[ABuilder]

Hi Everyone, I'm looking for my first quality setup and have been enjoying reading everything out there. I'll give a short breakdown of what I am looking for below. I'm kind of thinking of buying 2 or 3 sets and finding what I like best, then going from there.

Starting budget ~$1,000 for headphones, DAC/Amp, cables

Desktop setup for music and gaming (mostly driving). The driving games have a constant engine sound, but I want to be able to pick up the other details with good imaging to tell where cars are around me. If someone comes up from behind me, I want to hear them coming and if they stay in my blind spot, I want to be able to hear where they are. From my basic understanding, that means I am looking for a good soundstage with good imaging. I also need it to be able to separate out details like tire slip over a more constant background engine noise so separation of instruments is important. I also listen to a lot of classic rock, acoustic, and classical music. Not really bass heavy but I like clarity and like to hear the strings reverberate well when I listen. I do have a powerful electric motor in the room that causes some EMI issues and might add 4-6 other motors for a motion platform at some point in the future. I have been told tubes are sensitive to EMI, so despite wanting to try some, they may not work for me but I don't know.

Not sure this translates or if it is even consistent, but I tended to like Focal, B&W, and big Klipsch speakers. My stereo setup is currently using some Zu Audio speakers which don't measure super well but I think sound fun and full. Set before that was some Focal's that I really liked for sound

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Here is the current plan that I am still refining. Thought you could all point me in the right direction and point out my mistakes. I wish I could really try out sets, but best I can figure to do this for me is to buy 2 or 3 and sale what I don't like. I think I want open back, but I would like to try a decent closed back set as well to be sure. I would just like to buy one Amp/DAC for now.

Headphones: Senn Drop HD6XX, HiFiMan Sundara, and Beyerdynamic MMX300 or possibly 1990.

Amp/DAC Shiit Modius/Magnius or maybe the Jutunheim and a DAC. Also considering the Drop THX AAA 789 and ifi Zens. I don't really know, I need to do a lot of learning related to both DACs and Amps. I was also thinking of adding a Loki or something for some EQ but don't know the best way to go there yet.


I'm tempted by the Focal Elex or the Drop 8XX but I think maybe I should establish a baseline first. Hopefully I am not waiting too much money here.

Anyways, how would you change the 3 headphones I were thinking for a starting place? Should I look elsewhere then Shiit in my budget? I don't know hardly anything other then some reviewers seem to "Fing" love everything, so...

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

I think 1000$ is fine as a budget. What B&W do you have? The other speakers are more on the bright side for my taste, which I find odd because B&W usually aren't. Lets start with your use case. I haven't encountered a headphone yet that was brilliant at music reproduction but crappy at games, so that will work.

If you can go open back - which is mainly limited by environmental factors like noise or disturbing others - go open back. DAC wise I think the Schiit Modius is amazing value. You have the option to go balanced as well. Combine it with a MAGNIUS and you have a very nice stack for 400USD with a lot of flexibility. Tube amps can be vulnerable to external noises and vibration. I wouldn't go that route in your case.

That leaves you with up to 600USD for headphones. HD6XX and HiFiMan Sundara are good cans. Listen to both if you can. Maybe you can get a cheaper Focal as well, I don't know models and pricing in the US. For the Beyers: listen to them before you buy them. In my experience people either love them or hate them. Don't go for MMX300. The HD6XX is in my opinion one of the best cans in that price bracket. It needs little to no EQ (just read up on EQ APO, don't buy an EQ box).

 

[ABuilder]

I don't actually have any B&W speakers, just trying to add detail of what I liked when I sampled speakers before but I am sure just saying brands can only help so much. Out of the Big Box store options for example, I preferred the B&W sound over KEF, Def Tech, M&L. I think the ones that were in my budget that I liked the best out of the options were the equivalent of the 703s but it was a while back and I don't think they are the same now. I also like the Klipsh Cornwall and Forte or Hersey. I can't remember which now. I think they were hooked up to more vintage gear, so maybe that was a factor in what I liked. To be honest though, I don't really know what it is I like. I'm surprised to see you say that what I liked was mostly brighter, because I tend to be a little sensitive at the higher frequencies and some speakers I thought of as bright cause me fatigue pretty quickly. When I was first looking at speakers I thought I was going to like KEF, but R3 and LS50s just did not work for me and I liked the B&W stuff more.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Okay, Cornwall and Forte or Hersey aren't the typical Klipsch speakers you hear casually (at least over here, might me different in the US). They're not really bright that is correct. Focal I find to be bright throughout the lineup when implementing the beryllium tweeter. I think in that case the hd6xx should be a good match. I would try a planar magnetic either way. The bass presentation is quite different. Just a matter of taste some like dynamics, some planar magnetics.

 

[ABuilder]

My old headset literally fell apart in my heads last night. Guess the timeline just got accelerated. So... the finalist are


Audeze LCD-X
Focal Clear
or Sundaras

If I could find a good set of the LCDx or Clears used, I think I might just jump. That way I won't loose too much if I don't like them and resell them for something else.

Feel like I need to pick and DAC/Amp soon to run these one too and I don't really know much there. Thinking the Modius/Magnius or maybe the Jotunheim with the Mutibit DAC.

Any advice? I am going to need something soon which kills the HD6XX as an option as they are sold out until the end of May.

 

[silent-circuit]

My old headset literally feel apart in my heads last night. Guess the timeline just got accelerated. So... the finalist are


Audeze LCD-X
Focal Clear
or Sundaras

If I could find a good set of the LCDx or Clears used, I think I might just jump. That way I won't loose too much if I don't like them and resell them for something else.

Feel like I need to pick and DAC/Amp soon to run these one too and I don't really know much there. Thinking the Modius/Magnius or maybe the Jotunheim with the Mutibit DAC.

Any advice? I am going to need something soon which kills the HD6XX as an option as they are sold out until the end of May.

May be able to get a pair off the classifieds here. Put up a want to buy notice.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

re you willing to EQ? If so all of the above are fine I think. If not I'd not consider the LCD X

 

[hxs80]

My old headset literally fell apart in my heads last night. Guess the timeline just got accelerated. So... the finalist are


Audeze LCD-X
Focal Clear
or Sundaras

If I could find a good set of the LCDx or Clears used, I think I might just jump. That way I won't loose too much if I don't like them and resell them for something else.

Feel like I need to pick and DAC/Amp soon to run these one too and I don't really know much there. Thinking the Modius/Magnius or maybe the Jotunheim with the Mutibit DAC.

Any advice? I am going to need something soon which kills the HD6XX as an option as they are sold out until the end of May.

The start of this thread up to your decision to move to LCD-X, Clears or Sundaras is like the past 2 years of my headphone life. I have the HD6xxs and I'm glad I have them as a reference and still use them but if I could move up, I'd move up to the Clears, LCD-X or Aryas. I also have the HD800. I recently picked up the Sundaras to see if I could find a pleasant alternate from the HD6xx without breaking the bank and they are good cans. Part of me tells me to stop now.

The issue is that having the HD6xx and the detail retrieval of the HD800s with a taste of planars moves me to the same spot you are in now. I feel like just trading everything (except the hd6xxs) up to the LCD-Xs, Clears or Arya. Anyways, my point is I think you are on the right track.