Complete my Desktop Audio, and then upgrade it!

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories Speaker Amps
1

Hi All,

Been watching reviews all day and asking anyone i can. Hoping you can help… Honestly a bit lost.

I’ve put this topic in Speaker Amps because that’s the only thing i know i certainly need - the rest i’m open to ideas. I’m UK based, if that affects things. Budget perhaps £100-300?.. tbc, but sensible - i don’t mind paying more if it is an informed decision. Given the current lockdown i’m spending a lot more time sat here…

What i have:

  • PC - Windows 10 - Music, Video, Gaming. No specific audio hardware in it (just onboard, and currently using a cheap USB 3.5mm headphone+mic adaptor to avoid some mic noise on the onboard inputs.)
  • Second PC - Linux, Work - music + video conf. Currently sharing USB devices with PC 1 with a USB switch.
  • Desktop speakers - Wharfedale 9.1
  • Headphones - ATH-M50X (i know…)
  • Mic - Modmic

What i’m missing (i’m sure you guys will know better than i)

  • Amplifier - Certainly i don’t have any kind of amp to drive my speakers, so they’re currently unused. This doesn’t need to be crazy powerful, it’s just a medium sized study. Ideally it’d be small and subtle device, and black. Desk is black glass, screens are black, speakers are black, all peripherals are black etcetc.
  • Quality - Whatever you think of the ATH-M50X, currently they’re running through a cheap (< $10) usb adaptor, with no DAC
  • Ability to flip between headphone/speaker output quickly/easily, adjust volume of both on desktop but look pretty.

My research options so far:

One box to do it all -

  • Topping MX30
    I’m thinking this would enable me to start using the speakers, enable me to hook up the headphones, use usb as a source and flip it between PCs. Not sure how i’d get my modmic working (so it can act as gaming voice on PC1, and work VOIP input on PC2). The other upside is the added bluetooth ability, but realistically i’d be more likely to just use a PC as a source.

Split it out?

  • Amplifier: Topping PA3
  • DAC/Controller: Sennheiser GSX1000
    Would this be a sensible setup? I’m not sure exactly how the connections might look, whether i can USB input (perhaps still using USB switch to flip it between PCs), will this be suitable for the speakers - and can i have the GSX1000 in line between source and PA3, and use it to flip between speaker/headphones.

Another option?
NAD3020v2
this was my original idea, but not sure how it compares - it’s obviously quite expensive relative to the above options.

The final point - once this is a complete setup, would love to hear what people would say is the weakest link, and where money should then be spent to improve sound overall. I’m aware no current components are particularly brilliant - so happy to hear suggestions. New headphones, perhaps.

2

So if you wanted a stack, I think a topping pa3 with a dac like the e30 or d10, and then a headphone amp like the schiit magni 3+ would be pretty sweet. You would split the rca out of the dac to the headphone and speaker amps, and have separate control of both, and I think this would be the most flexible, and have a good balance between sound and features

For the modmic, you would either have to plug it into the pc of your choice and forward it to another one, or grab an interface which would change things, but getting it to work on both would be more difficult and costly

IMO the biggest weakpoints would most likely be your headphones if you got a dac/amp/speaker amp

3

I was thinking the mic could, in theory, just stay on the cheap USB adaptor, and thus would not be part of the problem.

Would something like the gsx 1000 work well with the ath-m50x for now? And what might be the next step up in headphones - and would that still work with the GSX 1000 (i was reading it might be low on power)

I think you might be right on the separation. I love the idea of the MX3 - very cheap way to solve my problems and seems a nice thing to have lying around the house if i did upgrade, but perhaps worth spending the money on a PA3 and then a better headphone amp/dac solution on top.

4

Yes that would work most likely

So it would work just fine, but imo the gsx 1000 doesn’t really have good sound quality, and it’s features are rather gimmicky imo. For headphones, what music do you listen to, and what type of sound are you looking for?

5

you’re probably right - a lot of the perks of the gsx1000 would be easily replaced by remotes for DAC/amps.

Music - varied - metal/rock, electronic/trance/dnb/techno, classical.

In terms of sound - just something warm and balanced to start. Given the current setup i cant be too picky.

6

Could you get something like a hd58x perhaps? That’s warmer neutral and pretty pleasing with most genre, and impressive sounding as well

For a stack if you wanted to simplify it, the topping dx3 pro and the topping pa3 stack nicely