[U6astik]

Could you please advise me on my problem?
 
I am currently using my laptop-DAC configuration:
 
Foobar2000 (from Dell Studio 1558) to Fiio E7 (via USB) and to Panasonic RP-HT711 headphones. These are quite old headphones, but I am quite happy with them.
The problem is I hate laptop fan noise and I would like to have a dedicated CD player.
 
I have tried to change the source by connecting Phillips DVP 3040 (DVD player) to the Fiio E7's aux-in port. However I was disappointed by the quality of the sound.
 
I don't have any opportunity to test how Onkyo C-7030 will sound, so I am asking for your advice.
Will I get an improvement in sound quality with Onkyo?
(I am still not sure how will I use it - whether straight from headphone output or from the RCA outputs through Fiio E7)
 
 
Thank you in advance for any comment.

 

[GaryWA]

That's a nice CD player. However, I'm not sure you'll notice much of a difference if at all over the E7 since all you're changing is the DAC which is now being handled by the Onkyo.
 
The biggest change that you could do is your headphones. Sure, you're happy with them, but they're going on 10 years old and they also weren't high end back then either.
 
Take the money you were going to spend for the CD player and instead buy a new pair of headphones. I guarantee it will make the most difference for you.

 

[U6astik]

GaryWA,
 
Thank you very much for your reply.
I was thinking about it and I agree with you that my current headphones will restrict any sound quality improvement.
 
However, to my mind it is quite difficult to find good headphones in Onkyo's price range.
Secondly it won't solve my problem with laptop noise/lack of proper CD player.
 
Do you think that better headphones with laptop-E7 configuration will be so much better that it will make me forget about noise/any inconvenience of using laptop?
In case you do, do you have any suggestions about the high quality headphones that could cost 200$ or less?
 
 
Sorry if my phrases are long or coplex. My english is not perfect

 

[GaryWA]

  GaryWA,
 
Thank you very much for your reply.
I was thinking about it and I agree with you that my current headphones will restrict any sound quality improvement.
 
However, to my mind it is quite difficult to find good headphones in Onkyo's price range.
Secondly it won't solve my problem with laptop noise/lack of proper CD player.
 
Do you think that better headphones with laptop-E7 configuration will be so much better that it will make me forget about noise/any inconvenience of using laptop?
In case you do, do you have any suggestions about the high quality headphones that could cost 200$ or less?
 
 
Sorry if my phrases are long or coplex. My english is not perfect

Your English is fine, in fact, better than most people whose first language is actually English
 
I would definitely think that better headphones with that configuration would sound better than getting a CD player. If it is just the laptop fan noise (and not static and hissing) then a pair of good closed back headphones could be just right for you. So what kind of music do you listen to? And where are you located?

 

[U6astik]

GaryWA,
 
Thank you for your compliment
 
My field in interest is classical music only (orchestral music like Mahler, Shostakovich, Bruckner, etc.).
I live in Europe partly in UK, partly in Estonia. (This is, however, not a problem. It is quite easy to buy audio equipment from amazon via shipito)
 
I was thinking about Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro/ Sennheiser 598/ HiFiMan HE-300 - quite difficult choise to be honest. But my heart belongs to HE models, so I am probably going for a used pair of HE-300 (driving it by E7), although some people tend to say it's too "bassy"..

 

[GaryWA]

  GaryWA,
 
Thank you for your compliment
 
My field in interest is classical music only (orchestral music like Mahler, Shostakovich, Bruckner, etc.).
I live in Europe partly in UK, partly in Estonia. (This is, however, not a problem. It is quite easy to buy audio equipment from amazon via shipito)
 
I was thinking about Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro/ Sennheiser 598/ HiFiMan HE-300 - quite difficult choise to be honest. But my heart belongs to HE models, so I am probably going for a used pair of HE-300 (driving it by E7), although some people tend to say it's too "bassy"..

Actually for classical music, I would actually go for the DT 880's. Probably the most comfortable out of the 3 too.

 

[U6astik]

  Actually for classical music, I would actually go for the DT 880's. Probably the most comfortable out of the 3 too.

Better than HiFiMan-s? I am quite surprised..
Does it make any difference if it is Premium or an ordinary pair of 880-s?