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I made that classic mistake....

Hotwetrat

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When you look back in hindisght and realise you've spent 3 times more on the DAC/AMP then the headphones.

I had a Topping E30 already which has been sitting in a box for a year or so, then decided to grab the Topping L30II - these pair with my AKG K371 which I quite enjoy even without EQ yet - no complaints but still on paper is a bug to realise I spent so much more overall on the AMP/DAC

Backwards moments.

Just venting really

Truthfully I didn't feel there was much real high quality headphone amplifier choice at £100 or under. Still I feel this stack will serve me well if I upgrade the headphones at some point I guess
 

Blaazen

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I bought E30+L30+cables for €320 and Audio-Technica A990Z (closed-back) for €200. I also don't use EQ and I enjoy it much. My future plan is to buy some more expensive open-back headphones (€300 or so).

I can complain some details:
L30 has short cable from its ~15V transformer.
A990Z has some resonances at certain frequencies.
E30 does not show bits, shows sample rate only.

I would buy it all agian.
 

Phoney

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When you look back in hindisght and realise you've spent 3 times more on the DAC/AMP then the headphones.

I had a Topping E30 already which has been sitting in a box for a year or so, then decided to grab the Topping L30II - these pair with my AKG K371 which I quite enjoy even without EQ yet - no complaints but still on paper is a bug to realise I spent so much more overall on the AMP/DAC

Backwards moments.

Just venting really

Truthfully I didn't feel there was much real high quality headphone amplifier choice at £100 or under. Still I feel this stack will serve me well if I upgrade the headphones at some point I guess

Well, you have a very future proof stack there. Atleast you dont have to worry about power or performance when buying headphones in the future. Even the HE6se will be fine on this (I believe). But for people who will not really go crazy with headphones and just want a decent ~100-200 dollar one that is fairly easy to drive, I would just recommend them to buy a dongle instead of a stack. There are some pretty small and cheap ones that can power more headphones than you would think, with good performance. Many of them will have no issue with K731 for example, even without a balanced cable.
 
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Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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My headphones are very easy to drive, which is the best gain setting on yhe L30II - medium ?

Cheers
 

Blaazen

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I'm intersted in this too. My headphones are 100dB/mW and I set the lowest gain (-9 dB) and I'm usually in about one half of potentiometer.
 

Leporello

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When you look back in hindisght and realise you've spent 3 times more on the DAC/AMP then the headphones.
Things like these cannot be avoided entirely because the folly becomes apparent only in hindsight.

Purchased a pair of HD600s twenty years ago. Did not like them enough, so I finally purchased a pair of Stax and sold the HD600. Twenty years later I purchased a new pair of HD600s and realized that in the end they might be better than the Stax. But had I kept the HD600s twenty years ago I would have spent considerable time pondering whether I should try a pair of Stax. Now I know (well, at least I think I know), but only now. Knowledge costs money.
 

Phorize

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When you look back in hindisght and realise you've spent 3 times more on the DAC/AMP then the headphones.

I had a Topping E30 already which has been sitting in a box for a year or so, then decided to grab the Topping L30II - these pair with my AKG K371 which I quite enjoy even without EQ yet - no complaints but still on paper is a bug to realise I spent so much more overall on the AMP/DAC

Backwards moments.

Just venting really

Truthfully I didn't feel there was much real high quality headphone amplifier choice at £100 or under. Still I feel this stack will serve me well if I upgrade the headphones at some point I guess
Don't worry, there was a time when the tonearm on my turntable cost more than my loudspeakers. The cart on the current one costs more than my HD6XX and akg 371s together.
 

nyxnyxnyx

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excessive indulgence? maybe
big enough to be a mistake? no way
you now have a combo to enjoy instead of just a DAC which I don't know why did you buy it if you weren't going to pair it with anything and just let it sit in a box.
 

garbulky

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When you look back in hindisght and realise you've spent 3 times more on the DAC/AMP then the headphones.

I had a Topping E30 already which has been sitting in a box for a year or so, then decided to grab the Topping L30II - these pair with my AKG K371 which I quite enjoy even without EQ yet - no complaints but still on paper is a bug to realise I spent so much more overall on the AMP/DAC

Backwards moments.

Just venting really

Truthfully I didn't feel there was much real high quality headphone amplifier choice at £100 or under. Still I feel this stack will serve me well if I upgrade the headphones at some point I guess
I spent $2000 on the Sennheiser HD800S, a Bas-X A-100, a schiit Loki and a second analog eq. It all sounds fantastic, close to the best sound I've heard.

However, tech has come a long way. I tried the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro earbuds which retails at $160, often on sale for $80. And it's BLUETOOTH. And guess what? After setting it to "Deep eq" mode, I found they are very close to each other in subjective audio quality with the earbuds taking the edge in reproducing left-right soundstage. True there are things the HD800S does better like sheer volume and a more expansive soundstage, but the results are nowhere close to the price difference.
Such a thing wouldn't have been possible a few years ago, but it is now. :)
 
OP
Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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You could always upgrade to better headphones.

I see.jpg
 
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Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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I don't know why did you buy it if you weren't going to pair it with anything and just let it sit in a box.
You're right, you would not know - I didn't give you that information, it wasn't even slightly relevant
 
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Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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excessive indulgence? maybe
big enough to be a mistake? no way
you now have a combo to enjoy instead of just a DAC which I don't know why did you buy it if you weren't going to pair it with anything and just let it sit in a box.
AVa.jpg
 
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Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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You could always upgrade to better headphones.

So, after a couple of hours reflection on this comment, it got me wanting to ask a question.

Which headphones you consider an 'UPGRADE' ('better') and EXACTLY WHY are the headphones you are about to specify an upgrade/better.

DETAILS are required and must target NOTHING but audio fidelity.

Cheers.
 
OP
Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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That is a very difficult question to answer. Understood.

In my HUMBLE opinion I would say it's to do with the capability of the driver, to accuratly reproduce how you tune it/EQ it.

I am a student of this game and I am barely 10% at best into actually understanding.

I like how nobody is able to REALLY answer this yet mind.
 

Doodski

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That is a very difficult question to answer. Understood.

In my HUMBLE opinion I would say it's to do with the capability of the driver, to accuratly reproduce how you tune it/EQ it.

I am a student of this game and I am barely 10% at best into actually understanding.

I like how nobody is able to REALLY answer this yet mind.
There are many options available for headphones. What kind of budget do you have in mind?
 

Rayman30

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So, after a couple of hours reflection on this comment, it got me wanting to ask a question.

Which headphones you consider an 'UPGRADE' ('better') and EXACTLY WHY are the headphones you are about to specify an upgrade/better.

DETAILS are required and must target NOTHING but audio fidelity.

Cheers.


I wish companies would do a better job at explaining the differences across their lineup. Hifiman for example, currently we have the Edition XS Stealth, Ananda Stealth, Arya Stealth, HE1000, Susvara etc. I have heard a lot of the "egg shaped Hifiman" and they seem eerily similar. If you go to Hifiman's site or Facebook group, they NEVER speak about the differences, sometimes I wonder if they are all the same headphone just tuned differently, or in case of Arya V2 vs. older Ananda, better QC.

Outside of that, what makes the Focal Utopia better than a Focal Clear? at what point are we just being bamboozled?
 

Sgt. Ear Ache

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I wouldn't worry about it. You have what would still be considered a "budget" rig there - which will sound as good as pretty much anything else. Imagine if you'd spent $2000 on a dac amp...and it wouldn't sound one iota better! The 371s are great headphones. Maybe apply a bit of EQ if you want...I wouldn't rush out to buy anything new.
 

asrUser

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Hmm sounds like first world ASR problems. It's a budget rig, so no worries :)
 
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