[rincewind]

Hi,

This is sort of a cross topic post. Its about a combination of soundcard/headphone amp. The other thread didn't really get me much useful info, so here goes:

current setup:
SB Live (yeah yeah, i know) > NAD amplifier hp jack > senn HD650

My aim: Get the best possible sound going to the Senn HD650, but staying sub ~1100US including any soundcards and headphone amps.

I have the Chaintech AV710 on order, compgeeks seems to take a while getting stuff to Australia. Buying it sucks from Australia

Had to pay 44US total (20US for shipping - more than the actual product!!!!)

Anyway, I am considinering eventually getting the Headroom Maxed Out Home, but I have a feeling the Chaintech won't do the best job of feeding it. Is this correct?

I've seen the E-Mu 0404 for $123US inc shipping (to Australia, which is about $32US

) and this is the best price I've seen available. But it was suggested to me that this amp (MOH) was overkill for the source. I want to stay with PC as source but don't want to go spending 1000US on the benchmark DAC and stuff like that, I haven't got the kinda money to get that AND the hp amp.

The reason I'm looking at an upper end amp like the MOH is because ppl seem to think the NAD amps have decent hp jacks. Jamey from Headroom said it could be pretty hit and miss as to whether I hear an improvement with something like the Headroom Little, and I want to be reasonably sure to get an UPGRADE for my money. I also considered the Gilmore Lite and MF Xcans and Corda HA-2, but think they also may not give the noticeable difference I'm after.

An idea in the back of my head is: If I got the MOH/some great amp, and the 0404, wouldn't I be getting the best sound possible from the 0404 even if it is overkill? because this particular amp has a dual input, so I could also plug in a dedicated source if I chose to get one later, and no harm done.

And something else that I really like about the MOH (and any Headroom amp) is that it's just a switch to change it to take 240V power (like we need down under). oh.. and the crossfeed idea

BTW, my music is all CDs or lossless APE or 320kbps mp3.

So what do you guys think? I know its a lot of money, but the plan is to hear a noticeable difference (particularly after lower extension of the bass and clarity in general).

 

[Hello]

I have the SB live! and, trust me, you will already hear a HUGE difference from switching sound cards. If you are looking for something that is simply a lot better than what you have now, you can stop at the sound card swap.

But, otherwise, the Benchmark DAC1 does have a built in amp and it is supposed to match well with HD-650's. I don't have first hand experience with the Benchmark, but there are plenty of posts that say it is a worthy DAC + AMP (though it is does better at being a DAC than being an AMP).