Switching to Solidstate
May 30, 2011 at 9:01 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 2

dirkpitt45

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I'm heading off to university this year, and that means living in residence for a year. Plus travelling and all that, and I'm thinking my Bottlehead Crack and hd600s (with a cardas "smurf" cable)  are going to be a bit too unwieldy. They take up a lot of space too, which may start to be a bit of a problem. I've also got a Firestone Fubar Dac, I've never heard anything else so I like it lol. 
 
So I'd like to jump into an entirely new setup that's a bit more "transportable". Let's say my budget is $600, for headphones +amp +dac. I really like how the hd600s sounds with my crack, but I slightly prefer my EQ'd (for a bit more bass) DBA-02s.  
 
For the DAC, I have no idea really. Maybe I'll just stick with my fubar, it's served me quite well. 
 
For the amp, I've been looking at the Matrix M Stage, which is about $300, maybe 250 used. It seems to get very good reviews. It also looks strongly built and wouldn't be an issue packing into a suitcase. I haven't really read much about other solid state amps, I was always more interested in the tubes.
 
For the headphones, I'm not really sure. No Grados, I had MS1s and they were just way too uncomfortable, sounded nice though. I mostly listen to electronic music, dubstep, drum n bass, trance, but also acoustic, some jazz, classical, and rock. So pretty wide range. I've been looking into some of the Beyers, but harsh highs are mentioned a lot and that's something I definetly don't want. The FA-03s are also a possibility. I'm almost tempted to go for a basshead phone though, maybe the d2000s or pro900s, just for a change. But then again I do have Fostex t50rps already and I like them a lot actually, they're just way to uncomfortable.
 
Looking for some ideas basically. Pretty broad request I know, but I've got lots of time and I'm sure some of you guys do too 
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 Interested in seeing lots of different options. 
 
May 30, 2011 at 9:31 PM Post #2 of 2
You can get the M-Stage for $250 new. I wouldn't spend half your budget on the amp though, the headphones are the most important thing after all! 
 

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