[ralph9994]

Hi, name's Ralph! On here because I'm looking for some nice DAP recommendations.

 

[Wyllio]

Hi, my name is Wilson. Been coming these forums for about two years, reading on what's new on the market and impressions on gear I don't own to get a better judgement on what I should buy. I recently bought my first balanced amp from Schiit and now have some extra gear I might sell. Look forward to being part of the community!

 

[DBaldock9]

  Hi, name's Ralph! On here because I'm looking for some nice DAP recommendations.

What price range?
 
A few that I have, or have seen recently reviewed:
 
The Shanling M1 is a good, small DAP, in the USD$127 - $150 range (higher priced shops include a Leather Case), and it can work with microSD cards of 256GB (and larger, when they're available).  A lot of people are buying the M1 to use as a transport for the Chord Mojo DAC/Amp.
 
Xduoo has just started shipping their new X10, in the USD$158 - $175 range, and there are already some good reviews.  It has dual microSD card slots.
 
For a "budget" Android-based model, the new Cayan i5, in the USD$435 - $500 range, has been getting very good reviews for the sound quality.  The i5 thread here on Head-Fi, has a manufacturer rep who regularly posts and answers questions.
 
I've got an M1, and an Onkyo DP-X1B. Onkyo has started shipping the new DP-X1A, so the "B" models have dropped in price - down to below USD$600.  These Onkyo models have Balanced headphone outputs, as well as the normal Single-ended outputs (like the M1 has) - which is a nice feature.
 
Take Care,
David Baldock

 

[chrismini]

My advice to everyone new to headphone based systems is you're gonna have to spend some cash. My system cost $2000 which is everything from DAC to amp to headphones. Cables, AC conditioner. (That's alternting current) You can't get quality sound being a skin-flint. Now that may be a hard fact of life, but that's one you're going to have to accept. Richard, are you out there?

 

[SovereignJerk]

You can get great audio on a budget. If you can afford the best, go for it. But for those of us that have to watch our spending, $200 can get you a great set of cans, $100 can get you a great entry level DAC, and I'm sure there are great budget level amps available as well but I have no experience in that area.

 

[kanadarox]

Hi all, I've been reading and learning on this site for awhile but I've decided to join up! Slowly ramping up my listening gear and really appreciating the differences. I started with some Grado 325's about 10 yrs ago and just recently got an Oppo Ha2 portable hp Dac/amp and a pair of shure SE425 iems. I've got some HD 6xx's coming as well as a LD mkiii. Super excited for them to arrive! Now I'm getting more into the quality of files I'm listening to , as my equipment is demanding it
So... for anyone reading - where do you get your Hi res files? I'm in Canada (obviously) and finding a Li of tracks on HD tracks aren't available here. I'm interested in Jazz - both new and old (love Snarky Puppy), and contemporary classical (20th century) recordings. Thanks!

 

[kanadarox]

Hi, my name is Wilson. Been coming these forums for about two, reading on what's new on the market and impressions on gear I don't own to get a better judgement on what I should buy. I recently bought my first balanced amp from Schiit and now have some extra gear I might sell. Look forward to being part of the community!

Hi Wilson, I just joined as well. What kind is Schitt amp did you get? What do you think? I'm using a portable right now (Oppo Ha2) but thinking about a desktop Dac and SS amp so I'd be interested in what you've learned. Regards,
Ian

 

[samward]

Hi All,
 
Decided to finally join up as I am trying to find a set of IEMs to compliment my current headphones.
 
 
Cheers
sam

 

[tlainhart]

Hey there -
 
Todd here, (somewhat) new to headphonia.  Just bought a pair of Grado GS-1000e, to add to my 125 and 60 phones.  Would like to, but haven't, made a switch to different technologies for a try-out (not counting the Koss Pro headphones I had 30 years ago).
 
Looking forward to finding an amp to pair with my 1000e.
 
  -- Todd

 

[Doge91]

Hello.
I'm Paul. I wouldn't call myself an audiophile yet because still saving up money for a decent dac/amp/tube (and more different types of headphones in the future).
 
I have been using Sennheiser HD595 for more than 10 years, don't really remember exactly when I bought them but probably around 2005/2006. I absolutely love them. They are light and extremely comfortable, especially for a person with massive head issue. They make music sound very energetic and fun to listen to.
 
I also recently got HD650, though they haven't been used for more than 30 hours yet. Saving up money for a good amp/dac for HD650, as I don't think a SB ZxR is powerful enough to give them justice. So far I noticed the HD650 deliver much clearer bass, I found myself noticing instrument sounds I couldn't hear on HD595. The HD650 sound much more detailed, but at the same time they feel to me much darker and less fun to listen to than my HD595. I'm aware I shouldn't judge them so soon because of lack of adequate amp/dac to unleash their potential, and that I should listen to them more to let them reach their optimal sound. I clearly remember when I bought the HD595, I had the same problem - they sounded muddy and inaccurate for a long time. It took them probably a few hundreds of hours to reach their playful and cheerful sound they have to this day. Compared to how bad the HD595 sounded at first, the HD650 fare much better. I was probably expecting too much right out of the box. I should give them more listening time to discover their true capabilities.
 
This was supposed to be an introduction, but I don't really have anything interesting to say about myself, nor I feel the need to do so. So instead I did a short history of headphones I had so far.

 

[Ammar Basalamah]

Hi! Ammar here!
 
I've been lurking all over Head-Fi for over 3 years now and I've finally created an account. How exciting!... Like i've finally gained access to a secret realm of things that make music... and stuff. Anyways i've been wanting to write a review of an IEM
(that is rarely reviewed. Its called the NiceHCK DZ7, it has 6 BA's for mids, highs and ultra highs and 1 DD for bass at only, believe it or not, US$350 at AliExpress. And believe me when I say that it sounds WAY better than you would think) for quite a while now ever since I got it a month ago so I hope to do it soon! 
 

 

 

[EasyEnemy]

Hi, I just joined Head-fi. I love the reviews here, especially the Chinese IEM. I got very interested at the moment I read about DUNU DN-2000J written by Brooko, with pretty similar sonic preferences (or maybe I'm more of a treble-head). Hope to see more Chinese IEMs reviews like the custom/DIY Easy and HCK IMEs.

 

[DragonPort]

Hello, my name is DragonPort, I'm an aspiring audiophile located in Massachusetts, U.S.A who loves computer hardware and software, video games and wishing I could draw, make music and create video games. I've always loved music, especially orchestral, classical, EDM, Rock Jazz, Funk, Rap, and Hip-hop, and soundtracks from Video Games the most. My most favorite albums are "Supernatural" by Santana, "Queen Platinum Edition" by Queen, "Cross" by Justice, "Halo 3: ODST" OST by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, "Hotline Miami Soundtrack" by various artists, and "Undertale OST" by Toby Fox.

I've only recently started getting into sound and hardware. I'm in the process of buying CD's and extracting to into my computer in FLAC format, then compressing it down to AAC 320 kbps (or MP3 320 kbps, if AAC at 320 is no better.) Or buying songs in FLAC that I cannot find in CD form. I'm not interested vinyl right now, no matter how much better it is than CD.

Right now my equipment includes:

The Creative Labs Recon3d Fatal1ty: As my first audio card, from someone who's always used onboard audio, it's a godsend to me.

The Harman Kardon Soundsticks III: Of course paired with the video card it's out of this world for being my first arguably high quality speaker set. However it seems to do something with auxiliary cords; the stock cord at first was fine at first, but would cause alot of feedback-like sound after sometime when touching metal or a connector. Then it eventually got so sensitive it would cause that sound without touching anything. Eventually the cord stopped working completely, so I replaced it with a red, braided auxiliary cord from Anker, another company I adore. Now it seems like the same thing is happening to that cord. So that's pretty concerning, and if that is the speaker set's fault, I'd have to give it 3.5/5 stars for making me spend money to replace parts it breaks.

An Audio Technica ATH-M50x: Of course I chose this as an entry level audiophile headset. I actually chose it for gaming, as a website told me its audio positioning is great, which I actually don't think so. But for music it is of course something to gush over, considering the price. However the stock ear pads aren't the most comfortable, but thats my only complaint. Also it accidently went through the washing machine, so the earpads and headband fabric is flaking off and is now an eyesore to look it, which is a real shame because I love this headset, and want to keep it for it being my first high quality headset, but not in this condition. So I'm planning on getting a new or bearly used pair to keep for my collection.

And my LG V20: Part of the reason I bought it (besides my Galaxy Note 7 being banned on airplanes and scaring this hell out of my mother) is because of the supposed DAC inside of it. It's my first DAC technically so I can't comment on how it is compared to standalone portable dacs (however I'm sure it doesn't compare to the dedicated amps.) But for someone who doesn't know that much about sound that much it's a huge step up from the Note 7 and every other phone I've used to listen to music. One thing I had about this phone is that the USB-C connector is USB 2.-freaking-0. I was so looking forward to copy music and videos at a blazing fast speed like the Note 7 to my V20 (which has a 256 Micro SD card thanks to buying the Note 7 and Samsung not wanting it returned) but it isn't even USB 3.0, let alone 3.1! I wish so badly that someone could switch this crap port for a faster one, but that's life. Second screen is sick though, gonna miss it when I upgrade.

I'm also planning on getting the following new equipment for the new year:

Audio Technica ATH-AD700X: For its superior sound positioning (according to almost half of the people in this fourm) and its low cost helping my budget, this was a no brainer buy for exclusively gaming on my PC. Its also from a company who's made a wonderful first impression on me with their M50xs.a a This will also be my first open back headset, so im hyped for that.

ASUS Xonar DX: Also buying for gaming, it was reccomended to me by PurpleAngel. He said that the audio processor in this was the same as the ASUS Essence STX II sound card, and guessed that the DAC chip would be similar if not almost just as good, so buying the Essence would be a waste of money, so shout out to PurpleAngel for helping a newbie out.

Audio-Technica ATH-R70x: This will be for music and videos. I guess you can call me a AT fan, it's just the M50x was so good, and I heard almost only good things from these two headsets. But I acknowledge that they may not be the best, and I have plans to buy a "beyerdynamic T1 2nd Gen" when I feel I have the knowledge and ears to actually use it appropriately (also holy crap it's nearly 900 on Amazon, I'm in my early twenties making ~$10/h!)

And finally the Magni 2 Uber AMP: Yeah there's an amp built into the sound card, but if I cared about built in equipment like that I wouldn't have a sound card in the first place. I hear great things about this product, also it's rear also has a RCA out port for a pair of speakers, perfect for my Sound Sticks.

I'm excited to learn and grow in this fourm, thanks for reading!

 

[AyorosKnight]

Hello Guys,
It s my first introducting post
I have 38  years old from Paris, i actually have a Fiio X1 and a cheap headphone  (39 euros)
 
I love musics like Lindsey Stirling style
I just decided  to have a better music experience, for the first time of my life i just ordered something "very expensive" to me LOL
The name is "Pionneer XDP-300r + Meze 99 classic" i only hope that the sound will be good and better than my "cheap configuration"
 
Sorry for my bad English, and long life to Head-Fi & Users !

 

[werkgg]

Hello all! I am Liang.
 
I would like to get some advice and setup a simple yet decent headphone system in office.
 
My current collection is simple: a pair of Pioneer book shelf speaker with a simple amp; Teac p90SD; a pair of Boss noise canceling, and a pair of Koss porta pro; and some CDs and lossless resource.