[tan.phan.vt]

That's nasty, but it cannot be the normal experience or they would be long out of business. I have bought two of their high shelf products and haven't had any issues for over 3.5 years - that's my experience.

His experience, i can relate tbh. a year ago i wanted to buy a pair of DT770 pro 80ohms version, and i got channel imbalance on the left can. I ask warranty service and they offered me 2 other pairs, and all of them got obvious channel imbalance on different side each time. I was too frustrated and ask for another different pair from beyer, the custom game one, and got into the same channel imbalance problem. In the end i asked for a refund and that experience left me "traumatized" for a few months, and i just got back into audio a few weeks ago. Idk if beyerdynamic is notorious for channel imbalance in other regions or not, but i sure got a bad time with them.

 

[Darksoul]

His experience, i can relate tbh. a year ago i wanted to buy a pair of DT770 pro 80ohms version, and i got channel imbalance on the left can. I ask warranty service and they offered me 2 other pairs, and all of them got obvious channel imbalance on different side each time. I was too frustrated and ask for another different pair from beyer, the custom game one, and got into the same channel imbalance problem. In the end i asked for a refund and that experience left me "traumatized" for a few months, and i just got back into audio a few weeks ago. Idk if beyerdynamic is notorious for channel imbalance in other regions or not, but i sure got a bad time with them.

Maybe, the channel imbalance was in your source. I've had two Beyerdynamics in...6? years no issues whatsoever with them.

 

[tan.phan.vt]

Maybe, the channel imbalance was in your source. I've had two Beyerdynamics in...6? years no issues whatsoever with them.

I suspected that too, but then i tried to switch around all the headphones i got at that time, and use mono sound to test. At that time i still had the apple earpods, sennheiser CX980, ath m50x. I even switch the headphones to test if its my ears playing with me or not. The only conclusion was that the imbalance was too obvious for me to accept, especially in the sub bass frequency. It feels so obvious that every song that has strong sub bass, and also frequency test, one can just rumbles like crazy, and the other one is dead silent in comparison. I also switched the pads too, nothing changed.

P/S: Im a gamer, the problem is even worse in games i played, mainly CSGO. The gunshots felt like its coming out mainly from one side of the headphones, and footsteps were a mess.

 

[legion1capone]

You might take a look at the Geshelli labs enog pro dac
https://geshelli.com/shop?olsPage=products/geshelli-enog-pro-dac

SMSL M8A is highly regarded
https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-ES9028Q...=UTF8&qid=1542488167&sr=8-2&keywords=SMSL+M8A

or even the Topping D30
https://www.amazon.com/Topping-D30-...87585&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=Topping+D30&psc=1

and the Monoprice Liquid Spark amp
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=12008&cs_id=1200801&p_id=33304&seq=1&format=2

If you like being able to make changes on how your system sounds you should seriously consider a tube amp. Tube rolling opens up a massive world! Something like the Schiit Vali 2 is highly regarded and is priced well.
http://www.schiit.com/products/vali-1

The spark will suprise the hell out of you. It makes my HE400i's sing. They've never sounded so good!

Unfortunately when it comes to recommendations it is very to know exactly what will sound good to someone else. There are so many products out there and combinations that you could put together. Most of us can only truly recommend products and combos we have personally tried, and even then it is our own opinions which can differ greatly from person to person. The only real way to know what works with what is to buy multiple dac, amps and hook them up and listen see which ones sound best to you; and that takes money time and lots of return labels lmao.

 

[cmdrmcgarrett]

I head ya. I just hate returning things. That monoprice looks interesting in combo with a Topping D30

 

[legion1capone]

If you could raise your budget just a little you'd be golden for a long time with the Topping D50 (from what i've read) and the liquid spark. I think the D50 will be the next DAC I purchase.

I head ya. I just hate returning things. That monoprice looks interesting in combo with a Topping D30

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I highly recommen checking the for sale forums here on Head-fi. I’ve gotten really good deals here over the years.

If you want to stick to new equipment, there are now a lot of great options in the sub $250 market (for DAC and amp). In amps, there are 3 choices at $99 that all seems like quality options. You’ve already tentatively ruled out the Magni 3, but it has gotten lots of good reviews for its price point. Then you have the new Monoprice Liquid Spark that’s getting a lot of hype recently. The newest option is the JDS Labs Atom that literally just came out in the past few days. Probably can’t go wrong with any of those for less than $100.

Plenty of quality DACs for around $100-150 too. I personally went with the JDS Labs OL DAC. I got the model that has USB and optical inputs, but they also offer a cheaper model with USB only. The new Modi 3 looks like a solid option for the price too. I personally think the headphone and amp make a bigger impact than the DAC as long as you have an objectively capable DAC which most of these >$100 models are.

 

[Darksoul]

Topping D30 is a solid DAC, be prepared to spend a significant amount of money before you run into something that utterly smokes it.

 

[cmdrmcgarrett]

90% decided on JDSLabs Atom and Topping D10.

Hoping that some of these will go on sale in next week or so

Thinking of pulling trigger Cyber Monday or very soon after

 

[Baten]

90% decided on JDSLabs Atom and Topping D10.

Hoping that some of these will go on sale in next week or so

Thinking of pulling trigger Cyber Monday or very soon after

Atom is fresh launch, already sold out, pre-order for December batch. It going on sale would be unlikely, they're selling like crazy.

You could try for a black friday/cyber monday sale on a DAC though.

 

[ngs428]

90% decided on JDSLabs Atom and Topping D10.

Hoping that some of these will go on sale in next week or so

Thinking of pulling trigger Cyber Monday or very soon after

What made you go with the D10 over the D30? I am looking at the same Atom amp and possibly the D10. Curious why you picked the D10. I can’t decide....

 

[ACDOAN]

Have heard that the amp are a bit on the bright side from a few forums. Also quality issues with the Fulla 2 with internal shorts.

Never try the Fulla 2 but rather the mid tier amps from Schiit Audio, I am very pleased with the build quality, the customer support ( top notch) and the sound quality of their products. Some call it "veil" but that can be intergrated with a DAC that fits your taste. No, they don't sound the same as Zeos guy claims on Youtube. BurrBrown has warmer sound while Cyrus has high pitch and Wolfson Dac is clean, clear, punchy and in your face style ( not a negative trait depends on the type of music you listen to. ESS Sabre is a hype right now just as Wolfson Dac about 10 years ago.

I have the Asgard 2, Jotenheim balance DAC/AMP, Vahalla 2, and of course the low price Schitt stack ( Magni 3,Modi Uber). I don't heard any offensive brightness from their poducts. My cable from source(s) to amp is either KK PBJ ( terminated with WBT 0114) or Better Cables Silver Serpent.
Having said that, our ears are not created equally. YMMV.

 

[cmdrmcgarrett]

The mid-tier Schiit is a bit out of my price range. Maybe some day.

 

[cmdrmcgarrett]

Personally I did not see a difference between D10 and D30. Nothing that I would have been drawn to for and extra $40

 

[aaronlam123]

Topping DX3 pro is very nice solution to a clean desktop. There were apparently some feedback issues, but I think it was fixed in the latest firmware update. The remote it comes with is a nice touch to adjust volume, inputs, PCM filters etc. The remote doesn't have a start/pause or skip track adjustments though, not sure if it can be programmed in. Note sure why Topping gets so much hate, maybe cause its Chi-fi?