[Egaku]

Hey Head-Fi,
 
Currently I'm using the AKG K240 MKII with a FiiO E10.
What should be the next upgrade, a headphone or amp?
 
And which headphone/amp? I'm looking for something that sounds more musical, warmer, and better sound quality overall. (Sorry for lack of further criteria

)
 
Thanks, Brian

 

[DVDRey]

Your budget?
 
Open or closed ?

 

[Egaku]

My budget would be up to $400 USD, and preferably open (for the soundstage) because I'll only use them at home.
 
At $400 would it make sense to get a better pair of headphones, or a better DAC/Amp?
 
Thank you!

 

[weipim]

Hi there. I was on the exact same route of u. I had k240 and e10. Then I went to k701 e10 e9. And now I bought the matrix m stage amp. I haven't tried the 701 on stage yet but I'm already considering a schist bifrost dac to pair

For 400 dollars, u should expect nothing but further investment. U can either get a good headphone like hd650 hd 600 dt880 dt990 or even the upcoming he400. But all of them will benefit from a better amp dac
If u invest in a dac amp. U will be refrained by k240 although it's not a bad one at all

Thus ur best compromise will be getting a dt880 or 990 at 32 or 250ohms but u will be missing all the goodies of 600oms ones

Good luck with the purhase

 

[lejaz]

If you like the k240, the k601 should be a good upgrade. It came highly recommended to me by a couple of forum members when I wanted to upgrade from the 240, and it's not as demanding as the Senns when it comes to amplification. You could probably afford those plus an amp upgrade in the future, though they might do well out of the e10. I know a forum member who likes them even out of an mp3 player. The hd600 would be a good upgrade as well (that's the route I chose with the hd580....same drivers).....but may need a more powerful amp.