[drhoooon]

Hello, I am a complete newbie.
 
I love my grado sr60i but I'm already looking at 325is...
 
anyways my question is
 
I mainly listen to 320 or 250~ kbps mp3 files
 
So would 325i improve the sound quality of this mp3 file?
 
also I'm just using my cowon d2 or onboard soundcard on my desktop. (pc sounds a bit better than my d2, i don't know why)
 
what's the next line of upgrade? new cans or DAC or a soundcard? or something else?
 
Thanks!

 

[animemaniac]

 
Soundcard or DAC, no point in getting new cans if the source sucks...=.=

 

[TheWuss]

dac/amp.
definitely.

 

[drhoooon]

thanks
 
if you have $100 to spend what would be the best one?

 

[bebraw]

Note that you if you want you can mod SR60 quite a bit! Of course this will void your warranty and takes a bit of effort. Start out with simple mods (quarter mod, just cut pads ) and work your way to others if you dare.
 
I'm currently using uDAC (mine's v1) (~$100) + Little Dot I+ (~$100) + SR325is (~$300) setup and I'm fairly happy with it. Little Dot is particularly interesting because it's quite moddable. Op amp is socketed and you can play around with tubes if you want to.

 

[drhoooon]

thx! the sr60i mod looks scary >.< not sure if I'm up for it

 

[bebraw]

At least quarter mod should be relatively safe. It definitely helped a lot with my pair of iGrados. I do agree that some of them look kind of difficult.

 

[sc53]

The biggest improvement you can make to your listening is to rip in a lossless format. MP3's sound like crap through anything but earbuds or in your car.

 

[mralexosborn]

Call me crazy but I think headphones are more important. Go for SR125 or above (SR225i is what I had, not bad). Then after you conjure up more funds get a used uDac for $70. 

 

[AlexRoma]

Go for good headphones. I think it's a better idea than spending money on cheap portable dac/amps like uDac or Fiio7.. A better choice is an ultimate soundcard like Asus Essence ST , it will make you 'wow' for sure, and no real need of further upgrading (especially for Grado family).. If you are a laptop user, oh well, I wouldn't be so confident in my answer for that case..

 

[ljperez84]

I apologize for hijacking this thread, but the question is basically the same.... what should be the next equipment addition?

Currently I have: 

Cans: Grado SR-225i , Senn PX-100
Sources: ipod touch 4g, Sony Blu Ray w/ SACD capacity (BPD-S370), and my laptop with a very cheap soundcard on board.
Amps: Just a Fiio E5, when connected to the ipod I use a cheap LOD (Fiio L1)

So I was wondering whether I should get a decent amp (Little Dot 1+), or get an external DAC (maybe uDAC but I would really  prefer something that could also be hooked to the Blu-Ray )
 
I would say that 70% of the time I listen to 320 kbps mp3 / 256 kbps AAC on the ipod and the other 30% is FLAC, DVD, CD, Bluray
 
What do you think? This newbie needs your advice! 

 

 

[AlexRoma]

Quote:

I apologize for hijacking this thread, but the question is basically the same.... what should be the next equipment addition?

Currently I have: 

Cans: Grado SR-225i , Senn PX-100
Sources: ipod touch 4g, Sony Blu Ray w/ SACD capacity (BPD-S370), and my laptop with a very cheap soundcard on board.
Amps: Just a Fiio E5, when connected to the ipod I use a cheap LOD (Fiio L1)

So I was wondering whether I should get a decent amp (Little Dot 1+), or get an external DAC (maybe uDAC but I would really  prefer something that could also be hooked to the Blu-Ray )
 

 

Laptop user, ha ? How about an Audinst HUD MX-1 ?  Not that expensive.. Solid DAC performance, avarage Amp but tones of horsepower, great portability.. But an overall bright character. Trebles are from 2 to 5 db hotter the other device I had heard (Creative X_fi-s, Emu-s, RME BabyFace, AudioGD-Fun, Asus Xonar STX, lots of portable crap). It made sennheiser shine like nothing else before, but not as good with BeyerDynamics.. 
 
If portability is not that needed, and you look for an solid desktop all-in-one performer , well, my biggest suggestion is the Audio GD FUN with Earth/Moon OpAmp. Very, very solid device. Definitely a great bang-for-buck performer. It's enough to open the protector box and see the insides of the beast, you'll see what I was talking about... 
 
Another advice would be checking this thread : My list of recommended DACs  . Specially the Matrix Cube. I had no experience with this device, but I can assure you, project86 advice are very valuable.. 
 
P.S. Skip LittleDot-s from MK I to III ... Not expensive, but also not that interesting sounding. Better save money for more tubby performers . 

 

[ljperez84]

Thanks for the advice!, I really appreciate it. I'll take a serious look into it!

 

[ArmAndHammer]

The Grado mods are super easy. No reason not to do them other than not wanting to void your warranty.
 
Little Dot 1+ is a really decent amp with great Grado synergy. 

 

[ljperez84]

Quote:

Quote:

I apologize for hijacking this thread, but the question is basically the same.... what should be the next equipment addition?

Currently I have: 

Cans: Grado SR-225i , Senn PX-100
Sources: ipod touch 4g, Sony Blu Ray w/ SACD capacity (BPD-S370), and my laptop with a very cheap soundcard on board.
Amps: Just a Fiio E5, when connected to the ipod I use a cheap LOD (Fiio L1)

So I was wondering whether I should get a decent amp (Little Dot 1+), or get an external DAC (maybe uDAC but I would really  prefer something that could also be hooked to the Blu-Ray )
 

 

Laptop user, ha ? How about an Audinst HUD MX-1 ?  Not that expensive.. Solid DAC performance, avarage Amp but tones of horsepower, great portability.. But an overall bright character. Trebles are from 2 to 5 db hotter the other device I had heard (Creative X_fi-s, Emu-s, RME BabyFace, AudioGD-Fun, Asus Xonar STX, lots of portable crap). It made sennheiser shine like nothing else before, but not as good with BeyerDynamics.. 
 
If portability is not that needed, and you look for an solid desktop all-in-one performer , well, my biggest suggestion is the Audio GD FUN with Earth/Moon OpAmp. Very, very solid device. Definitely a great bang-for-buck performer. It's enough to open the protector box and see the insides of the beast, you'll see what I was talking about... 
 
Another advice would be checking this thread : My list of recommended DACs  . Specially the Matrix Cube. I had no experience with this device, but I can assure you, project86 advice are very valuable.. 
 
P.S. Skip LittleDot-s from MK I to III ... Not expensive, but also not that interesting sounding. Better save money for more tubby performers . 

The Audio GD Fun looks fantastic! I already sent  an  email for quoting and just started raising funds!  Lookout for my grandma being sold on ebay. 

Thanks for the tip!