What next? Looking to move up from <$200 kit and not sure of my next purchases

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
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I need some recommendations for where to go next with my setup. At this point I feel that I’ve gotten the most I can out of the <$200 audio equipment range (maybe not?), and looking at the <$500 equipment range is daunting. My impression is that it’s a little tougher to buy and flip equipment in this range so I want to be careful.

I’m open to all suggestions. <$500 items is my limitation (maybe a little over, but no $1000 headphones). Not that I have immediate budget for this, but I want to chart a roadmap for my next several purchases over the next year.

I’m a relative noob, got into headphones back in March with the lockdowns. It’s become a great hobby, and I want to keep expanding my setup. To me it’s all about the experience. I want to experience music in new ways and have fun doing it. I find different technologies in amp, dac, and headphone/iem to be interesting. I like trying to hear and understand the difference between a single dynamic, vs single BA, vs a hybrid iem. Or a planner headphone vs dynamic driver. And on and on…

In the end, just having fun and passing the time. And I’m not sure where to go next. I have some ideas, but first here’s where I’m at today to give this some context.

I’ve bought and sold through a few different amp/dac setups:

Audioquest Dragonfly Red
Schiit Fulla 2 (sold)
Audioengine D1 (sold)
Schiit Magni 3 and Modi 3 (sold)
Topping D10 (sold, and regret it)
Aune X7s (sold)
Schiit Hell (sold)
Fiio BTR5 <-- iem daily driver
Topping E30 <-- current daily driver
JDS Labs Atom (sold it)
JDS Labs EL DAC
Topping L30 <-- current daily driver

In terms of audio source I stream Tidal. I do this a few different ways:

  1. Dedicated laptop running Audirvana, USB to DAC
  2. Chromecast Audio streaming from BubbleUPnP on my Android phone
  3. Bluetooth from my phone to BTR5 via Tidal App
  4. USB dac connected to phone I use USB Audio Player PRO

(I got into the CCA streaming while demoing Roon, nice convenient Roon endpoint. Couldn’t bring myself to pay for Roon, but oh was it nice! So I run Audirvana on the laptop and stream wireless with BubbleUPnP until I can stomach the Roon price tag. )

Headphones:
Beyerdynamic dt770 80ohm (sold)
Audio Technica M50x (sold quickly)
Sony MDR1 (sold)
Grado SR325 (sold)
SHP9500 (sold)
Fostex M50rp MKii
Beyerdynamic dt770 250ohm
Koss kphi30
Sennheiser HD6xx <-- daily driver
Hifiman HE-4xx
Grado SR80e

IEMs:
Tin T2 (sold)
Campfire Audio Comet
Blon bl03
Ikko oh10

My thoughts for next steps on headphones/iems:

  1. I really want to try the Sony cd900st, but is it worth it? I don’t have anything Japanese in my collection, and they look like they could be really interesting. Closed back “neutral” would be good for office use…
  2. Sell the he-4xx and buy hifiman Sundara to get a better planner magnetic experience
  3. The new Tin P2 looks interesting, I’ve not tried planner magnetic iems yet
  4. Shoure Tape Pro look interesting as well for being electrostatics
  5. Drop Panda look interesting for a bluetooth travel set, plus a solid office use closed back
  6. T60 Argons are high on the list, if they are ever available again
  7. DT800 600ohm? With more powerful amp?

On the dac/amp side I’m really lost. I get so much goodness out of my E30/L30 I really don’t know where to go next. Asgard 3 looks good, but is it enough different to be worth it? Balanced amps are interesting, but for what? More power? Lower noise? Without a headphone upgrade I’m not sure I would benefit much here. Tubes may be a good direction, but that feels like a lifestyle choice (need more hipster attire). Lately I’ve been looking at the RNHP as an interesting option. But again, is it worth $500 without upgrading my headphones?

And should I even start considering snake oil? Such as power supplies? Cables?

Ok… Thanks everyone! Any comments or suggestions are appreciated!

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out of curiouosity why the regret on this one cause it seems you got a e30? whats wrong with the e30 or was the d10 just that great?

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also to help out a bit on the amp side when deciding your next amp think about what headphones you wil for sure buy and what amp pairs well with it. or how power hungry those headphones are. the asgard for expample does really well and would have a noticable difference in power delivery for harder to drive headphones like a 600 ohm 880 which is known to take power really well. the extra power in something like an asgard would appreciate pretty well with planars as well or even if your considering the argons. if you are getting IEMs I wouldn’t really look to upgrade the amp and just keep what you have maybe instead look into the portable side of things.

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Flexibility. The D10 can do optical out. Nice option for hooking up one USB source to it and then driving multiple dacs with an optical splitter.

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I agree, the asgard 3 is a really good option that will give me flexibility with power hungry headphones. I definitely want to try the dt880 600ohm at some point. I also like that it has a little Class A flair that will be interesting on any headphone.

But is it different enough from the L30 to be worth it? Should I skip over the A3 and get something else that’s more unique?

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I’ve been thinking iFi hipdac or xduoo xd-05 for portable. Lots of power, but not the most convenient. Good for office or coffee shop use cases. To me balanced output is a must have for portable since all my iems are wired balanced.

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sound wise probably not but the power gain you get is a nice upgrade. but if your happy with the l30 as you SS going with a hybrid amp or tube would be a nice addition especially with high impedance beyers

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Im nhonestly not the best to ask for these as re4cently for on the go Ive been kinda letting go wired solutions more and more and have delved fully into TWS IEMs

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How did you find the Atom vs L30 set-up you stuck with?

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I’ve really enjoyed the L30, no complaints. With my headphones I didn’t really hear a significant difference between the two (mainly listening at the time with HD6xx and HE-4xx). I honestly kept the L30 because I love the E30 DAC, and I’m a sucker for a matching stack. Today I mainly listen with an Asgard 3 (driven from my E30 DAC). But the L30 is still stacked on top of the E30 :rofl:. Don’t get me wrong, I really really enjoy listening to the L30. But to me it sounds very similar to the Atom and Schiit Heresy / Magni amps. If I A-B compared enough I probably could tease out differences. But to just sit down and listen and enjoy music, the L30 is very nice.

I will say though, I’ve come to appreciate build quality more and more. The L30 is nice to touch, feels special. The Atom feels like “I got a good deal”.

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Haha - call me superficial but exactly the same, would like a nice tactile metal box. And Schiit is impossible to buy in europe.

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I’ve heard good things about the Asgard 3 and e30 combo. If you are after a matching stack then maybe you could plan for an Asgard 3 + Modius? I think you would notice an improvement across all your headphones if you decided to upgrade your source gear.

I have the RNHP and I don’t regret deciding to put money into better source gear once I found some headphones I was happy with. The subtle refinements that better source gear brings are worth it to me and make me feel like I’m really hearing my headphones to their full potential. The RNHP is sort of a specialized amp and is somewhat picky with headphone pairings so keep that in mind. It’s probably not the best for driving some hungry planars (haven’t tried myself) but it makes my dynamic drivers sing.

As far as mobile sources I’ve been very impressed with the Lotoo Paw S1. I went through a few before I settled on it and I prefer it over the Dragonfly Red and the Hip Dac. I’m terms of sound I think it feels more natural and effortless than either of them.

It has more body to the sound than the DFR and the form factor is better since I can run a USB C cable directly into it without having to mess with bulky adapters. The display while minimal is really nice for giving you the basic needed information. If you like playing with EQ it has some decent presets. I don’t really use them but some people see that as a benefit. Last big benefit over the DFR is the 4.4 balanced output. It’s really cool to have that option in such a small package and it gives a little more power to my full size headphones.

Compared to the Hip Dac the S1 isn’t as powerful, but the other benefits outweigh that for my use case. I prefer the sound of the S1 because it feels more natural and also a little clearer in imaging. The Hip Dac has a nice warm sound which pairs well with some headphones but can be too much with others. The imaging also feelt a little more fuzzy to me compared to the S1. I did however really enjoy the XBass feature on the Hip Dac and it’s something I miss sometimes. It was fun to have when you really wanted a track to rumble and it helped me enjoy some bass light headphone a little more on bass heavy genres. Form factor is where the S1 really won for me. It’s something I can truly throw in my pocket and use easily on the go. The Hip Dac was a little too cumbersome and the cables were hard to deal with for on the go use. It was great for taking place to place and then using at a desk, but I didn’t ever use it doing things like working in my yard (where I listen to a lot of music). I also like not having to worry about a battery dying on me. The Hip Dac would need recharged at random times and it wasn’t easy to now how much bettery it had left. The S1 may kill my phone quicker but it’s not that noticeable and I would much rather have only one device to keep charged.

Anyway! Those are my brief thoughts. I figured I would share because it sounds like you have a very similar way of thinking to me. I’m just along for the ride. I’m not necessarily looking for a specific sound signature. I just want to experience what is out there. Enjoy! Curious to hear what your next moves will be!

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Thanks for the detailed response. I’ve thought about a lot of headphones and source equipment for my next purchase. But I’ve decided my next move is going to be a bluesound node 2i. I currently use a Chromecast Audio for streaming, and I like the flexibility of not being tethered to a usb DAC. The Chromecast is nice but I can tell the audio quality from it isn’t as good as it could be, and it’s limited in source format as well as output format. The bluesound is a little spendy (~500$), but I think it will add a lot of simplicity and enjoyment to my setup. And it will buy me time to make my next purchase decision… leaning towards a headphone upgrade… likely a set of Sundara…

My actual upgrade this Christmas has been cables. I’ve jumped in on the hartaudio cable system and ordered cables for all of my cans, as well as the adapter set. They should come in next week. I obviously don’t expect a sound difference, but I like the feeling of high quality materials - in my head the overall experience is improved. And this also sets me up to move to balanced someday.

On the amp side I’m very interested in an RNHP, I’m really curious what the sound difference is to my ears… But I just got the A3 and I want to enjoy that first before making a change.

DAC wise I’m leaning Bifrost2 or JNOG right now.

And portable I have no idea, I’m easily swayed right now by every review of new equipment in the portable category. I need my opinion to solidify more here… But wow the new Deathonray H1 looks AMAZING!

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My bad! I misunderstood. I didn’t realize you already have the A3. Yeah it should serve you well for quite a while.

From everything I’ve heard from those who have tried it the RNHP + Bifrost 2 combo is very, very good. I would talk to @j.fopps and @ValentineLuke since I know they have that combo and enjoy it. I just purchased the Modius with some Christmas funds but my goal down the road is to get the BF2 at some point and be done with DACs for the foreseeable future. That would be my most expensive audio purchase so far, so I’m going to have to work up to it. I would think the BF2 should also pair very nicely with the A3 in the meantime until you decide to go for the amp upgrade.

Love the Hart Audio system! Have them for my headphones as well.

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I actually don’t own a Bifrost, but it’s very well regarded by many ears I trust. I did listen to one with various amps at the Schiitr, and it is a very good DAC (again, not having heard it in my own listening environment).

The Modius is a great balanced DAC for $199. I preferred it to the D90 (on loan for a few weeks). It has a very musical presentation that’s on the warm side, imo. If you can source it via AES it’s even better, though the micro Unison USB is very good.

The RNHP is one of my favorite headphone amplifiers. It’s accurate and musical, which is no small feat. I traded one away for a Chord Mojo (I owned two), but I imagine that I’ll always have at least one, it’s that good to my ears.

Cheers!

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Thanks for giving your 2 cents and clarifying!

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Bifrost 2 is an excellent DAC that i personally enjoy significantly more than others more expensive than it, the RME ADI-2 being one of them. Also, it pairs extremely well with the RNHP. I have many amps and a few DACs here currently, and by far my favortie chain right now is the Bifrost 2 >> RNHP >>Focal Clear.

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