Looking for some recommended medium-end equipment. I have three major listening stations at home, and I use each in different contexts with different music genres. Yes, I'm weird.
With that context, here's my setups, what I'd listen to on each, and what I'm missing. I'm willing to mix and match these to optimize my experience but would prefer to keep the budget reasonable.
Core: Roon ROCK streaming Qobuz and onboard FLAC library (anywhere from 16/44.1 to 24/192 quality streams and files, PCM only).
Work setup (rock, melodic metal, and EDM listening): USB from the Roon box > Neo iDSD > Bottlehead Mainline > balanced Aeolus or Meze Liric.
Living room (any genre but country or rap, rarely use headphones here): Zen Stream > digital coax > Sony HAP-S1 > Klipsch bookshelf speakers.
Bedside: HiBy R6III > ??? > balanced Liric or Meze Advar. Usually prog rock here. This is also my portable equipment.
Basically, the simple fix is to get a fitting headphone amp for the bedside setup. The R6III sounds a bit too analytical on its own here, and doesn't power the Lirics well. My budget is under $1000 and I want to avoid tubes if I'm going to fall asleep listening.
However, I'm wondering if I can mix and match my current setup to get a better fit between the equipment or find a more cost effective way to fill the gap here. I like the sound/quality I've experienced with iFi, Schiit, and Sony equipment, but I'm open to other brands. I definitely prefer a warmer sound signature (analytical is not my cuppa tea) and I want to avoid Chi-fi stuff because I keep having QA issues with those brands.
All suggestions welcome, even "keep it the way it is".
With that context, here's my setups, what I'd listen to on each, and what I'm missing. I'm willing to mix and match these to optimize my experience but would prefer to keep the budget reasonable.
Core: Roon ROCK streaming Qobuz and onboard FLAC library (anywhere from 16/44.1 to 24/192 quality streams and files, PCM only).
Work setup (rock, melodic metal, and EDM listening): USB from the Roon box > Neo iDSD > Bottlehead Mainline > balanced Aeolus or Meze Liric.
Living room (any genre but country or rap, rarely use headphones here): Zen Stream > digital coax > Sony HAP-S1 > Klipsch bookshelf speakers.
Bedside: HiBy R6III > ??? > balanced Liric or Meze Advar. Usually prog rock here. This is also my portable equipment.
Basically, the simple fix is to get a fitting headphone amp for the bedside setup. The R6III sounds a bit too analytical on its own here, and doesn't power the Lirics well. My budget is under $1000 and I want to avoid tubes if I'm going to fall asleep listening.
However, I'm wondering if I can mix and match my current setup to get a better fit between the equipment or find a more cost effective way to fill the gap here. I like the sound/quality I've experienced with iFi, Schiit, and Sony equipment, but I'm open to other brands. I definitely prefer a warmer sound signature (analytical is not my cuppa tea) and I want to avoid Chi-fi stuff because I keep having QA issues with those brands.
All suggestions welcome, even "keep it the way it is".
A small stack of Schiit is also a great solution.
