[Nowhere]

i've never experienced more of a headache and frustration than trying to shop for amps/dacs, i have searched the forums and read a bunch of threads but i'm still lost.

any help is extremely, greatly appreciated!

current headphones=audio-technica a900x / audio-technica ad700 / sennheiser hd600
possible future headphones = beyerdynamic dt880 or 990 premium 250 / hifiman 400 or 500 / sennheiser 650 (these possibilities are far down the road).

current setup = desktop pc/asus z68 pro motherboard using a dell computer speaker unit to plug headphones into and connect to the motherboard outputs.

musical taste=female vocals/singer-songwriter/indie/shoegazer/dream pop/chillout/trip hop/downtempo/soundtrack instrumental mostly but everything in between. low/mid range guitars/female vocals being the priority i suppose.

source=decent enough music files (320+) on desktop pc through foobar2000.

after researching i decided to go with the magni/modi stack as it was highly recommended but after listening to it i couldn't warm to it... i liked the sound i had originally before this setup with just the dell speaker unit which had more of a slower, romantic.. embryonic underwater bass, etc.

the best way i can think to describe it is that the magni/modi turned my music into a dance/techno club, it was energetic and fast like what i would picture a dance/techno club which didn't fit the majority of my main music at all and so i sent it back for return. nothing against it, it just didn't work for me but i did like some of what i experienced with a proper amp (it was my first true amp/dac).

since that didn't work out i'm even more lost than i was.

i feel like a tube set up would work for me but i'm not really good at do it yourself stuff and maintaining stuff, i'm more of the buy it/plug it in and forget about it kind of guy.
from what i read about tubes there's maintenance involved, and switching tubes and in some cases building the entire thing yourself to start with from a kit.
so.. it's probably not an option which sucks, unless there is a good amp set up out there that requires little self maintenance.

now.. reading through a ton of threads the thing i always see mentioned by people is "you have to go higher" basically, like you need to get a 1k amp and 1k dac for it to work... i know this isn't true as i've been happy with the basic set ups i've had in the past so the logic of needing to spend 2k or 1k just to be satisfied isn't a true logic in my case.
i decided 400-450, possibly stretching it to 500 would be a fair budget.
i also see audio-gd or schitt being recommended in like every single post which fair enough they make decent products but sometimes it feels like there's an agenda with pushing those 2 products so hard which almost makes me want to avoid it and go a different route. nothing against them but the recommendations of them come on a bit too strong at times thread after thread (searching amp dac budget).

so... where does one go from here?

what do i seek? an amp/dac set up that will keep my headphones on the slower/romantic side of things no matter the headphones i'm getting.. thinking/imagining of like underwater/slow motion/a slow romantic dance/a chill out room laying back and drinking a cup of earl grey tea closing eyes and drifting away into bliss... or that slacker 90s vibe
there's no getting up and dancing or being loud and screaming in this vision/scenario haha so no like techno/dance/energetic feel or vibe.

a combo unit would be best but it doesn't have to be a combo unit exactly, also i could potentially buy one thing now and then another later (amp then dac). like say an odac later and a 450 dollar amp now but would be great if i could find an amp/dac combo unit straightaway.
[haha all these options are why it's such a frustrating headache!]

i realize this is a long, slightly confusing post so thanks for reading it.
i tried to give as much detail as possible so hopefully someone out there can guide me into an informed decision... i absolutely hate sending things back or selling things so i'm hoping i can get a set up that i can stay with for a number of years down the road.

THANKS SO MUCH!!!! in advance.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Have you considered the PanAm by ALO?

 

[Theta Alpha 1]

I think I know the kind of sound you're after.
 
 
I recommend one of these for the DAC section.
 
http://www.amazon.com/TDA1543x4-DIR9001-TDA1543-Parallel-Connect/dp/B008YCBN02
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MUSE-Mini-HiFi-DIR9001-4X-TDA1543-Parallel-Connection-Philip-IC-DAC-NOS-/2512838943

 
 
 
For the amp section, consider a proper stereo receiver, with a headphone out, like a Pioneer, Yamaha or Onkyo.
 
www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-60-7-2-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B007X6RV5Q/

 

[Nowhere]

EDIT: in writing this post i kind of answered my own question, in that i knew what i wanted to do as i was writing it all down and realized it.. for my situation i think going the more basic route is the best option as i don't intend to become serious into the hobby, etc. anyway, thanks for reading/helping. later.

thanks for the suggestions.
as to the receiver, i have heard that option could provide a sound i'm looking for but i don't think i can go for that, mainly because of space... i'm surrounded by external hard drives, pc equipment, my tv stuff.. i barely have any room to move i don't think adding a big receiver would do anything but cause a headache haha.. and it just seems more logical to go for a dedicated amp since that's the main thing i'm after.

i think i've narrowed things down to two paths, a crossroads of sort.

the first path would be something like getting the o2/odac as a foundation, and then getting a 300-350 dollar tube amp as a secondary option and use the odac as the dac with it and i could switch between the solid state and tube from time to time in an effort to switch things up and keep it interesting.
(for example a bottlehead crack basic unit in the for sale forum if it's still available)

the second path would be spending alot on 1 choice, say 500-600 dollars and perhaps an odac or musicstreamer or similar priced dac to go with it.

if i don't really need extra inputs or any extra features beyond the very basics, is there really/truly a huge difference from using the o2 and say for example the "lake people g109s" which is one amp i was considering? would i receive $350-400 improvement from the two amps to justify going in that direction?

the idea of tubes sounds really fun and exciting and i was looking at the schiit lyr tube rolling thread and it got me wanting to get in on the fun, but seeing how much tubes cost (50-100 dollars for good ones) and the excess heat and what not scares me off.

basically, i think what i'm asking if one can give me an truly honest opinion of is it really worth the extra money and effort to go big if i'm not that serious about dedicating tons of time and money into it? could one just be happy with an o2/odac and a basic tube amp and that's it without having to keep upgrading?
will there be a huge difference that justifies everything in dedicating myself to tube rolling, and upgrades, and spending the big money or is it more of the hobby aspects of it and the fun of it rather than pure performance?

thanks.

 

[HPiper]

If I were you I would seriously look into the Yulong D100 MkII. Very nice dac/amp, solid state not tube but less than $500. Project86 did a nice review of it on these forums a while back.