The studio 50? Do you mean something like the alpha 50 or the shape 50?
Oops yes the Shape 50
Gotcha, in that case it’s def worth to get a nice dac now, if you wanted an all in one, if you could find a holo cyan pcm, that could act as your speaker preamp, dac, and headphone amp and should be pretty solid (fairly holographic, fast and detailed, good dynamics, built in headphone amp is actually pretty solid), or a soekris dac2541 could be pretty solid although that might be a bit more bright and analytical leaning but still pretty enjoyable, I think it could be a good pick (headphone amp inside is again good but not great). A benchmark dac2 or dac3 hgc is also a solid pick as an all in one if you don’t mind a bit more analytical leaning dac/amp. You could consider a mytek liberty dac ii for something pretty neutral and accurate but still enjoyable to listen to (although the headphone amp is good but not great).
I’m mainly mentioning dacs with a volume control since I really do think you might find it handy to have a volume control on the dac, along with having a good headphone amp. I think the shape monitors are capable enough to make it worthwhile to spend more around the 1k range for a nice dac amp combo to get the most out of them imo
Awesome feedback! I’ll start looking into these and get a feel for each, both used and new. I’ll post up what I can find.
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Don’t shave those bits
I’ve found a Benchmark Dac 2 HGC for a really good price, $800. How would that compare to:
Topping D90 MQA and A90 for $1350 (new)
SMSL SU9 and SH9 for $750 (new)
I can’t find anywhere to compare them, so I’m quite tempted to buy both the Benchmark and one of the other combos to test out and see which I prefer. It sounds like the Benchmark is pretty analytical as Mon said, while the Topping and SMSL are both really neutral… which for editing would be good I think.
Personally I think dac wise, the benchmark is a more competent dac, with better spatial recreation, more impressive dynamics, more detail, and better timbre, but it is also brighter leaning than the d90. For overall stack performance I think the topping stack does have a smoother fr and better tonal density, but the benchmark pulls more detail, better represents space and dynamics, but both have about equal timbre. Personally my preference leans toward the benchmark as long as you don’t mind a bit brighter response imo, but it all depends on what headphones you use, and you can always add an amp onto the benchmark later on
I haven’t heard the SH9 yet, but I think dac wise it ends up being a similar situation above where the benchmark pulls ahead
With the Benchmark I’m really happy, even though I’m still using the Yamaha’s while waiting for the Focals to be back in stock.
I’m going to test out a few headphones too and see what sounds best.
Man, the external DAC is SUCH a huge upgrade, though to be fair at least 50% is just not having interference from unbalanced connections now.
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Glad it’s working out well, very curious to see what you think of the new monitors and how that goes 