Obligatory I’m an indecisive newb who needs equipment advice post.
I have a disintegrating pair of Sony MDR-100ABNs, a Sony NW-A35 Walkman, a need for noise isolation, hatred for ANC and a dislike for on ear headphones. I want to step up my sound game on a budget, fix my current headphone needs and be able to fill some holes in the future.
If you were me would you get a pair of Blon 03s and a $100-$150 portable DAC/AMP? Would you get something like a pair of Shure 840s and upgrade in the future? Something else entirely?
Gotta say I’m glad my headphones are currently held together with duct tape cause they led me to finding Z reviews and the forum.
I have a slight preference for actual headphones but it’s more of a 60/40 split than a solid preference, would like to have a decent set of both eventually. I was thinking about the portable dac/amp because I spend a lot of time listening at my PC and I don’t think my walkman will work that way. I’m not opposed to a stationary dac/amp but it’d be nice to use one with a laptop.
Ah, so something like a fiio q1 mk2 and then some nice iems? You could get a blon 03 for a more wide and relaxed sound, and a ZS10 Pro or ZSX for a more aggressive in your face sound, and have two nice iems and a portable dac/amp for 200 usd
Or you could pick up some 1more triple drivers (that might be a bit on ear though), Coolermaster MH751’s or Creative Aurvana Lives (might be close to on ear as well) instead if you wanted a headphone instead of multiple iems
Hmmm. My musical choices are a pretty wide range so I’m not 100% sure what would fit classical, synth, rock, psybient and narrations the best but I’m leaning towards the blons.
Do you think it would be worth stepping up to something like the topping NX4 over the fiio in case I get something harder to drive in the future or would it be better to save for a more stationary setup up later?
I think I’d rather save up and get a more mid-rangeish over ear than an entry level if the IEMs can carry me. Should I get something neutral until I’m more certain on what sound I prefer? Sorry if I’m all over the place, I’ve crammed a lot of new info in my head over the last few days.
Personally I think you should stick with the q1 mk2 as imo it’s the better value and if you were looking in that price range, the xduoo xd-05 or ifi idsd nano black label is more capable then the nx4 imo.
Regarding that wide of genre, for iems, the tin t2 would cover that fairly well, as they have a more somewhat flat response and a wide soundstage
If you wanted something that could handle that wide range of music, something neutralish would be beneficial. What price range are you thinking when you say mid-rangeish
Lower end of mid-range cans (according to the reddit guide) at $150-300 or so. If I already have something that does a decent job at noise isolation I may be able to swing something open back for quieter hours.
The tin t2(pro?) sounds like a good move considering they’d be less likely to need fussing with on day one.
If you had to own only one amp/dac for would the xDuoo for a while be a decent fit?
The XD-05? for sure, its a solid unit that can easily power most headphones/iems with good features.
I mainly am talking about the regular t2’s as I was not a fan of the tuning on the pros
In that price range, you might be able to swing a used NDH20 if you are lucky, or something like a used DT177X GO. Something new in that range would be the akg k371, the MSR7, and the dt770 250 ohm as those would be slightly more neutral headphones then others and would isolate well
I think I might know what I’m going to do. I’m going to get the tin t2s for now and agonize over future proofing vs cheapness with theXD-05 vs the q1mk2 for for a little bit.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question! I really appreciate your help with this.
There are actually some mods you can do to increase the bass (that I can’t think off of the top of my head), and you could always get a cable with an inline mic as well
