[N3rdR4ge]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and looking for recommendations for cans and a DAC/amp. I've been interested for years but finally have some money to spare. Probably the nicest I've owned are the Bose QC25, but I'm ready to move on to something better. I was tempted by the HD 650s and saw the massdrop for HD 6XXs which interested me, however they are built on an older design and I've read that some newer headphones have much tighter and responsive bass which interests me a lot. Somewhere I read good things about Philips Fidelio for this, but the reviews weren't as good so I ditched that idea. I've never owned a DAC/amp before and have no idea where to start. In all, I want the flattest sound possible at a reasonable price for a beginner and I'm not sure what budget range to be in. I could really use some opinions since there's too many options and it's hard to trust product reviews as well as webpages like "Best 7 headphones for audiophiles (Spring 2020)".

Thanks!

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Hi,

The HD 600 is around as long as it is because it nailed it in a lot of categories. The 650/6XX are a modified tuning. I have the 600 and have not heard and am not interested in the other ones. The 600 bass is very good. It does not slam like planars. They're different kinds of headphones. The 600 and 650/6XX need an amp to bring out their best. The 600 is great for jazz, acoustic, classic rock and male and female vocals. It does well with classical. It is a very good all around set of cans.

There is nothing like trying out different headphones to avoid wasting your money. Even if you like the sound you may not like the fit and vice versa. Headphones are very personal audio and there are objectively good headphones that you may not like and nobody can make you.

What kind of music do you listen to and what is your budget?

 

[Deolum]

So you need a Dac/Amp. I recommend to go on audiosciencereview. Get the best Dac for 99 € and the best amp for 99 €, or a combo if you like that. One of the best amps is the JDS Labs Atom for example. Frequency curve is completely flat.

A flat headphone you should look into is the Akg 701/702/712 series.

Considering you get a used Atom for 60 $, a 702 for 90-100 $ and a top performing Dac for 60 $. Now you spent 200 $ and have 80 % of the sound thats available on the market.

To get to 90 % you need to work on your source. Change the smartphone as source for a streamer for example.

Now you spent 600 $ and from now on every percent you wanna improve costs 600 $ doubling every percent.

Since you're at the beginning of your journey just keep this in mind.

 

[SilverEars]

I guess using smartphone as streamer works if you don't have a PC? Not really necessary to use a phone over a PC.

When streaming use what is most convenient like a PC with an interface.

Dedicated streamers are not worth thr overpriced cost and limited options in usability.

 

[Deolum]

I guess using smartphone as streamer works if you don't have a PC? Not really necessary to use a phone over a PC.

When streaming use what is most convenient like a PC with an interface.

Dedicated streamers are not worth thr overpriced cost and limited options in usability.

Dedicated streamers give you that 10 % sound quality missing when you use smartphone as usb source out.
I think they're the most bang for the bucks option to tune your system.

 

[SilverEars]

Dedicated streamers give you that 10 % sound quality missing when you use smartphone as usb source out.
I think they're the most bang for the bucks option to tune your system.

You really can't quantify it that way as it's subjective. I've tried various range of prices of them, and it really makes no sense to shell out on them. They cause inconvenience without providing any real SQ benefits.

 

[Deolum]

You really can't quantify it that way as it's subjective. I've tried various range of prices of them, and it really makes no sense to shell out on them. They cause inconvenience without providing any real SQ benefits.

For me they caused convenience and huge sq improvement. Highly subjective this hobby

 

[SilverEars]

For me they caused convenience and huge sq improvement. Highly subjective this hobby

I like using Windows PC based PC as base as the software support is great. I don't like the software built into streamers as the interface is not as refined. For example, windows is just simple to use with software of choices, and many options out there including Foobar with various plug-ins. Streamers and their built-in software has limited options in what you can do. You can do much much much more with Windows PCs.

I don't believe there really is subjective opinion on what is really more convenient and most flexible. It's straight forward.

 

[N3rdR4ge]

Hey,

Thanks for all the responses. I ended up going with Deolum's recommendation for the JDS Atom amp. I'm only going to be streaming from my PC. I actually forgot I had a Scarlett 2i2 Gen 1 I'll be using as my DAC.

As for the cans, I ended up going with the HiFiMAN Sundara. The price point was good at $349 and I had a $100 amazon gift card. I was really tempted on the HD 600 and 650 as gimmeheadroom mentioned, but I wanted something more up to date with better bass. The biggest downside on the Sundara I could find was the soundstage.

I really listen to just about anything, but perhaps rock is the main one. This all puts me in at around $400 budget (after the $100 gift card). The Sundara is on back order if you want to convince me out of it!

Also ended up getting a FiiO L17 to connect the Scarlett to the Atom.

I have a bunch of FLAC tracks downloaded to get me started, but I might just end up signing up for Tidal.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I like using Windows PC based PC as base as the software support is great. I don't like the software built into streamers as the interface is not as refined. For example, windows is just simple to use with software of choices, and many options out there including Foobar with various plug-ins. Streamers and their built-in software has limited options in what you can do. You can do much much much more with Windows PCs.

I don't believe there really is subjective opinion on what is really more convenient and most flexible. It's straight forward.

Bluesound's UI is objectively better overall than individual Windows apps. I prefer foobar2000 for locally hosted music though.