[Steve The Egg]

I got my Grado SR-80's on Tuesday, and they have barely left my head. They blow my Sony NC's out of the water. Here's my thoughts on them so far:

Pros-
*The bass is quick and punchy (just the way I like it).
*The treble is clean.
*Hard rock, rock, and techno sound great.

Cons-
*The pads aren't deep enough to fit my ears.
*Cheap outer construction. (but all of the money goes into the speakers which is fine by me

)
*The treble sometimes gets very bright and actually hurts my ears.
*Soundstage isn't very good.

Overall, a great price for a great sound.

But here's where I'm gonna get in trouble. I want more

I'm looking to get a new computer DAC to replace my M-Audio 5.1 and possibly an amp to drive the DAC. And eventually get some better headphones.
Any suggestions for a computer DAC and amp or combo? ($500 budget though I'd prefer to keep it under $300)

 

[Exediron]

Well, you might have better luck posting a new query in the Computer Audio forum, but from what I know the SR-80 is relatively easy to drive, so I'd recommend spending more on the DAC then the amp. In fact some DAC/Amp combos like the Pico or such might be able to drive them fine without another dedicated amplifier.