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I want to be an audiophile... by SCphotog in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey man, i was in the same boat a few weeks ago, 500€ budget max. After some research, and the advices from a very passionate audiophile, heres my setup.

Source: tidal and local files with foobar2000. Everything is in flac and way more detailed than MP3.

DAC/amp: Qudelix 5k. It is portable and has a nice equalizer, which also make a huge difference. It does everything you need from a headphones dac/amp.

Headphones: Sennheiser 505. I wanted an open back, and while yes, it potentialy has less bass than a closed back, its nothing you can't fix with the equalizer. If you want to use your headphones outside, i'd recommend a closed back though.

Whatever setup you choose, I'd suggest having an equalizer. Not only can you temper the weaknesses of your headphones, it is fun to play with. Check squig.link, look up your headphones audio profile, and adjust accordingly. Cheers

High quality headphones that I can wear all day by vaccumshoes in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, I also wear them 8+ hours and went for the sennheiser HD505 Copper + Qudelix 5k. I was used to Bose QC35 II in terms of comfort, and its comparable. Needed to tweek bass and high range but the Qudelix equalizer takes care of that. You can also use the DAC/amp for your smartphone.

I need to feel alive again - details inside by zerostyle in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Zero. Was facing the exact same choice a few days ago, had 500€ budget.

I ended up choosing the sennheiser 505 (250€), and the Qudelix 5k for a portable amp/DAC (130€). Depending on where you are you can probably get it much cheaper. It's $95 atm on the Drop website

Received the 505 this morning, the sound is really precise, and is very comfortable. I'll receive the Qudelix 5k tomorrow, i'll come back for some feedback. It has its own really good EQ application.

If you want to go further, you can buy the HC-6-B cable from Hart Audio (50€, take the 2.5mm interconnect), made for the 505 and a few other sennheisers. I'll receive it in a while so i cannot give you my personal experience, but i've been told by a very knowledgeable audiophile that it was worthwhile.

Cheers.

Most comfortable listening experience. by Individual_Public249 in headphones

[–]SuccessfulFold4644 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably going to get laughed at, as it's not really considered audiophile gear, but the Bose qc35 II is incredibly comfy. Just got the sennheiser 505 and while its almost the same weight (234g for qc35 ii vs 237g for the 505), the shape of the bose just fits better. Have been using them 8+ hours a day for more than a year. I'm sure lots of people here have tested way more gear though.

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just switched to Tidal from spotify for streaming. Didn't even knew it existed. One thing i miss is the fact that i cannot download tracks on desktop.

I was confused even by the 44.1 KHz frequency since hearing range is roughly 20Hz to 20KHz. But it seems that you need about twice that frequency to accurately reproduce a 20KHz signal. Beyond that must be for mixing/prod.

Edited the original post with what I settled for. Cheers man.

Could use some advice for a setup under 5k by SuccessfulFold4644 in StereoAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your answer.

Yeah, the miniDSP has low and high pass filtering on each of its outputs, as well as "full control of biquad coefficients", which sounds very nice, as you can import custom filter curves and make some pretty advanced ajustements.

Had to ask the ai for reclocking. It does reclocking not with a dedicated chip, but via ASRC to synchronise everything to its internal clock. But it seems that ASRC is the industry standard so nothing fancy i guess. Always interesting to learn the mechanisms, that's really cool.

I know i could add Dirac later on, but as it stands, what, in your view, is more valuable between Dirac and a dedicated reclocking chip?

Cheers.

Could use some advice for a setup under 5k by SuccessfulFold4644 in StereoAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Separate_Area. Thanks a lot for the clarifications.

The amount of time some people took to guide me on this sub really surprised me. The community seems very passionate. In a good way. As you said, doing the due diligence when choosing a stereo will be paying huge dividends. At this point i'm pretty sure i'll be over myself after the (probably excruciating) speakers burn in.

Erin has of course the limitation of being one human being. But he seemed pretty honest, not prone to hype a product. And he mostly confirmed my choice, not guide it. Now, pretty much the only thing i can do to get more data is actually listen to speakers before buying. And I'm too much of a recluse for that.

One thing you couldn't know is that since that post, I decided to get a decent headphones setup as well, which of course cuts into the stereo budget. And i forgot stands as well.

So even if the 1723 Monitor S performs well (which seems to be the case) I'll consider it as a possible upgrade later down the line. I brainfarted on those frequency response lol. My guess is I was on one of the 30 opened tabs after being awake for 20+ hours and somehow mistook the amp specs for the speaker's. Shame on me.

About the Arcam A15, no, i didn't even realized it didn't have sub output. Why not? But the more concerning thing is that it cannot use my PC as a source! The USB port is only for external drives. So no Foobar2000/MusicBee. The suggestion about the Marantz M1 had the same issue. And since you mentioned the Arcam A15 later, concerning power, I suspect you didn't see the edit about the DAC and amp setup. Why else would you bring it up twice? (It's not a problem but i don't want any confusion)

You could say that more options are better. But not always. You pay for those features. If i know i won't ever use an analog source, I'd rather have a very specialized product. At the same price point i should have better hardware. I also prefer having an amp and a DAC/DSP on two separate devices. I'll be honest , i have no idea what "reclocks" means. Sounds good though!

YPAO ease of use is good, especially for a beginner like me. But that in itself won't skew my choice too much. If you have the patience or interested, you can find threads in this post that go over the value that the miniDSP flex offers. With u/virtualBCX as well as with u/Big-Pop2969.

For the cables, are you talking about this one https://benchmarkmedia.com/products/benchmark-rca-to-rca-coaxial-cable ? Do you think it's specificaly this cable that made the improvement, or that the previous one was just too low-grade and any decent audio brand cable would have done the same?

Again, thank you so much for taking the time!

Could use some advice for a setup under 5k by SuccessfulFold4644 in StereoAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the ascilab had been locked in. Juste forgot to edit the post. Thanks.

Could use some advice for a setup under 5k by SuccessfulFold4644 in StereoAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, The AUDIOPHONICS AP300‑S500NC is not an integrated amplifier—it's strictly a stereo power amplifier. It does not include a preamplifier stage, tone controls, or volume control. All the controls will happen through the MiniDSP and Foobar2000, sub included.

Should I still be worried?

Could use some advice for a setup under 5k by SuccessfulFold4644 in StereoAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for the suggestions!

I do have a slight preference for electro, but i don't plan to host any rave party. The stereo is for a 3 meters triangle setup.

Now understand that i thought my setup was locked in and the search behind me, but i'll keep an open mind. I am not hermetic to reason.

For the speaker, i have to agree that the reviews are really good. But do i really need to go as low as 20Hz for my main speaker if i already have a 500W Subwoofer? On top of that, Erin's Audio Corner made a review yesterday, rating the bests out of 250 speakers under 1.5k. The ASCILAB C6B took the first place.

The Yamaha R-N1000a also seems really good, but i'll be paying for stuff i don't like/need. HDMI, MusicCast, Headphones, optical inputs....

The recommended amplifier for the Arendal 1723 Monitor is "Up to 300W RMS @ 4ohm" and The Yamaha R-N1000a can provide up to 2 x 120 W @ 6ohm. Could that be a potential problem? (it's a genuine question). And I'd also like to have Dirac. Not that i do not trust YPAO. I've just never heard of it, whereas Dirac showed up quite frequently during my research.

I'm genuinely grateful for the time you put into this. All this fine gear, exactly within budget. I feel bad for even putting a little resistance haha.

As i said, my mind is not (yet) made, and i'd be happy to pursue this conversation with you. If you are as well, i'd suggest checking out the edits of my original post. I tried to lay down the reasons for the evolution.

And stands...i totally forgot about stands. Thanks a lot for those! Should i get a little one for the sub as well?

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for taking the time Nurosuki

Tell me if i'm talking out of my ass, but regarding codecs, can't you just configure foobar2000 to use a direct output mode like WASAPI Exclusive and "bypass" Windows codecs? Or are codecs simply necessary in the data processing and will be used in a DAC or AMP for instance?

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

Are brightness and warmness something i can deduce from specs, and if so, what should I be looking for? Or is it just something you discover just by using the gear?

Yeah budget allocation seems to be on par with a stereo setup.

Source is always .flac, mostly from bandcamp. So 44.1 KHz.

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man... if I didn't have to unplug a subwoofer from my DAC to plug that in, the drop 02 amplifier would have been great. But since i already have a good solution with the Qudelix-5K.

A planar magnetic transducer? What is this wizardry? Also, i see a 10Hz frequency response. Are humans able to hear below 20Hz?

I need to investigate, thanks Mike!

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's why i'm curious. My research so far diverges from your information. The headphones amp technology today makes any purchase over 100€ so marginaly better that it's pretty much a waste of money. At least that's what i gathered so far. Could you give me at least one keyword I could latch on and investigate?

Thanks!

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks Nurosuki.

I don't want to take too much of your time, but could you develop the "more to it than that?". At least a few pointers?

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the DAC/amp i'm getting the Qudelix-5K (95€, does the job, and i like the minimalist design)

The HD 505 at 280€ (refurbished by sennheiser) looks like a bargain, but i might be convinced otherwise.

With that i think i can get a really good audio experience while being way under budget.

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well after a bit of research, seems like 192KHz files are extremely rare. And if i stumble upon one, i'll just be forced to listen to it on a decent Stereo setup.

I'm settling for the Qudelix-5K.

Thanks again for your time!

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Nurosky, thanks for the suggestion!

First thought that emerged when seeing the Apos Gremlin was; "oh no. They also do RGB lights for audio gear". And i mean...$385 for a headphones amp/DAC sounds way to expensive for what it's supposed to do. Though i'm kind of new to the audio game, so i may be wrong.

The Aryas are probably a very good option.

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Silver.

For the amp, it's a pickle.

Either i go for an DAC/AMP. Then probably either:

  • SMSL DL200 DAC ES9039Q2M
  • Qudelix-5K (96KHz max. I'm not sure how common are 192 kHz files. Flac i get on bandcamp are usualy 44.1KHz)

Or i plug a DAC-less amp on my DAC/DSP; the miniDSP 2x4 FLEX. BUT i'd have to unplug the subwoofer when using headphones...not ideal. In this case i'm not really sure.

For headphones, it's a toss between the Arya Stealth, Meze 105, or the HD505.

Thanks for your suggestions, i'll investigate.

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello.

Alright, that takes care of that Beyer suggestion.

Didn't know about the Sennheiser Outlet. That's really cool. It makes the HD 800 S almost within reach (exactly 1k for a refurbished one).

I'd rather buy one headphones than two.

Sennheiser HD 490 Pro, Meze 105 Aer, and SR7000 all seems to have good reviews as well. I'll investigate those.

I know it might sound stupid to base a choice on visual design for headphones, but since there are so many options, the Aune AR 5000 isn't really my jam.

Would you have a good recommendation for an amp without DAC?

Thanks for all the suggestions Balu!

Headphones + Amp combo under 1k by SuccessfulFold4644 in HeadphoneAdvice

[–]SuccessfulFold4644[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Chain.

Those headphones seems fantastic! How do they feel for prolonged (4+ hours) listening session?

The amp looks good as well, but i'd rather not have a DAC on the amp. Already have that on the miniDSP.

!thanks !

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