Newbie Need Help before I waste cash

Ok so I can feel myself falling down a rabbit hole (hence the name) but I don’t want to waste a bunch of cash without some help. I’ve been reading for days and I’m still not sure what I want to do.

I listen to tons of music but usually in my Bose QC 35 II wireless(had them for like 4 years…). I take these everywhere but now I’m stuck at home and I’m bored so I started looking at headphones. I like my bose but I’m interested in upgrading to something better while I’m at home.

I have my eye on the Drop 6xx. But I know my desktop wont drive them.
I’m looking at the Monoprice Liquid Spark ($100) and also the Drop Standard DAC ($80)

But If I can go cheaper to drive them correctly that would be great too. I need help. :wink:
Would the IFI Zen Dac work? Or would the FX Audio Dac X6 works?

Can I get one of those cheaper (IFI/DAC x6) and get an amp later and still use those.

Thanks! I don’t want to waste money but I also don’t want to be let down when I do start buying stuff.

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You can use the DAC on your computer and a amp now. Amp is most important besides headphone. Youre only getting a 6xx so i think most dac/amps would be fine including a FX amp/dac. If your getting into higher end headphones youthen might want to upgrade

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do you like the sound signature of your Bose? the 6xx is quite different… it would pair nice with the liquid spark but I wouldn’t recommend the zen with the 6xx (not sure about the fx audio stuff)… as for a dac the usual recs are a topping d10 or e30

Edit: just thought of this… a good way to try out the sennheiser sound would be a 58x which would be fine with your onboard audio

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I would rephrase that a tiny bit. The amp is not the most important, however in the absence of gear the best return on money spent IS spent on the amp for up to a $100. Sorry to nitpick.

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i meant besides the headphones

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Right, I agree with you there. I maybe just tired, but basically I’m just concerned someone goes for THX amp without a DAC and wonder why they can’t hear anymore details. Probably and extreme extrapolation I’m over exaggerating.

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Oh you mean over a DAC? Well my reasoning there is sometimes some computers have decent on-board DAC’s. I think amps are more important than DAC’s because a DAC is no good if you cant hear your headphone. I guess in order i believe Headphone > Amp > DAC. But of course all 3 is ideal

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The liquid spark is an excellent amp and so is the sdac being a good dac but I would personally get the topping d10 first just a better dac in terms of measurements and build quality. The k5 pro is pretty good if you want to go cheaper I wouldnt get the Zen dac unless you want to run balanced and I wouldn’t get the dac x6

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I was in the same spot about 8 months ago. My forum thread is HERE if you are interested. After months of researching and watching reviews, and chatting on these forums, i finally made up my mind on a budget setup.

I end up getting the 58X, D10 Dac, and JDS Labs Atom Amp. Cost me a about $450 CAD + Tax. I am very happy with those 3. The headset was lacking a bit of bass for my liking, but an EQ fixed that. Now i’m looking to upgrade the pads on it to make it more comfortable. Later i also added the Antlion ModMic Wireless to it to make it into a gaming headset. $150 CAD +Tax

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Strongly agree here. There will be almost no high end with this pairing.

I disagree somewhat. This pairing will have the same basic problem as the 6xx + Zen pairing, albeit to a much lesser magnitude. Both the Zen and the LS have a warmer signature with rolled off highs, but where ths LS does this subtly, the Zen does so somewhat aggressively.

I think you have to know you are very treble sensitive or just like a dark sound to do either of these pairings. I’d recommend an Atom or a Magni Heresy to drive the 6xx.

This is good stuff for the op :+1:

I’ll stand by the pairing as I personally enjoy it (even more than the heresy) but really we just need more insight to what they’re after

So much so that it’s not a problem but more a preference

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Well i guess the real question is, what exactly do you wish to upgrade soundwise? want more treble? clarity? bass etc, do you have something you dislike about the bose sound? I think first we need to figure out the headphone u would want, and then decide on what amp to pair it with since amps can make or brake a headphone. For example, i have a audioquest nighthawk, which is very BASSY which is fine if you want to use em as bass cans but if i want them to be more of an all rounder i just pair them up with a brigther/neutral amp like my xduoo. If i wish to make them have even more bass lol just hook them up to the spark. so i think you should get an amp based on the headphone first

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Hi Everyone, thanks for all the replies on this. I really appreciate your time.
I mostly will use these headphones for music. I do play PC games but I’m not worried about that as much. (I have a hyper X headset that I use for chat) I listen to rock music (classic and modern) and a lot of sound tracks (hans zimmer, john williams, ect).

What I want are good headphones/equipment to make those types of music sound good. I think I’m pretty settled on the 6xx because a lot of the videos I saw said they were a good first pair of higher quality headphones and also that they were pretty neutral.

I understand I cant get much cheaper than say $200 to drive them properly. I do not want to use the onboard sound on my computer. I don’t even use that for my hyper x headset because the drivers are awful for it.

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6xx should serve you just fine then paired with a liquid spark/jds atom/magni 3+ (I’d avoid the heresy here personally) and a topping d10/e30 :+1:

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Thanks. I appreciate it.
I haven’t ordered yet but I’ve got some stuff in my cart. :slight_smile:

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What do you think about this:

Its a little cheaper than the D10 or Schiit DAC. I’m going to get the liquid spark amp.

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It’s pretty good how much cheaper is it than the d10?

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Sorry its cheaper than the D30. D10 is same price basically.

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not that it’s audible the d10 measures better so if its the same price I woudl go with that

sry, im confused, if they are the same price, you would rather get the D10? or the SMSL M100? and why?