New lurker here, just getting into this word! I've always loved music (mostly metal), now I'm just slightly less poor so I can enjoy it even more with a little bit of gear. Quick question for the folks who've been in this world for a while and may have a rudder adjustment for my research. What's the right DAC/Amp upgrade for my current setup?
I picked up an Audioengine D3 and a pair of their powered A5's years ago. I recently discovered Massdrop and jumped in on some Hifiman HE4xx's. I'd love to drive those things correctly and still be able to easily use my A2's when I want to run speakers. My source is TIDAL Hifi (newly subscribed, after a lot of reading here) from a desktop Windows machine.
I want to grab a high-quality amplifier and upgrade the DAC for ~$500, if possible. I'd like to have room in the DAC/Amp combo to drive higher-end phones in the future.
People seem to be losing their minds over the THX AAA 789, but it's not currently available. The price is certainly right for what seems to be "endgame". Based on the research I've done so far, my current plan is to wait for another drop on that amplifier and look to buy something like the SMSL SU-8 at the same time.
Should I wait for the stars to align or pick up something like the Massdrop Liquid Carbon X + SDAC now? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for building such a rich community!
I picked up an Audioengine D3 and a pair of their powered A5's years ago. I recently discovered Massdrop and jumped in on some Hifiman HE4xx's. I'd love to drive those things correctly and still be able to easily use my A2's when I want to run speakers. My source is TIDAL Hifi (newly subscribed, after a lot of reading here) from a desktop Windows machine.
I want to grab a high-quality amplifier and upgrade the DAC for ~$500, if possible. I'd like to have room in the DAC/Amp combo to drive higher-end phones in the future.
People seem to be losing their minds over the THX AAA 789, but it's not currently available. The price is certainly right for what seems to be "endgame". Based on the research I've done so far, my current plan is to wait for another drop on that amplifier and look to buy something like the SMSL SU-8 at the same time.
Should I wait for the stars to align or pick up something like the Massdrop Liquid Carbon X + SDAC now? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for building such a rich community!
