you Could get a cheap amp/Dax combo for the time being. Later you can get a dedicated amp using the fact from the old combo then upgrade the fact later
I would just omit the dac/amp in that case, because then you are going to get similar performance to the motherboard audio anyway
Haha like mon said maybe wait till u get the house headphones and test the different sound signatures. I’m actually starting opposite of you. Started with IEMs and am now switching to headphones. The IEM’s I had are the blon 03, TIN T2, eventually TIN T4. All super amazing and the first two crazy cheap. Well the T2s at 50 aren’t cheap per say but in comparison
Another one that interested me are the Koss stuff, but moving onto headphones I got the DT 770s, 58x, and the 4xx
The ALC1220 would not drive the 4xx well, but the 58x would be fine
Speaking of IEM’s I just remembered that I can’t stand them, I can bear them for a few hours but they do get nasty cuz of ear oils and such and it just makes me wanna die inside when I put them inside my ears.
Currently using the trashy Apple EarPods cuz those are earbuds which I don’t mind wearing (sound is shit tho). God do I need new headphones, I am in desperate need of them and every day spent without them is agony!
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Totally understandable dude, that’s why when I wake up and my body feels oily and greasy I NEVER use my IEM’s. Shower first and then do so, but even so I could see why it would still be disgusting. Sharing them is even worse.
And I don’t get that lol, same guck builds up with the earpods. Oils are there too even if not as noticeable
What happened to ur headphones?
This guy’s is confirmed legit by me and many others
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I do have a pair of Superlux HD681 which are a pain to listen to cuz of the treble and a pair of HyperX Clouds which dont sound that good and are a bit too small for my head, a pair of cheap panasonic iem’s which I dont use cuz gross… and ye the EarPods.
I am just starting in this hobby (altho I watched like a million reviews and know a bit about audio) so I don’t have many headphones
I could try to pull out the HyperX Clouds and dust them off and then stretch them as much as possible to fit my head 
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That’s not always true. You got to take into account potential emf noise, and how hard to drive the particular set of headphones are. 100 dollar dad/amp combos would both have more power then the built in and pick up less potential noise.
Oh I see, what headphone are you eyeing to buy then? And I actually had heard that the superlux hd681 were actually pretty good from JoeNtell.
You could also as weird as it sounds put in the hyperx with the headband at the back of your head instead of the top. Do it sometimes cuz headphones screw your hair up
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Ye I don’t practice the use of headband at the back of my head xD
The 681 sound bright with piercing treble I was putting up with them at first but I gave up the treble is too painful on some music and annoying in general.
I wanna get me a pair of K361/K371 for closed back needs, and a pair of 58X for open backs
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I agree, I’m just saying that I would suggest he just pick up a 200 dollar stack and be done and not have to upgrade later with another dac amp stack lying around. I think that if he decided to go with something like a btr5 and get a stack later on that would be just fine, but I wouldn’t suggest picking up something like a dac x6 or something.
Also typically motherboard audio has gotten pretty good imo and there typically are not that many noise issues (except for a mic input)
Oh interesting, those look really pretty too!
Yo Idk if this is off topic but what do y’all think lf the 599’s they seem really comfy and I can get them for $125, how do they compare to the 58X
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Awesome input from everyone here. The btr5 looks attractive to me because of its portability. My phone doesn’t have a headphone jack either which makes it even more attractive in that regard. But I’m probably not going to take these headphones out of the house…that’s where the interest in a cheap pair of iems came from. But if I was going btr5 I feel like I should go blon 03 or tin T2 at least
Another question - where do you guys get aftermarket cables, tips, etc? Z seems to have a problem with almost every stock cable in the reviews ive seen him do. Is this a nitpick kind of thing or does it make a big difference?
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It’s more of a nitpicking kinda thing, I actually think the stock 58x and 4xx cables are quite good, and aftermarket cables (prob balanced cables) are down the line imo if you really want them
Regarding tips something like the t2 would have great tips and a great cable out of the box, where something like the blon would not. Seal is important for an iem to sound it’s best
Also if you really wanted iems, I think t2’s are the way to go with what you listen to. Also don’t need any modifications out the box either 
Topping D10 is often mentioned for “best cheap DAC” but not the SMSL m100, for more or less the same price… any differences in sound?
The m100 is good but I think the d10 is a bit cleaner sounding to me. Otherwise fairly close. I recommend the m100 sometimes if someone needs an optical in (d10 only has an optical out)
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Obviously I don’t actually know as I haven’t tried them, but searching around the concensus is that the 58x is better. Not sure by how much