Trying a different take.
Yes there is better higher end gear, price differences tend to get larger and larger to realize obvious differences. Value is in the eye of the beholder.
If you upgrade things to asymmetrically there will be a weak link in the chain that holds other things back.
You don’t run a $5K Abyss 1266 Phi TC off a $100 Schiit Heresy.
There is no point buying a Lampizator DAC to feed a $100 amp and headphone.
Generally the most audible differences are in the transducers, i.e. Headphones, Speakers or Phono Cartridges.
So start by finding what you like there.
Then worry about the rest of the chain.
Pretty much imo. Figure out the headphones/speakers/iems you like, and then go for the chain after that, your setup will only sound as good as the weakest link
Although that’s a fun thing to do from time to time lol (now you have me curious to see what the liquid spark sounds like with the lamp dac)
No, no, of course not, that’s an incredibly dumb setup, but it does fall into the “why not if I have it type of thing lol”. Clearly it was extremely helpful to do something like this when I was trying out the topping e30
There will always be something newer, bigger, better. Sound quality is a subjective experience so be careful whichever direction you chose to go. Have a deep wallet and desire to chase your goals to the end. Time is your friend and “good enough” will get you through many hours of music and movies till you can find that elusive piece…remember that.
Yes, I would recommend against just jumping on the newest hotness unless you can get a listen for yourself and actually see if it’s right for you and really is an upgrade
To take a different angle, IME, some headphones under $400.00 has worked well for me. I love my Meze 99 Classic’s and the Sundara’s have been a revelation. The jury is still out on the Fostex TH-610’s.
Absolute bargains are Senn HD58X headphones and the Liquid Spark amp.
Heck, I still enjoy my Sivga 006 and refuse to buy a “better” closed back because of them. Good enough works for plenty of things in life. I still drive an ‘04 …she runs…most days😂
Appreciate your answers. This is pretty revealing to me.
The sound quality and experience is so good that for me its almost as good if not better than having the musicians playing right in front of you.
I will surely take on all the advice in here. And for now enjoy what I got until I can really step up.
From what I can tell, it will be hard to go back to entry once you go higher and higher.
I think my next step is to buy a decent desktop amp.
I see a lot of people recommend the Asgard 3. Is it the best desktop amp out there for something like the Sundara? Regarding my tastes in music, for some reason I’m equally enjoying the colder Dragonfly Red and the warmer ifi hip-dac. So I’m no longer worried if an amp is a bit more warm or neutral.
Nowadays, what is considered to best desktop amp for headphones at the level of the Sundara?
I think the asgard 3 will give you more control over the headphones and with more impact, you can use your dragonfly as the dac for it if you wanted too. It would be a different experience, the a3 is more balanced and works well at providing power for the sundara. Another good option at a similar price range might be the jds labs El amp ii, which is a tad warmer and smoother and sweeter sounding imo, both are great
I mean personally I would only spend around up to 250 on a headphone amp for the sundara, as after that imo I think the money would be better put into a higher end headphone
Reading threads like this makes me glad I’m a part of this forum. It’s rare to find a place where no one shits on other people’s quests for sound even though they may be on a completely different level of their exploration in the hobby.
I think a lot of good points were made here. What I can add is that I’ve had a few “WOW” moments as I worked my way up in this hobby. That being said it was mostly, if not all, headphones or speakers, not amps or dacs, that gave me that WOW. First was my very first set of entry level open and closed backs, next was my first set of bookshelf speakers. Then I got the Neumann NDH20s and they “wowd” me in a way I can’t exactly describe because a lot of people don’t really like them, but they are perfect for my taste (although I admit the price may be a bit too much for them). The Elex “wowd” me in every way possible. The jbl 530s also “wowd” me in just about every way.
What I’m getting at here is, get yourself a decent amp and dac setup, and almost always put more focus on the headphone or speaker.
I agree, this is a great forum, filled with folks who are knowledgeable in their own experiences, helpful, never condescending, and alway courteous. Yea to all!
I love my Sivga 006 too… one of those great performers for the dollar. I put the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x in that class too, even more so with a ear pad mod. So, I was in the same boat as you, until I ugraded to a headphone amp… Curiosity set in So, now in similar fashion, I buy yet another bang for the buck headphone the Sundara.
I’ll drop my opinion on this question now. when you jump from $10 to $50 and from $50 to $100 and from $100 to $200 and from $200 to $500…and even from $500 to $1000, though to a lesser extent than the other price brackets, there are great leaps and bounds in the gains you make to your audio quality. after that it’s becomes more nuanced and one headphone will do a niche better than the others. so if you have the budget for that level of product, you can sift through and find what you like for niche reasons. this is for headphones. after $100 for DAC and amps now, it’s all about nuance.
the jumps in quality are very apparent in soundstage, imaging, comfort, build quality (comfort and build quality are really big things that go up when you pass the $1000 mark as time is taken to tweak), and such.
of course, as the prices go up, you also get to pick on nuances still, but they’re minor in comparison to the other factors.
I listened to some decent headphones…Meze 99, Gradeo GW100, Alara’s and then tried the Focal Stellia…headphones that are 10 to 20x the price of the others. it was apparent how much better they were in EVERYTHING…even against high end headphones like the Arya. however when I put the Focal Clear’s on…headphones that were half the price of the Stellia, the differences were muddied and it became more about the nuances.
So, now in similar fashion, I buy yet another bang for the buck headphone the Sundara.