[MR. Hmm]

Hi guys
 
I'm in the market for a new headphone amp and DAC combo either all in one or separate. I've deiced I want to try Questyle as they should pair well with my Sennheiser HD800.
 
Here comes my dilemma. I've been offered a new CMA600I for 1000$ and I'm really tempted to pull the trigger as it's all I need in one box. However, a used CAM800R just came up for sale locally for 730$. Now since my budget is 1000$ that would leave me ~ 300$ to buy a DAC.
 
My question is would a CMA800R with a 300$ DAC be better than the CMA600I? For 300$ I could get something like the Schiit Bifrost or Stello DA100, but I'm not sure if t would "bottleneck" the CMA800R and leave me with overall worse sound than I'd get from the CMA600I.

I'd love to hear your thoughts as I'm a bit torn here

 

[Muinarc]

No. The 600i is the better deal here.

 

[Tiddlesworth]

Depends, are you planning on upgrading in the future? If not the 600i should last you a long while, but if you are planning to upgrade there's always the option of turning the CMA800R into a mono block configuration.

 

[MR. Hmm]

  Depends, are you planning on upgrading in the future? If not the 600i should last you a long while, but if you are planning to upgrade there's always the option of turning the CMA800R into a mono block configuration.

 
I don't think I'll be upgrading in the foreseeable future, so the setup I end up with should be the best I can get for my current budget.

 

[Tiddlesworth]

   
I don't think I'll be upgrading in the foreseeable future, so the setup I end up with should be the best I can get for my current budget.

The 600i should be perfect.