So far, my only pair of headphones that I use are the hd598cs, and I’m looking to upgrade to an open back set as well as upgrade by purchasing a dac and amp (preferably separate). My goal is to buy a nice set of open backs (mainly looking for detail and music listening enjoyment, with a nice soundstage for some casual gaming, and perfect reference tone being decently less important than the others), a clean amp (either solid state or tube depending on the headphone), and a clean dac all for under $500 total.
For headphones, I’ve looked at these options:
HD58x. I really liked these since they are the cheapest option for such a good headphone. I was also very intrigued because they use a vey similar driver to the 660s, which is arguably the best of the 600 series. If I buy this one, I’d probably take the foam out to make it sound even closer to the rest of the 600 lineup. I’ve heard they do well with tubes, but being 150ohm, the difference isn’t too crazy.
HD6xx. From what I understand, these are a classic and most audiophiles have one in their collection. Very amp picky so a good amp is key for this one. I heard they pair really well with tubes but can sometimes be very average on solid state. I would honestly prefer to have a solid state amp before I eventually upgrade to tubes. However, if it is an absolute must that I get a tube amp with these, I would be okay with that option.
HarmonicDyne Zeus. Okay these would definitely kill my budget, but they get such great reviews, and they really seem to excel in all of the aspects I am looking for being detail, soundstage, and being fun to listen to music on (what I mean by that is not boring).
DT880. Apparently the best beyer that isn’t crazy expensive. Lots of people like these, but I feel like for me personally, I sway more towards a sennheiser headphone for their sound signature and comfort rather than these. Please feel free to change my mind if you feel strongly for the dt880s.
TYGR 300r. I would probably really love these for gaming, mainly due to the really good imaging and soundstage. However, I don’t think they compare as well to other headphones when it comes to music listening (which for me takes a slightly higher priority than gaming). I can’t find these in stock anywhere, so I haven’t really considered them, but decided to include them here anyway.
HE400i / HE5xx. Haven’t read into these all that much, but I determined they were most likely the best around $200 planar magnetic headphones. Great reviews, people love them, but from what I gathered, there wasn’t anything too special about either of them. I may be wrong about this, and if so please let me know because I am willing to learn more about both of these headphones.
Amps/Dacs/stacks/etc:
INITIAL NOTE: Portability is not a problem for me, these will just go on my desk.
JDS Atom Stack. This was the option that I landed on after looking at budget amp/dac stacks. It was between this and the Schiit modi/magni (heresy), and I decided on JDS because of its arguably superior sound.
Topping L30. I heard the early models of this amp would literally explode and kill headphones, which instantly makes me suspicious of going with this amp. Are they still having these issues or were they fixed? If I went with this amp, I’d pair it with either the d10s or the e30 (I cant figure out the differences between these dacs).
Little Dot Mk2. This is the tube amp I’d probably go for if I decided to go with a tube amp. I’d like to eventually make my way to a darkvoice, but this is the best budget option I could get currently. Dacs I’d pair this with would be either the topping d10s / e30 or the jds atom dac. Any better budget dac options to run with the LD Mk2 other than these?
xDuoo MT-602. It’s a tube hybrid, nice and cheap. Not as authentic as a real tube amp, but can somewhat replicate the tube sound.
SMSL. I’ve heard they make some of the best audio products out there, but I don’t know much about their budget options and how they stack up against others at the price point. If any of y’all like a budget SMSL amp or dac, please let me know.
Combo amp/dacs. I liked the Fiio K5 and the Topping DX3. Both are great combos, but as I’ve said before, I would prefer separate units for later upgrading and interchanging. They’d have to be a for sure good deal to go with over the other amp and dac options for my budget.
With all this in mind, I’d like to ask the community here for advice with deciding what to pair with what and what are realistic options for me to buy. Some amps aren’t going to go well with certain headphones, and that’s why I’m here. I’d firstly like to know if there are any super good options for headphones or amps/dacs that I have left out. I also would like to know if there are any great headphone/amp/dac pairings with what I’ve listed already. They’re all great options, but I’d like to hopefully narrow down to my specific preferences being great detail, a good soundstage that still maintains adequate imaging for gaming, and a very enjoyable tone that may elevate my experience listening to music such as rock, hip hop, pop, or even edm. Again, looking to buy only one headphone, one amp, and one dac, and the total budget is $500. Feel free to ramble on as much as needed to get your point across. I’d much rather you overexplain something than underexplain it. Anyways, enough from me, y’all feel free to ask me questions and fuel my newbie brain with your own preferences and experiences on the matter.
I think listing what music genres you most prioritize and your impressions of your existing headphones - including what you like/dislike about them will take you far in this thread.
You have done a good job researching and listing your understanding on a lot of product.
One thing not mentioned is the Sennheiser’ 6__ series rather tight soundstage, which can be limiting as related to the gaming element.
i agree with @lrjshabaz . you said you wanted open back. all open backs in the entry range have flaws. by that i mean, they sac something, to keep price down. and for whatever reason, more so then closed back in the price range. having a better understanding of musical tastes and what you like/dislike about your only pair of headphones, will give us the ability to help you a lot more.
also, what country do you live in? that limits options. but im guessing you are in the states. in which case there are many many more options then the ones you listed.
That’s the thing that’s keeping me from only looking at senns. I really like their good detail/enjoyability and especially comfort but wish they had better soundstage. Are there any headphones that fit in my price point that have great soundstage but don’t lack in my other important preferences?
I agree. I think for me I mostly like overall detail in music but something specific that I look for in music is being able to hear the complexities of different hip hop / edm mixes or clear sounding guitar strums/picks.
Here’s the different playlists I have for different genres:
Hip Hop:
This one’s been in the making for years, the main artists to take note of are Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd (LLTY3 album), Playboi Carti (favorite new edition to the playlist), Don Toliver, Jack Harlow
Rock:
I really love this group. Dreaming, Birthday Party, Stuck in California, Alright, and Himalayas are my top picks from them.
This entire album is so freaking amazing. Drugs and Fumes are both great for those complexities I’m talking about. Circles is great for guitar sounds, but fair warning gets loud at the 2:30 mark. Crash (same artist, but vertigo album) is great for both complexities and guitar.
EDM:
I used to have a larger EDM playlist, but this one consists of all of my personal favorites.
This one is pretty outdated but the songs on this one generally have more complexities than the fully Monstercat playlist.
–
These area all pretty much the different genres of music I mainly listen to. Hopefully all this extra info helps narrow down which headphone or even amp would work best for my taste.
For the stuff that you mentioned including gaming the 880 might be worth looking into because of its imaging. If focus is music the sundara is also a phenomenonal headphone that I really enjoyed at that price range. Haven’t heard the 880 myself but for the sundara it does many things for a great price, great treble, mids decent bass, very detailed and cohesive. A lovely headphone, just might lack impact for some.
Sundara are one I’ve for sure looked at, but being like the Zeus at $350, it would be hard to fit it in along with a good dac and amp. That’s mainly why I listed the 400i, because I heard the new 2020 version is much better and compares well against Sundara in value for their different prices.
If you buy new that is very true. Would be an issue to find source gear as well. Consider buying used if possible most of us buy and sell to be able to buy gear. Because frankly it’s a money that does require money and most of us ain’t made of money lol. Sundaras go for 265 regularly on the used market.
Sundaras on the asgard and a cheap 100 dollar dac would be dope. (asgard used might be similiar to new price tho because it’s on backorder sadly atm)
I haven’t heard the magni myself, only heard the asgard myself. But I know that fro mthe schiit amps it’s quite loved, the asgard and has tons of power. I used it even I a high sensitivity iem and it had tons of headroom while on other amps it would go up to deafening levels with a slight move of the knob. Just a great sounding amp, loved it, clear sounding with great depth at a ridiculously good price. Heck to an extent I was almost liking it more than the liquid platinum but maybe it’s just because it was new haha
Yeah if I went with a cheaper headphone and had more to spend on an amp, asgard would probably do pretty well with something like the modi. I’ll probably look into how it compares to the JDS stack, since I had pretty much decided that JDS is the best option for me to go with for a $200-250 stack.
Based on a lot of this music and the things you’ve mentioned, I’d lean into Zeus.
They’ll take up an appropriate part of your budget if you peak it up by $50.
They’re not going to be demanding from a power perspective, gives you + stage/image, “fun” tuning that should accentuate attributes your music likes.
Any of the basic stacks should be rewarding. Maybe the Atom is wise here, as the power requirements are not big and the synergy of it should be good.
Regarding Magni/Asgard, if that $100 is not a huge piece for you, I think it is really worthwhile - almost alone for the build/form factor/functionality. It has a big dollop more power that is future-proof regarding power save for a few things. The house style of Schiit’s discrete amps lean into the warmer/less-austere end of the spectrum - so I like the synergy with cans that lean more into the neutral/bright signature.
I’ve pretty much decided that for my amp and dac, I’m doing the Atom stack, and then later plan on buying a darkvoice tube amp or some other true tube amp. For headphones on the other hand, I had originally thought that the 58x would be really good because it “uses a 90% similar driver as the 660s” but asked around and figured out that it’s not really the case. While being a great option at its price, I was told that the 6xx is a much better option, and later buying tubes would make me fall in love with the pair all over again. Although I really like to hear that the Zeus has a really great soundstage, I’ve asked around about those headphones as well and it turns out the soundstage makes it sound “muddy” which I’m not sure what they are referring to when they say that but it seems to be a negative quality. I also heard people say the bass can be very bloated, and that the dt880s would be a better headphone in this aspect (slightly less soundstage, but much better tone and detail). I’ve pretty much landed on the 6xx or the dt880 and starting with the atom stack, and later getting tubes. Then much later in the future, id most likely grab an endgame amp and dac, probably the thx 789 etc. but that’s a different topic for a much later date.
Sundaras and a Schiit Stack … whatever you can really spend. If $500 is a hard limit, go Magni/Modi combo. If you can ante up or save another $200, you can get yourself the Asgard or Magnius with a Modius and you’re good for a long time.
Would recommend go for some powered monitors for your desktop listening after this or down the road and have yourself all in on an excellent little intro hifi setup (maybe the JBL 305/6 or Adam T5V) for under a grand that you could be fine with for 10 years or could be sent into a deep depression because you’re broke after spending all of your savings on audio equipment.
ive definitely been recommended the asgard/magnius + modius, and may look into it. However when it comes to the magni + modi, most people i talk to prefer the sound of the atom and that the power of the atom is well enough for even the 600ohm dt880s.
I like’em both. I don’t think you can go wrong at this price point. Buy American, Buy Chinese…doesn’t matter, you’re getting a good product and you get choice.
I do think Asgard/Magnius + Modius is an audible upgrade over any of the ~$200 stack combos. The JDS stack at that next level is very nice, too.
I own both of those headphones, so I enjoy them. You’ll ultimately need to make your own choices. Your “endgame” will be very different by the time you arrive, you’ll probably never think about the 789 again after two weeks from now.
Get something and fall in love with music for a bit. Both headphones you’ve mentioned as targets will be good with OTL tubes in future (provided you get 250 or 600 ohm variant of the DT880) The Atom amp will just barely have enough juice to push the 880 600ohm to max volume, is my guess. It also might not be the most synergistic pairing.
You listen to many inputs, this is good. However, I asked previously what attributes you like/dislike/would change about your Senns, and it provided little. It is telling. But, this is the pathway of material goods acquisition.
You’ll make a decision shortly, but after that point, please listen to the headphones then. Your music, new music and determine what YOU think about these things. The path from there or the mere arrival there can be rewarding to some.
most of us buy and sell to be able to buy gear. Because frankly it’s a money that does require money and most of us ain’t made of money lol. Sundaras go for 265 regularly on the used market.