neil.belt
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2010
- Posts
- 30
- Likes
- 10
I have read many posts and they are helpfull but I have to admit that they frustrate me a great deal as well. There are so many choices out there for me to get started with my gear and many of them are far too expensive for me. I am considering a Total Bithead or other comporable sub $200 portable amp/dac to get things started. My sources are my laptop that has a decent 24bit dac and a car head unit also with a decent 24 bit dac that I would like to run to the amp via rca but I would like to be able to use a netbook or an mp3 player and have the ability to use a headphone amp with a slightly better dac if this unit would be an improvement. Currently I only have my Bose QC2 headphones which are far superior to my old car stereo or home stereo that were 10 times as expensive. I know that I can get much better headphones in the future and I want to make sure that this amp will run them decently. I was thinking of getting the HD-650's as long as this amp will run them ok. I don't want to listen to music over about 90 or 100db, honestly I like my music fairly quiet because it fatigues me quickly at higher volume levels. We will see about that once I get some quality gear though, I think it's mostly the distortion that makes me want to stop listening.
My plan is to buy an amp that I will use for a long time, and even though this is on the lower end I believe that it will be a good choice for when I am on the go and I can get something better for home use. I will post or read some more in the headphone and source sections as well when I make my upgrade for those components. I believe that the most amazing difference in higher quality gear that I have noticed so far is the separation of the different instruments that even the Bose headphones show. I believe that this is called soundstage, and it draws me into the music really well. I would like to seek out this feeling with better gear and I am up for recommendations there as well if the HD-650's are not the best choice for that pricepoint and below.
Music choices: Classical/Enya/similar 50%; Pop/R&B 30%; Trance/Rap 20%
Source: Lappy-Dolby certified, future Car head-unit with 24bit dac (Recommendations?); future netbook or mp3 (Recommendations?)
Amp/Dac: Total Bithead?
Phones: Bose QC2 upgrade to HD650?
Thank you for any information. I live in Southern Oregon and I can't find a store that has equipment for me to listen to and test, this would probably be the best way.
My plan is to buy an amp that I will use for a long time, and even though this is on the lower end I believe that it will be a good choice for when I am on the go and I can get something better for home use. I will post or read some more in the headphone and source sections as well when I make my upgrade for those components. I believe that the most amazing difference in higher quality gear that I have noticed so far is the separation of the different instruments that even the Bose headphones show. I believe that this is called soundstage, and it draws me into the music really well. I would like to seek out this feeling with better gear and I am up for recommendations there as well if the HD-650's are not the best choice for that pricepoint and below.
Music choices: Classical/Enya/similar 50%; Pop/R&B 30%; Trance/Rap 20%
Source: Lappy-Dolby certified, future Car head-unit with 24bit dac (Recommendations?); future netbook or mp3 (Recommendations?)
Amp/Dac: Total Bithead?
Phones: Bose QC2 upgrade to HD650?
Thank you for any information. I live in Southern Oregon and I can't find a store that has equipment for me to listen to and test, this would probably be the best way.