[DefQon]

Differences between DAC's isn't as high as amp's or headphones itself, just keep that in mind. That said, DS you're far far away from having an end game rig, hi-fi speaking wise, but end game on a personal enjoyment level, sure.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

im far from endgame but endgame dac for now, i think yes

 

[Tony1110]

Not so long ago I thought my Shure IEMs plugged into an iPod were endgame.

 

[harmonix]

Quote:

Differences between DAC's isn't as high as amp's or headphones itself, just keep that in mind. That said, DS you're far far away from having an end game rig, hi-fi speaking wise, but end game on a personal enjoyment level, sure.

 
Then it means you are not at the end game yet - where every little thing will make a difference

 

[3X0]

Quote:

im far from endgame but endgame dac for now, i think yes

I lol'd
Quote:

Then it means you are not at the end game yet - where every little thing will make a difference

Nah. 

 

[MuuMuu]

Haven't purchased anything since getting JH16s a couple years ago (I was in line for a JH3A, then that fell through).  Got a Woo Audio amp and a few other things gathering dust in the garage.  Main reason being, I want portability and that means I didn't want anything beyond the IEM and the player -- there was too little appreciable difference on the rest.  At home I've since moved to speaker setups, which I've also reached a reasonable parity with (pair of Salk HTL-1 speakers and high-end Denon receiver, some room correction).  It's not worth spending any more money unless I want to buy a house and get a dedicated audio room set up.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Differences between DAC's isn't as high as amp's or headphones itself,

Thats true in my experience too. As long as you have a good dac I would put the focus on amps and headphones. 
 
For e.g, I've a/b my twenty year old Arcam black box dac to the newer arcam RDac many times. Considering the supposed technological progress with dac chips and their implementation, theres not much difference. The older dac is a fraction more musical and warmer, the newer- a smidge tighter and brighter but these differences are very subtle. And the difference in using 24bit over 16bit is not even worth mentioning.
 
I have 3 current dacs that I use regularly and I really don't care which one is being used for which amp etc. Because they all sound great. Any dac that has its own sound or character isn't doing its job properly if you ask me.   

 

[Tony1110]

I've upgraded from two well thought of budget DACs to a considerably more expensive one and I think the difference is immense. In my limited experience, I find the DAC to be as important a part of the chain as the amp.

 

[johnwmclean]

IMO DefQon is correct. The relationship between amp and diaphragm is itegrigal as long as the DAC is capable, most DACs nowadays are much better and you don't have to go sky high for excellent performance.
I had the same DAC for over 3 years whilst I made substantial headphone and amp upgrades, dynamic through to stats, I never felt my modest DAC (Buffalo32) was a limiting component. Only recently with the BHSE and 007 MK1s have I upgraded to a Buffalo IIISE, the improvements are fairly obvious, that said the old DAC was no slouch.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

 
Then it means you are not at the end game yet - where every little thing will make a difference

End game doesn't necessarily mean you need to go out and buy the most expensive crap on the market (not to mention all those fake spec bs floating around with amps). You can have a person with million dollar speaker setup that would sound good to them but crap to another listener. As I said at the start, end game is more of a personal level enjoyment from your setup rather than bragging rights and comparing johnson sizes to see who has the most expensive/quantity setup.

 

[Tony1110]

End game doesn't necessarily mean you need to go out and buy the most expensive crap on the market (not to mention all those fake spec bs floating around with amps). You can have a person with million dollar speaker setup that would sound good to them but crap to another listener. As I said at the start, end game is more of a personal level enjoyment from your setup rather than bragging rights and comparing johnson sizes to see who has the most expensive/quantity setup.

+1

 

[Oregonian]

End game doesn't necessarily mean you need to go out and buy the most expensive crap on the market (not to mention all those fake spec bs floating around with amps). You can have a person with million dollar speaker setup that would sound good to them but crap to another listener. As I said at the start, end game is more of a personal level enjoyment from your setup rather than bragging rights and comparing johnson sizes to see who has the most expensive/quantity setup.

Perfect. +1

 

[OneSec]

Currently settled on Audio-GD Ref10.32 with HD800 / W3000ANV.
 
I will be upgrading my computer a.k.a transport soon though for gaming needs. So do I still qualified for "end game setup" as long as above items above stay?
 

 

[DefQon]

As long as you don't feel the need to upgrade anytime soon and you really enjoy it.

 

[SHAHZADA123]

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