[ooeric]

hi im a new user here.
heres my current setup

hd650 /w cardas cable
ppa amp with glassman diamond buffers
maudio audiophile 192
homemade dhlabs silversonic bl1 interconnects

ok. so music sounds very nice, very high at times i gotta turn down volume
due to the cables highend sound clarity
i find the amp is sufficient enough for my pc use, listening to flac and lossless, etc

with my current amp, where is it on the scale of good or bad (high or lowend) of the diy amps?
i know the audio world is a buy and try one, but i dont wanna plunge down that path yet.

maybe someone with experience using a ppa and other amps might share with me?
or other equipment that can improve my current setup. of course,, not that over the top $$$ stuff.

 

[fortney]

Sounds pretty high grade to me.

Before "plunging" into diverse purchases note the words of Epictetus--"Remember, what you now have is what you once desired."

F

 

[ooeric]

so.. ? on the scale? good bad? decent?

 

[n_maher]

The PPA, in my experience, is one of the more transparent and revealing amps out there so it is going to highlight any deficiency in the chain. From what I can see you don't have a real "weak-link" but I would try pairing the amp with another source (perhaps an external DAC?) before thinking about replacing the amp. I have no direct experience with the M-Audio, but I do with every other piece of gear that you own so that's about the only recommendation I can make.

Oh and welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet!
(don't read too much into that, it's just the customary greeting)

 

[ooeric]

oh oh nno no
i havent thought about replacing the amp. or yet. lol

so using a dac can make the sound better?

so its soundcard>dac>amp>cans?

 

[FallenAngel]

The PPA is a very good amp, I wouldn't say you can find an "upgrade" easily.

Having not heard the MAudio, I can't comment on its quality, but if you were to replace the source (DAC) it might yield good results. The DAC IS the soundcard, just depends on how you connect it (SPDIF, Optical or USB).

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooeric /img/forum/go_quote.gif so using a dac can make the sound better? so its soundcard>dac>amp>cans?

Yes, a different DAC can definitely make a difference. The amplifier can only do just that, amplify the signal. The digital to analog conversion process is just as critical to good sound and quality amplification. As they say around here, crap in = crap out, even if you have the worlds greatest amp and cans.

 

[ooeric]

oo. any recommendations on some good bang for your money and not too overly expensive DACs i can look into?

edit- heres a short review i found on my sound card
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/...ophile192.html

maybe you guys know how to decipher it better then me. lol