Like many people here, I am relatively new to the world of adequate audio gear and by no means consider myself an audiophile. I greatly prefer a V-shape curve to my music.
My first pair of "decent" headphones were the V-Moda M-100s. I had bought a pair of the low end V-Modas years ago after seeing their popularity (in-person and on Amazon), and thought they were great. After I upgraded to the M-100s on a Black Friday sale in 2016 I was blown away at the subtleties I could hear, and could hardly even stand listening to my original pair.
I then purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 6XXs from Massdrop and enjoy those a lot as well. I go back and forth with which pair I use, but from a utilitarian standpoint I like the open-back design of the Sennheiser so I can hear my family if they need me. In all cases, I still use an equalizer to add quite a bit of bass (even with the already bass-heavy M-100s), because that is how I enjoy my music.
Currently I am using an external sound card (Sound BlasterX G5), but it is a little weak for my HD 6XXs. I don't ever see myself growing a collection of DACs and amps to satisfy my cravings (my wife would kill me because I already have the very expensive hobby of photography). I *may* consider adding a tube amp for fun down the line.
My question is simple. I want to buy the "forever" DAC and amp combo, what would you recommend? I am leaning towards Schiit products for a number of reasons. I like what I have seen of the company and their products seem reasonably priced for the reported quality (also I like how their products would look on my desk).
Here are the choices I am considering:
1) Magni 3 + Modi 2U. I think this is the best overall value (even though the "2" on the front of the Modi will annoy my OCD while the Magni doesn't have a numeric label).
2) Magni 3 + Modi Multibit. At first I planned on this purchase for sure. I have started reading some detractors that make me hesitant on purchasing this as my sole DAC. There is a warm-up time (not sure if it sounds "bad" while cold). There is also reported to be significant latency which from gaming standpoint can be very bad. It also reportedly adds its own "color" to the sound (which seems like something you would prefer to leave to the amp). Honestly I want to purchase this combo, so someone please sell me on this over the Modu 2U. The gaming latency is probably my biggest concern.
3) Jotunheim. I *may* could justify spending $500 on a DAC/Amp combo, but I cannot find any comparisons to how this would sound compared to the 2 combos I mentioned above. I will most likely never use any of the special balanced connectors. So the main drivers here are if the dac and amp are better than the first 2 combos (the single box and built in power supply are nice as well, but not $150-$250 nicer).
One last note, I read about the JDS Labs Element and I really liked how it looked (and style is important for me), but have read very mixed reviews on its performance. I am also very open to suggestions in the same price range as the products above.
My first pair of "decent" headphones were the V-Moda M-100s. I had bought a pair of the low end V-Modas years ago after seeing their popularity (in-person and on Amazon), and thought they were great. After I upgraded to the M-100s on a Black Friday sale in 2016 I was blown away at the subtleties I could hear, and could hardly even stand listening to my original pair.
I then purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 6XXs from Massdrop and enjoy those a lot as well. I go back and forth with which pair I use, but from a utilitarian standpoint I like the open-back design of the Sennheiser so I can hear my family if they need me. In all cases, I still use an equalizer to add quite a bit of bass (even with the already bass-heavy M-100s), because that is how I enjoy my music.
Currently I am using an external sound card (Sound BlasterX G5), but it is a little weak for my HD 6XXs. I don't ever see myself growing a collection of DACs and amps to satisfy my cravings (my wife would kill me because I already have the very expensive hobby of photography). I *may* consider adding a tube amp for fun down the line.
My question is simple. I want to buy the "forever" DAC and amp combo, what would you recommend? I am leaning towards Schiit products for a number of reasons. I like what I have seen of the company and their products seem reasonably priced for the reported quality (also I like how their products would look on my desk).
Here are the choices I am considering:
1) Magni 3 + Modi 2U. I think this is the best overall value (even though the "2" on the front of the Modi will annoy my OCD while the Magni doesn't have a numeric label).
2) Magni 3 + Modi Multibit. At first I planned on this purchase for sure. I have started reading some detractors that make me hesitant on purchasing this as my sole DAC. There is a warm-up time (not sure if it sounds "bad" while cold). There is also reported to be significant latency which from gaming standpoint can be very bad. It also reportedly adds its own "color" to the sound (which seems like something you would prefer to leave to the amp). Honestly I want to purchase this combo, so someone please sell me on this over the Modu 2U. The gaming latency is probably my biggest concern.
3) Jotunheim. I *may* could justify spending $500 on a DAC/Amp combo, but I cannot find any comparisons to how this would sound compared to the 2 combos I mentioned above. I will most likely never use any of the special balanced connectors. So the main drivers here are if the dac and amp are better than the first 2 combos (the single box and built in power supply are nice as well, but not $150-$250 nicer).
One last note, I read about the JDS Labs Element and I really liked how it looked (and style is important for me), but have read very mixed reviews on its performance. I am also very open to suggestions in the same price range as the products above.
