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Dueprocess

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I've been a long-time reader here, mostly for speaker / amp / DAC reviews. I'm looking to get a desktop setup for headphones, a s I've done some digging, but I haven't really paid enough attention to all the headphone / amp reviews on here to have a good understanding of the landscape.

I wanted to try wireless (Apple Airpods Max have such great distortion measurements), but I'm worried about the latency... so it looks like wired may still be the way to go.

My current setup is a Motu M4 and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880s (got the cans before I found ASR). The Motu makes a great mic preamp, but its headphone amp is lacking. The Beyer's have too much low end distortion.

The setup needs to handle music and gaming. I do prefer open back headphones (typically play music through speakers when gaming), but I'm open to closed if there's a performance benefit.

For headphones, I'm prioritizing low distortion (the Sennheisers all seem to have a substantial rise at the low end that scares me) and decent EQ (I don't mind EQ'ing myself).



I'm looking for feedback re:
1. Amps:
Seems the Monoprice 887 is an absolute steal? Am I missing something, or is it really within a couple dB SINAD at 50mv and competitive power-wise with SOTA units despite being so cheap? Is there a flaw to this unit I'm unaware of? Is there a different unit I should consider? What's the "class leader" at the moment?

2. Headphones:
Can anyone with the Airpods Max comment on the latency when paired with a PC? The distortion measurements for these headphones are excellent, and wireless would be convenient. I don't like the idea if AD>DA using a cable... is there a USB cable you can use for these, to feed them digital when wired?

What other options are there with good low-end distortion? Seems that under $500 or so Hifi-Man is the best option?

Thanks all!
 

DVDdoug

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but I'm worried about the latency... so it looks like wired may still be the way to go.
Latency is simply delay. It's ONLY an issue if you are a musician or singer trying to monitor yourself while performing, or if you are watching a video with the sound lagging the image.

Some of the music I listen to has 60 years of "latency"! :D
 
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Dueprocess

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Latency is simply delay. It's ONLY an issue if you are a musician or singer trying to monitor yourself while performing, or if you are watching a video with the sound lagging the image.

Some of the music I listen to has 60 years of "latency"! :D
Understood... it's a non-issue for music. I'm worried it might be a problem for gaming.
 

NiagaraPete

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Overall your Motu M4 gets great marks. You may be hard pressed to find a real improvement audibly speaking. The Airpod Max I have not listened so I can't comment. Check the review index.
 
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Dueprocess

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Overall your Motu M4 gets great marks. You may be hard pressed to find a real improvement audibly speaking. The Airpod Max I have not listened so I can't comment. Check the review index.
The headphone amp portion of the M4 seems to perform pretty poorly relative to newer offerings... I think as a total package (ADC / DAC / AMP) is a great deal, but it's definitely not a relatively high end performer.
 
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