I mean more fun might be the modhouse argons or dekoni blues if you don’t want to wait, but personally I would still prefer the 4xx. The nighthawks are a pretty great headphone in build and comfort, but the sound signature is fairly hit or miss with most people
Are the Nighthawks a little too dark for most people? At least, that’s what I’ve heard from some folks around here. I mean, if anything I’d still want to hear that wider soundstage too through planars, which the t50 mods apparently aren’t that great in that department.
Well the nighthawks have a pretty wide presentation that is dark, with a strange transition to mid range and bass, and a somewhat different timbre that some feel is a muddy dark mess, and some find a super enjoyable wide, bassy, detailed, and enjoyable signature
How about the Phantoms? Won’t I need to modify those to get the best results?
Yeah mods would improve the sound, but also I don’t know if I would say they are more “fun” then the 4xx, but different. Personally I am not a big fan of the phantoms, but others really like theirs. I think at the same price I would rather take a sundara, HE560v1, or a HE5se (which actually might be up your alley as I think it’s a more fun 4xx)
The only issue with the 560 and the 5se is that they need a fair bit of power to sound their best, so a more powerful amp would be worthwhile if you were looking to step up to them
So for something like the HE5se, I’d need something more than a JDS Labs Atom? Would the Liquid Spark suffice, or what amp would you recommend for those that still maintains a transparent output? Will I also have to swap out the DAC?
You could keep the dac, but I would say you would actually want to step up to something like a schiit asgard 3 or something with a similar power level
https://www.schiit.com/products/asgard-1
It’s a good value imo because its a great amp with a great amount of power but might end up pushing your budget
Just saw the thread for the SE. Goodness. I also noticed you recommended the 789 as well so that got me freaking out for a hot minute lmao
Well that would improve it further lol but the asgard 3 can push them to a satisfactory quality imo
Okay, that’s fair enough. I’ll keep those in mind if I really feel like playing the long game lmao
Yeah the cheapest entry into a desktop thx right now is the smsl sp200
Part of me is just really tempted to dive in the deep end, knowing damn well I’m gonna wait a long time for that to happen. But at the same time I’m incredibly impatient for things so it’s just a back and forth with me at this point.
In amps or headphones? (or both lol). I think that the headphone will typically make the biggest difference, and tbh with most headphones the atom and a good dac will be more then fine for most. Then you could focus your budget on getting better headphones and getting bigger bang for you bucks. That being said if you went with the asgard 3 and the 5se, they imo punch above their price range a fair bit. It just depends on what you are after
Also if you do start streaming, wearing iems or a closed back (or a semi open) will be a good thing for your audience so the mic doesn’t pick up the headphone sound leak
Uh, does all of the above count? lmao
Like, I wanna have a setup that works really well overall, and something that for sure I’ll be happy with for a long period of time. Chances are I might really like the budget setup with the Atom and 4XXs, but I also really like the prospect of getting more pricey gear and seeing how that turns out. Plus the idea of grabbing different headphones for different use cases (streaming/gaming, casual listening, etc) sounds fun, despite the pain it’ll ought to bring to my bank account when I get started.
Lol can confirm on the pain to the bank account and enjoyment aspect. I would say that if you plan on getting multiple pairs, just stick to something like the atom and d10 stack and go for other headphones as well. Like for streaming perhaps you could get something like a dt770 250 ohm, use your 4xx for some planar fun, and a 58x or nighthawk for a more warm and relaxing signature
Edit: and an ad700x for super tryhard comp gaming lol
I kinda like that idea a little more than simply grabbing the Asguard 3 with the 5se and be done with. Though that curiosity remains for me on whether I’ll like the experience just as much or if not more having something as powerful as the Asguard or 789 on hand at the start. Is it probably overkill for me at that moment, definitely, but will it be fun for me either way? I guess there’s only one way to find out.
Well the nice thing about trying a range of good either entry or midrange option is that you find out your tastes and preferences, and it makes getting something higher up that you would like easier because you know what to look for, so you don’t end up buying something you really dislike
Regarding the amps, really they won’t make as much of a difference compared to the headphones themselfs. You could get an asgard 3 and d10 (or just the asgard with the built in dac for roughtly the same price) and pretty much be able to power whatever you wanted (within reason), but I would say the atom is actually the more transparent amp where the asgard is a bit colored, but still good
And I can imagine if I really wanted to be that guy, I’d just go straight to the 789 lmaooooo
Anyways, that’s a fair point, grabbing a bunch more headphones with that setup would make it easier for me to figure out what might be good or not for me. One thing I can say for sure is that I do value transparency more than anything else with amps and all that so something like the atom would suit me just fine, it’s just finding the power for beefier headphones would start being the problem, though I imagine at that point I would have already changed that amp out for something else.
Well tbh really you don’t need that power for most headphones, just really hard to satisfy ones like some of the t50 mods or older hifimans. Or some other headphones like an audeze lcd or something. The atom can handle most you would reasonably throw at it
So it is possible to still use the atom on something like the 5se and have it work well?