[sinbarambam]

Hi guys
 
I currently have a Little Dot MKIV with an Audio Tecnica ATH-1000 Grandioso and a Fiio X5. I've always found this setup a bit underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, it's fine, but I've been saving up, to move up.
 
I am considering a Moon by Simaudio headphone amp with either Audioeze LCD-3 or HD800 cans and a Sony ZX2 as the source (I am also planning to get the Noble Prestige for use while traveling). I'd love the AK380 but oh dear, the price...
 
A significant proportion of my music is of poor quality (live recordings/bootlegs) and from what I've read the HD800 may not be the best option in that case...A lot of my higher quality recordings are of jazz-fusion, which is often surprisingly bass heavy (both from the drums and the bass). Most of my listening is 'meditative', i.e. in a quiet environment, in a comfortable chair, and for relatively short periods of time (no more than 30 minutes), i.e. no gyms, offices etc. 
 
Questions:
1) I would love your critique/questions/suggestions on the above. 
2) Would you recommend I invest in a separate DAC such as the Audiolab M-DAC?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I currently have a Little Dot MKIV with an Audio Technica ATH-1000 Grandioso and a FiiO X5. I've always found this setup a bit underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, it's fine, but I've been saving up, to move up.
I am considering a Moon by Simaudio headphone amp with either Audioeze LCD-3 or HD800 cans and a Sony ZX2 as the source (I am also planning to get the Noble Prestige for use while traveling). I'd love the AK380 but oh dear, the price...
A significant proportion of my music is of poor quality (live recordings/bootlegs) and from what I've read the HD800 may not be the best option in that case...A lot of my higher quality recordings are of jazz-fusion, which is often surprisingly bass heavy (both from the drums and the bass). Most of my listening is 'meditative', i.e. in a quiet environment, in a comfortable chair, and for relatively short periods of time (no more than 30 minutes), i.e. no gyms, offices etc. 
Questions:
1) I would love your critique/questions/suggestions on the above. 
2) Would you recommend I invest in a separate DAC such as the Audiolab M-DAC?

 
I have a really dumb question to ask you.
Are you using the X5's line-output (not headphone output) to connect the X5 to the LD MKIV?

 

[sinbarambam]

Sure, why do you ask?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Sure, why do you ask?

 
Just making sure your feeding the best signal possible to the external headphone amplifier.
Others have have used a headphone output to an external headphone amplifier and thought they needed a better headphone amplifier.
Then found out how much better the sound quality can be when line-output is feeding the signal to their external amp.

 

[VGoghs earfrmsc]

What would you like from your new set up sound wise?  Also "Most of my listening is 'meditative', i.e. in a quiet environment" What does this mean please?

 

[sinbarambam]

Thanks both for your replies. 
 
What I meant by the 'meditative' comment is that I do not listen to my music in busy, noisy environments, such as while at work or while in the gym. This set up would be for when I make time to sit down, undisturbed, in a quiet space and really listen to the music. So things like comfort in wearing when moving about, or its ability to block out extraneous sounds, do not really matter to me. 
 
What I am hoping for is to create the most immersive experience possible, and one that can both handle high quality as well as less-than-optimal source material.