Well if youāre suggesting over 1k in amps and dacs then itās obvious the poor $150 6 year old Fiio combo dac is at fault here 
My current budget is 1000 euros max for a dac and amp unfortunately.
Yeah, thatās part and parcel when you start getting into this kind of gear, lol. So, when I bought my Clear Mg I had a Modius/Jotunheim 2 stack, and while I liked it, there was a noticeable improvement when I moved up to the Bifrost 2. And I know that Iām not getting everything they are capable of giving me, so sometime before the year is out Iām going to be looking at upgrading my amp to something in the $1.5-$2k range. Honestly though, if you want an expert opinion, @M0N is the one to look to for help. He might even be able to outright tell you if it is just your source gear causing your issue.
I will probably end up getting a high end dac in the price range you mentioned and then a proper amp when I have the budget. Iād rather get the right equipment later than half assed amp and dac now. I can use my current setup I am in no rush. I will have to do my research for some time to get whatās right for me. Hopefully the user you tagged will also help me out. Apologize for my ignorance but as I said Iām new to the high end audio game and Iād like to learn and have a proper setup in the near future.
No worries, Iām still green too. I only started into this back in February. The Modius/Jot2 was the first DAC and amp that Iāve ever had. Iād just been using my HD6XX sourced straight from my PC for years until I finally decided to start doing research and learned that thatās not how youāre supposed to run those, lol. And then I went out and bought the Clear Mg non-Pro the day they launched. Hard to regret that, given how much I love them, but I also know that it probably wasnāt the āsmartā thing to do for myself, experience wise. After all, youāre supposed to start with cheaper HPās and work your way up, figuring out what your preferences are. And I skipped that. 
Now thatās quite a leap. Good for you. Now you can grow into your Clear MG with better and better source gear. Youāve got one hell of a headphone there. Congrats.
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I canāt say I necessarily agree with any of this. I have a simple schiit Magni 3 Heresy and Modi 3 stack powering my Clear MG Proās and I think they sound fantastic. If you read through this thread you will see others powering these headphones with all different amp/dac combos.
If you want my honest opinion - it does sound like something if faulty with the headphones and if they were Open Box, they may have been bad from the start and not properly inspected.
With my Schiit stack I keep my amp at around 11-12 on the dial and it powers them beautifully. I can go up to 1 even if needed.
I just donāt want anyone giving you the impression you have to dump tons of money on an amp/dac when it is possible the issue could be the HP qc.
Just my 2 cents - enjoy the MG Pros hopefully as they are incredible!
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I can appreciate that! I started with gaming headsets for my audio experience (after going from speakers) and then finally made the jump last year to some TYGRās. Then the Zeus and once I figured out what I thought I preferred, I went to the Clear MG Proās also. As I said in my previous reply here - Iām still rocking my basic Schiit stack but still am enjoying them plenty!
Does make me wonder where to go from here when I took such a big jumpā¦but I do want to own some Planars at some point. Possibly Sundara or maybe Iāll just go with another higher end Planar like a nice ZMF.
Love this hobby indeed!
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I keep asking myself the same thing. I know the next thing I should do is upgrade my amp, but Iāve lost count of how many times Iāve been on Amazon or Headphones.com looking at various headphones that do something different to the Mg, and having to talk myself out of buying something. Same with IEMās. Iāve no experience with those whatsoever, and have no idea where to start or what to start with, but I still keep looking at them and going, maybe that oneā¦ 
? Why couldnāt I just be made of money so I didnāt have to tell myself no all the time 
ā¦ 
Upgrading your Dac/Amp might be a good idea but I wouldnāt go overboard and spend a lot on it. Schiit stacks will do a great job. The improvements you get as you move up the chain are more minimal than some people will present it to be. The only thing I donāt know is how much r2r dacs affect the sound of the music played.
I am currently running three different dac\amp set ups. My main set up is a Gustard X16 with a Jot2. I really like it but my ifi zen stack (zen dac and zen can amp) is great too and I could use either and be very happy. The Jot and Gustard combo is more than twice the cost of my iFi gear and couldnt tell you which one is better without AB testing them by quickly changing them. Auditory memory is very susceptible to placebo effects.
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I got the headphone jack adapter and plugged them straight to my PC mobo and Iām glad to report that they sound just average which is a good thing. Nothing wrong with the audio whatsoever it just sounds average because the integrated audio obviously cant run these, they sound like your average 100 dollar headphones but this makes me believe that I need to change my dac and amp asap. Iām still leaning towards the Schiit Magnius and Modius but if you guys have any better suggestions at that price or even a bit more than that feel free to share.
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I love em on the Bifrost 2 / Jotunheim 2 stack but it is very warm, if thatās what youāre looking for.
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Thatās good to know the HP are ok! Too bad on the dac/amp though. Makes me wonder if your dac/amp is possibly faulty too? I just think itās bizarre it would do that to those HPāsā¦but then I have no personal experience with that stack so my input is baseless 
I hope you find something better to go with them that doesnāt break the bank too bad. Again, read through this thread and I think you will find plenty of options available.
ZMF do not manufacture planars. They specialise in Beryllium coated dynamic drivers
You might be confusing them with Audeze or Kennerton
Doh - noob mistake. Yes I remember nowā¦Iāve just used dynamics so no wonder I was drawn to those.
Considering the sig I seem to like I will probably need to try an Audeze LCD-X I am thinking at some point.
Only the Verite Open / Closed tho
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Really glad to hear that they are fine. But yeah, without knowing which way you want to take the sound, any real recommendation would be tough. The Mg itself leans neutral-bright, though it is warmer than the OG Clear. So thatās something you should keep in mind when thinking about what you want to pair it withā¦
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I will get the JDS Labs Element II for the time being as itās the fastest to ship here and then later down the line I will be upgrading to something more serious. Was gonna get the Schiit Modius and Magnius stack but theyād take 6-8 weeks to ship meanwhile I can have the Element II here within the next week max.
I was going to recommend the Element II and you might even decide to stick with it. 
I have a fairly new set of MG Clear Proās that I will be parting withā¦anyone interested send me a PM.
Very good headphones, I just have too many set of cans hereā¦need to thin the heard!
Alex
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Be sure to list in the buy/sell thread!
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