I jumped in on a THX, SMSL-SU8, and HD6xx. Never had that “wow” moment but was happy with the sound. Now trying other headphones I can tell where I’m missing out by not using the HD6XX. I don’t know that I would love this setup more if I started with a lower priced entry equipment, but I know I don’t like going down to that level now haha.
If I knew then what I know now, I would start closer to the bottom and built up to more middle of the road where I am now, and possibly not end up with the equipment I have currently because of that path.
Granted I’m newer to all this than a vast majority of the board, but I think you did it the right way.
Measurements look excellent on both. Both use the AKM4493, so I expect they’ll sound similar. The SMSL has more color options and a smaller footprint. The Topping has a remote and no icky USB micro connectors. For $20 more I’d go Topping, personally, unless color or space are important.
Not sure my opinion will be the most popular, but given that you’re just starting out and already amenable to growing and expanding, I like the THX amps from a strategic perspective. They have plenty of power, 1/4" + 1/8" + XLR outs, and the option to go balanced later (which you may want to explore at some point). They’re very clean, and some may say boring, but I’ve found that a great way to learn about the different characteristics of various headphones. Drop has the SMSL SP200 right now for $260 and they cut the price of their own 789 to $299. A couple of their “Drop Studio” collab headphones may be purchased as a bundle that knocks another $20 the amp–not a big enough deal to go out of your way, but something to know about.
If what you want most is performance for cheap, there are better options. If what you want most is room to grow, I really like the THX amps as a solid place from which to branch out.
The Sundaras seem to be getting a huge amount of buzz lately. I’ve heard good things about Aeon Opens, too, or at least I did until the cry for Sundaras became deafening. I only have the 4xx of those, though.
There’s no wrong point to start–all depends on budget in the short term and intent in the long term. I’ve got a friend who jumped straight away into Elegia and Elex, and is now eyeballing some ZMFs as a 3rd headphone–his view was that he didn’t want to spend a lot on this hobby, so he aimed to skip by entry level headphones and go big.
I can offer that 4xx are very nice, but I fully expect that Sundara outclasses them. If you’d prefer to spend a little on headphones now and get acclimated, the 4xx are a good choice. If you’d rather go bigger toward something you won’t outgrow so quickly, maybe Sundara? I’ll let the folks who have heard those comment on whether that’s a good idea.
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BTW, what do you have as a music source? E.g., Spotify or Tidal or FLACs or something else?
So I agree with the overall sentiment, but imo from my experience thx limits growth in terms of higher end headphones, they are fine for most mid-range things, but once you get into higher end headphones, you are going to be hurting your performance using thx imo
I spent the last couple of years growing incrementally from entry level. The journey was frustrating, educational and expensive.
On the cheap side I LOVED the Liquid Spark amp and Senn HD58X’s. Everything else ranged from mediocre to horrible. And then you have to resell your old gear, at a loss of course.
I think a great entry level system would be a Liquid Spark, E30 and a set of HD58X’s. That is cheap and you can also go open box, sale or used.
If you wanted to start higher, you could look at Sundara’s, SMSL SU-8 and Asgard 3. Again, you could also look at sale, open box and used. This setup would keep your attention a lot longer I bet.
High end, to me, is my current set-up of Elex’s, Sundara’s and Liquid Platinum.
If I could go back, I would skip a lot of that mediocre entry level stuff. Buy less, but better stuff.
Yall are totally right that I probably wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate something like the Sundaras (or the Asgard 3 for that matter) without having tried the ‘cheap’ stuff first. That being said, I know I’m not going to like having to upgrade multiple components at a time, and selling some of the old stuff I wouldn’t use anymore will be annoying for sure. I like to future prove myself when I can. I’d be pretty bummed going with say a Liquid Spark and 4XXs only to find out that the next set of cans I’d like to get wouldn’t work well on that amp and have to invest in a new amp as well.
I’ve looked at a lot of those ‘beginner’ headphones and not many grabbed my attention (at least to start with). 6XX didn’t interest me. 880s didn’t interest me. 58Xs didn’t interest me. There are so many more I can’t remember right now. I do like what I’ve read about the 4XXs, but the Sundaras have been regarded as ‘better in every way’ to the 4XXs and the Sundaras would likely be the next set I’d go after (as of right now), so why not start there?
I use Spotify. Probably would stick with that for the time being. Down the road, I would be interested in ripping some of my CDs to FLAC for experimentation sake. Not sure if I’d switch to Tidal, I’d have to better research their library of music to see if it would be worth it for me.
I think it all depends on how you want approach this hobby. I think if you are looking to try a few things and settle in on one you like and stick with it, go for more of a casual approach, buying the sundara + a3 is a solid choice imo.
But I think if you want to really dive into the hobby, starting with the entry level and working your way up with different headphone + amp + dac combination is worth it, it just depends on how much you want to get into the hobby
Hmmmm. I guess my focus right now is the music. I don’t really care to be doing a lot of swapping and trying different sets of equipment, at least not for a while. I’d like to settle in with something, and then down the road I’d probably look to try some different headphones out. I’m not sure I’d want to do any testing with amplifiers side by side or anything, besides just an upgrade in the distant future, maybe though. I certainly don’t expect to see myself experimenting with different dacs. Right now, I’m more interested in finding the sounds I enjoy than I am finding the nuances between different setups.
Hmmm. Well I mean I guess you really wouldn’t be missing out on a ton by getting something like a asgard 3 and like a e30, but for the headphones if this is the case then I would start a bit lower than the sundara imo
I want to clarify that is just my mindset and don’t have intentions of experimenting with headphones any time soon. I want to start with what I think I like, stay there for a while and see where my tastes develop. Sundaras seemed like they’d be good for that, no?