things. However, with that said, you do have a top tier headphone there, and if you want to hear it's full potential you need a good source and amplification.
 
Audio-gd and schiit are strong contenders in the price range you're asking about. Are there any dealers nearby that stock them? Best bet would be to take your rig in there and do a demo if you can.
 
anyway. i'm with tony on this one... I was initially using primes with a hifi-m8. It sounded pretty good, but it wasn't until i hooked it up to an external dac and violectric amp that it lived up to the hype for me.

 

[Sappy]

a big thank you to everyone who commented on my amp thoughts. I will start with the microstreamer and next I will head to a hifi shop here in Berlin testing different setups. they don't have the shiit there as it is an american brand I suppose and importing is too special for mainstream shops here but nevertheless this testing should give me an idea what to expect when spending a few hundred or even a thousand bucks on amp and dac. and after that we will see how sorry my wallet will be in the end. it is a shame I can't hear the new magni2/modi2 setup. they are very appealing in price, praise and optics...

 

[Tony1110]

they aren't joking when they say 'sorry about your wallet'

I agree with the other posters that if you're happy, then don't over think things. However, with that said, you do have a top tier headphone there, and if you want to hear it's full potential you need a good source and amplification.

Audio-gd and schiit are strong contenders in the price range you're asking about. Are there any dealers nearby that stock them? Best bet would be to take your rig in there and do a demo if you can.

anyway. i'm with tony on this one... I was initially using primes with a hifi-m8. It sounded pretty good, but it wasn't until i hooked it up to an external dac and violectric amp that it lived up to the hype for me.

When I said they needed a 2k amp and a 1.5k DAC I wasn't being entirely serious. Having said that, I have heard improvements with better equipment. The difference between the V281's built in DAC and an Anedio D2 is pretty huge and the Primes are good enough to let you hear it.

 

[Tony1110]

a big thank you to everyone who commented on my amp thoughts. I will start with the microstreamer and next I will head to a hifi shop here in Berlin testing different setups. they don't have the shiit there as it is an american brand I suppose and importing is too special for mainstream shops here but nevertheless this testing should give me an idea what to expect when spending a few hundred or even a thousand bucks on amp and dac. and after that we will see how sorry my wallet will be in the end. it is a shame I can't hear the new magni2/modi2 setup. they are very appealing in price, praise and optics...

Just over 2 years ago I bought some Grado 325 headphones and deliberated for weeks over whether to spend the additional £300 on a Little Dot 1+ and Music Streamer II in order to get the best out of them. That entire setup cost pretty much what the cables in my current system cost. When people say sorry about your wallet they're not joking. Save up for the Magni and Modi and then avoid this website like the plague. That's my advice

 

[saxelrod92]

Just over 2 years ago I bought some Grado 325 headphones and deliberated for weeks over whether to spend the additional £300 on a Little Dot 1+ and Music Streamer II in order to get the best out of them. That entire setup cost pretty much what the cables in my current system cost. When people say sorry about your wallet they're not joking. Save up for the Magni and Modi and then avoid this website like the plague. That's my advice

4 years ago I was rocking a beyerdynamic dt990 32ohm version plugged straight into my computer/ipod, and I thought that was the best sounding thing ever, what on earth are all these people talking about with amps and dacs. Then i got the denon d5000 which even though it's more sensitive, for some reason it needs a bit more power than the headphone jack of a laptop to sound loud enough, which got me looking at the cheapest, decent sounding portable amp I can find, which led me to the fiio e11. My logic was just look on headfi to see whats the best thing I could get for under 100 bucks, because the headphones wont need more, and how much could an amp affect the sound. lol. Turns out the fiio e11 (not the newer K version) kinda sucks lol, and it was really obvious even with the denons. That obvious change in the sound is what ultimately led me to getting the Violectric V281 (after some time with the Burson soloist SL). and I got the schiit bifrost uber because its probably the best sounding dac for that price.
 
I also tried all the best headphones in the 1500 and under range that I thought I liked.
 
after all was said an done, I now have 1000 dollar headphones, 1900 dollar amp, 500 dollar dac, 30 blue jean cable interconnects, and a 350 dollar norne headphone cable on the way soon. I'm not listing the prices to brag, not at all, I'm just trying to say "sorry for your wallet" got very real, very quick for me, whether you want it or not lol. No regrets though, and aside from maybe a future dac upgrade, I genuinely dont feel any issue to change what I have, esp thanks to the primes.
 
for anyone who really doesnt want to spend extra money, and likes the sound they have out of whatever is their current system, and doesn't hear anything that makes you want more, then dont read this site, ever

 

[wahsmoh]

4 years ago I was rocking a beyerdynamic dt990 32ohm version plugged straight into my computer/ipod, and I thought that was the best sounding thing ever, what on earth are all these people talking about with amps and dacs. Then i got the denon d5000 which even though it's more sensitive, for some reason it needs a bit more power than the headphone jack of a laptop to sound loud enough, which got me looking at the cheapest, decent sounding portable amp I can find, which led me to the fiio e11. My logic was just look on headfi to see whats the best thing I could get for under 100 bucks, because the headphones wont need more, and how much could an amp affect the sound. lol. Turns out the fiio e11 (not the newer K version) kinda sucks lol, and it was really obvious even with the denons. That obvious change in the sound is what ultimately led me to getting the Violectric V281 (after some time with the Burson soloist SL). and I got the schiit bifrost uber because its probably the best sounding dac for that price.
 
I also tried all the best headphones in the 1500 and under range that I thought I liked.
 
after all was said an done, I now have 1000 dollar headphones, 1900 dollar amp, 500 dollar dac, 30 blue jean cable interconnects, and a 350 dollar norne headphone cable on the way soon. I'm not listing the prices to brag, not at all, I'm just trying to say "sorry for your wallet" got very real, very quick for me, whether you want it or not lol. No regrets though, and aside from maybe a future dac upgrade, I genuinely dont feel any issue to change what I have, esp thanks to the primes.
 
for anyone who really doesnt want to spend extra money, and likes the sound they have out of whatever is their current system, and doesn't hear anything that makes you want more, then dont read this site, ever

 


Hehe very well said. I started off my Head-fi journey with the Beyerdynamic DT880. I first started listening to it using a 3.5mm cable out the headphone jack of my motherboard to a Rolls HA43 headphone amp <--LOL

I knew from the start that the DT880 sounded terrible with this combination.

I moved to a PCI soundcard + amp setup.

The Schiit Asgard 2 was the first major improvement over the sound of the PCI soundcard + built in amp.

Once I got the Schiit Bifrost Uber that was the complete game changer. No longer was I listening to a pair of DT880s that sounded anemic, everything sounded much fuller.

Then came the Alpha Dogs... then the Norne Vanquish cable(totally worth it IMO) now I am staring at the Alpha Prime, but comfortably happy with the Alpha Dogs until I get my next income tax return. I originally purchased the Alpha Dogs last year with my income tax return hahaha

Schiit stack + Alpha Dogs are a hard setup to beat though for the money.

Auralic Vega + Schiit Ragnarok + Primes would be a dream come true though... :O Dan's got a nice rig I'll admit(substitute the Cavalli)

 

[saxelrod92]

 

 
4 years ago I was rocking a beyerdynamic dt990 32ohm version plugged straight into my computer/ipod, and I thought that was the best sounding thing ever, what on earth are all these people talking about with amps and dacs. Then i got the denon d5000 which even though it's more sensitive, for some reason it needs a bit more power than the headphone jack of a laptop to sound loud enough, which got me looking at the cheapest, decent sounding portable amp I can find, which led me to the fiio e11. My logic was just look on headfi to see whats the best thing I could get for under 100 bucks, because the headphones wont need more, and how much could an amp affect the sound. lol. Turns out the fiio e11 (not the newer K version) kinda sucks lol, and it was really obvious even with the denons. That obvious change in the sound is what ultimately led me to getting the Violectric V281 (after some time with the Burson soloist SL). and I got the schiit bifrost uber because its probably the best sounding dac for that price.
 
I also tried all the best headphones in the 1500 and under range that I thought I liked.
 
after all was said an done, I now have 1000 dollar headphones, 1900 dollar amp, 500 dollar dac, 30 blue jean cable interconnects, and a 350 dollar norne headphone cable on the way soon. I'm not listing the prices to brag, not at all, I'm just trying to say "sorry for your wallet" got very real, very quick for me, whether you want it or not lol. No regrets though, and aside from maybe a future dac upgrade, I genuinely dont feel any issue to change what I have, esp thanks to the primes.
 
for anyone who really doesnt want to spend extra money, and likes the sound they have out of whatever is their current system, and doesn't hear anything that makes you want more, then dont read this site, ever

 


Hehe very well said. I started off my Head-fi journey with the Beyerdynamic DT880. I first started listening to it using a 3.5mm cable out the headphone jack of my motherboard to a Rolls HA43 headphone amp <--LOL

I knew from the start that the DT880 sounded terrible with this combination.

I moved to a PCI soundcard + amp setup.

The Schiit Asgard 2 was the first major improvement over the sound of the PCI soundcard + built in amp.

Once I got the Schiit Bifrost Uber that was the complete game changer. No longer was I listening to a pair of DT880s that sounded anemic, everything sounded much fuller.

Then came the Alpha Dogs... then the Norne Vanquish cable(totally worth it IMO) now I am staring at the Alpha Prime, but comfortably happy with the Alpha Dogs until I get my next income tax return. I originally purchased the Alpha Dogs last year with my income tax return hahaha

Schiit stack + Alpha Dogs are a hard setup to beat though for the money.

Auralic Vega + Schiit Ragnarok + Primes would be a dream come true though... :O Dan's got a nice rig I'll admit(substitute the Cavalli)

very nice, seems beyerdynamic has been a good starting place for more than just myself.
 
Once you get the primes you will feel real happy with not wanting to upgrade further, I feel like you would have to spend double or triple to even get a headphone that has traits that sound a tiny bit better. but I feel if this is the sound signature you like, then all the other headphones are just different sound signature preferences, so for now with the primes you're at the end of the line until something new comes out.
 
also for your potential dream set up one day, you might want to toss Violectric into there too. the V281 I eventually got is actually really similar to the primes, meaning its pretty neutral, but dynamic and lively, and handles all genres and sounds really well, and any headphones really well. Which again makes me not feel the need to change it for anything.
 
after I got to the point of changing out headphones and amps, I realized I just need to accept the fact that I have to go all out and get something that will make me feel like spending more wont change much, and thus be content for a while lol.

 

[Oregonian]

a big thank you to everyone who commented on my amp thoughts. I will start with the microstreamer and next I will head to a hifi shop here in Berlin testing different setups. they don't have the shiit there as it is an american brand I suppose and importing is too special for mainstream shops here but nevertheless this testing should give me an idea what to expect when spending a few hundred or even a thousand bucks on amp and dac. and after that we will see how sorry my wallet will be in the end. it is a shame I can't hear the new magni2/modi2 setup. they are very appealing in price, praise and optics...

Something that's is not mentioned very often on this thread or the alpha dog thread is the use of vintage speaker amps. And they really work well for these planers.

Kind of amazes me that there is a pocket of us who swear by them and will listen to only them and there are so many people chasing headphone amps and don't know about this and how incredible they sound.

Especially for the price. Cost of entry into vintage amp world starts at $100.

 

[sugarshark]

Something that's is not mentioned very often on this thread or the alpha dog thread is the use of vintage speaker amps. And they really work well for these planers.

Kind of amazes me that there is a pocket of us who swear by them and will listen to only them and there are so many people chasing headphone amps and don't know about this and how incredible they sound.

Especially for the price. Cost of entry into vintage amp world starts at $100.

 
how do you choose a suitable vintage amp?
 
i assume you just terminate the headphone connectors differently.. but surely you'd be at risk of damaging the headphones if the output went too high? which i imagine would be pretty easy to do?

 

[wahsmoh]

Something that's is not mentioned very often on this thread or the alpha dog thread is the use of vintage speaker amps. And they really work well for these planers.



Kind of amazes me that there is a pocket of us who swear by them and will listen to only them and there are so many people chasing headphone amps and don't know about this and how incredible they sound.



Especially for the price. Cost of entry into vintage amp world starts at $100.

 


I've sent a few bids on eBay on the pioneer SA-8800 and 9900 that you have both were restored. Of course I didn't win but didn't say I never gave vintage a chance.

It just takes up a bit of space and if I'm not going with passive speakers I'll probably choose something like the new Samson RXA6 Resolve which has a ribbon tweeter and only costs $200/each with savings during the holidays as well as being something far out of it's league for the price. Won't need an amp cause they are active monitors too

 

[swspiers]

Something that's is not mentioned very often on this thread or the alpha dog thread is the use of vintage speaker amps. And they really work well for these planers.

Kind of amazes me that there is a pocket of us who swear by them and will listen to only them and there are so many people chasing headphone amps and don't know about this and how incredible they sound.

Especially for the price. Cost of entry into vintage amp world starts at $100.

You know, in 10 to 20 years the Soloist, Asgard, HA-1, and a lot of other amps will be considered 'vintage'. I wonder if the same pining for old amps will still be going on then, except the old amps will be the great ones that are available now...

 

[john57]

In my opinion active near-field monitors are the way to go in addition to my primes. My Airmotiv 6 has 110 watts RMS for the woofer and a staggering 100 Watts RMS for the folded ribbon tweeter which measures 32 x 60 mm. Weights about 24lb each. Cost right now at $474 pair or $426 if a Emotiva club member. Great even for solo music like piano with its smooth crystal clear treble.   Really enjoy my HTPC setup.

 

[M-83]

Considering a way of using my soon to be delivered AP's downstairs for quick "convenience" listening sessions- eg when my Mrs watches Coronation Street etc, without having to take my audio-gd NFB15 with me everytime. Can advise suggest a decent portable FLAC compatible DAP that has the grunt and sound quality to pair with alpha primes?
 
This way I won't need to set up my surface pro 3 every time I want to listen to music either. Ideally be good to use my sp3 to copy my flac cd rips to a dap then use either a 3.5mm or 1/4 inch cable.
 
Thx.

 

[reddog]

Considering a way of using my soon to be delivered AP's downstairs for quick "convenience" listening sessions- eg when my Mrs watches Coronation Street etc, without having to take my audio-gd NFB15 with me everytime. Can advise suggest a decent portable FLAC compatible DAP that has the grunt and sound quality to pair with alpha primes?

This way I won't need to set up my surface pro 3 every time I want to listen to music either. Ideally be good to use my sp3 to copy my flac cd rips to a dap then use either a 3.5mm or 1/4 inch cable.

Thx.

I would look at the Fiio x5 it should do as you need it to. If not could pair it to a Fiio E12.

 

[M-83]

I would look at the Fiio x5 it should do as you need it to. If not could pair it to a Fiio E12.

Hi Reddog thanks I'll take a look.