dobbylicious
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2011
- Posts
- 10
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[Part 1: Introduction - feel free to skip down to the questions]
I've used my computer mainly for gaming purposes in the past and only once decided to see how better audio hardware could improve sound - bought a X-Fi Fatal1ty Titanium and was quite astonished by the improvement over onboard sound. Together with my Sennheiser RS-130 headphones and the Creative software EQ options I was happy for some years.
Then a year ago I felt again the urge to upgrade and did some 'research' on head-fi and considered many online reviews. The HD650 appeared to be what I was looking for and together with the Fiio E7/E9 it proved to be a nice improvement - although I still prefer the analog out of the X-Fi compared to USB -> E7 (and it enables 24bit compared to Fiio's USB 16bit maximum)
The HD650 together with the E9 are a nice package and I think it's a nice entry combo to get a taste of good sound. But I still felt the urge to upgrade as I have a clear goal in mind: the feeling of 'being there' at a live performance, be it Jazz or orchestra works. What I was missing the most was the size of the soundstage and missing dynamics..
This lead to further reading on the HD650 and many times I read that the HDs have great synergy with the Earmax Pro - took a leap of faith and again noticed major improvements: improved dynamics and the instruments (mainly acoustic) sound way better. The feeling of 'being there' was achieved, but not for classical orchestra works. If I would not listen to classical music I think I have achieved my main goal and would stop upgrading (for now, lol).
After some tube rolling (landed at the Telefunken E88CCs) I'm at a point where I love the sound itself, instruments sound just like I expect them to and there's great detail and dynamics without losing the overall structure/flow. Jazz and acoustic live performances are amazing - but still, I'm missing the soundstage for orchestral works.
Now after all this rambling my questions:
[Part 2: Questions]
What would be the logical next step(s) to improve on the above mentioned aspects to reach my goal?
I've read many reviews about DACs and feel that the E7 does not fulfill my criterias. It sounds ok, but I still prefer my X-Fi analog out over the USB -> E7. Just sounds better to my ears.
Would a better DAC such as a StageDAC, DacMagic etc. be a worthwile improvement? Or are the HD650 holding me back and only cans such as HD800, LCD-2 would be worth it?
Upgrading cables (better interconnects and headphone cable)?
I've used my computer mainly for gaming purposes in the past and only once decided to see how better audio hardware could improve sound - bought a X-Fi Fatal1ty Titanium and was quite astonished by the improvement over onboard sound. Together with my Sennheiser RS-130 headphones and the Creative software EQ options I was happy for some years.
Then a year ago I felt again the urge to upgrade and did some 'research' on head-fi and considered many online reviews. The HD650 appeared to be what I was looking for and together with the Fiio E7/E9 it proved to be a nice improvement - although I still prefer the analog out of the X-Fi compared to USB -> E7 (and it enables 24bit compared to Fiio's USB 16bit maximum)
The HD650 together with the E9 are a nice package and I think it's a nice entry combo to get a taste of good sound. But I still felt the urge to upgrade as I have a clear goal in mind: the feeling of 'being there' at a live performance, be it Jazz or orchestra works. What I was missing the most was the size of the soundstage and missing dynamics..
This lead to further reading on the HD650 and many times I read that the HDs have great synergy with the Earmax Pro - took a leap of faith and again noticed major improvements: improved dynamics and the instruments (mainly acoustic) sound way better. The feeling of 'being there' was achieved, but not for classical orchestra works. If I would not listen to classical music I think I have achieved my main goal and would stop upgrading (for now, lol).
After some tube rolling (landed at the Telefunken E88CCs) I'm at a point where I love the sound itself, instruments sound just like I expect them to and there's great detail and dynamics without losing the overall structure/flow. Jazz and acoustic live performances are amazing - but still, I'm missing the soundstage for orchestral works.
Now after all this rambling my questions:
[Part 2: Questions]
What would be the logical next step(s) to improve on the above mentioned aspects to reach my goal?
I've read many reviews about DACs and feel that the E7 does not fulfill my criterias. It sounds ok, but I still prefer my X-Fi analog out over the USB -> E7. Just sounds better to my ears.
Would a better DAC such as a StageDAC, DacMagic etc. be a worthwile improvement? Or are the HD650 holding me back and only cans such as HD800, LCD-2 would be worth it?
Upgrading cables (better interconnects and headphone cable)?