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Looking for an entry level DAC/AMP combo for HD598s (will upgrade later in year to HD700s)

WutDaRut

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Hey I am new here and started to go down the rabbit hole of reading all these awesome detailed reviews on DAC/AMPs that my head is now spinning and don't where to go.

I am looking for a DAC/AMP combo ideally under $100 that will work with my current HD598 headphones - but I do plan to upgrade within the year to HD700s.

My primary use is for gaming - but i appreciate a good movie and music now and then.

So far for the under $100 club I have been looking at:
- SMSL M3
- E10K
- Schitt Fulla

If I push my artificial budget:
- NX4
- Schitt Stack
- D30 + Atom

If there is an item I am missing from the under $100 club please feel free to add. I prefer to stay under $100 but if everyone tells me going up a bit more will be significantly better I may make the jump.

Thanks!
 

jasonq997

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Hey I am new here and started to go down the rabbit hole of reading all these awesome detailed reviews on DAC/AMPs that my head is now spinning and don't where to go.

I am looking for a DAC/AMP combo ideally under $100 that will work with my current HD598 headphones - but I do plan to upgrade within the year to HD700s.

My primary use is for gaming - but i appreciate a good movie and music now and then.

So far for the under $100 club I have been looking at:
- SMSL M3
- E10K
- Schitt Fulla

If I push my artificial budget:
- NX4
- Schitt Stack
- D30 + Atom

If there is an item I am missing from the under $100 club please feel free to add. I prefer to stay under $100 but if everyone tells me going up a bit more will be significantly better I may make the jump.

Thanks!

Is this from a PC? If so motherboard out to Atom for now. Then get a DAC later on. The D30 I would get a good eventual choice.
 
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WutDaRut

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Yeah its my PC - thank you for the fast reply!

I noticed my 598s sound pretty distorted during explosions in games for example. Would a DAC help with that - or is that more of a headphone issue?
 

jasonq997

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Hard to know. The Atom is essentially an "endgame" headphone amp (for most people) and would be a great starting point. Motherboard analogue outputs (headphone out is another story) in my experience are pretty good these days, but your milage may vary depending on what you have.
 

bravomail

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try SMSL M3. if u don't like its amp, u can later add JDS Atom or Magni 3. SMSL M3 will still serve u as a DAC. PC Audio to JDS Atom will work too - but my experience was A-OK, PC looses lots of detail.
 
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WutDaRut

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Okay cool - I will start with the Atom. I actually have a Modi 3 sitting here that I ordered a while ago and never opened because I started to read some so-so things about it. So seems like my plan is buy Atom and test with/without Modi 3. If I don't like Modi 3 I will go with another DAC.
 
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Johnb

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Hard to know. The Atom is essentially an "endgame" headphone amp (for most people) and would be a great starting point. Motherboard analogue outputs (headphone out is another story) in my experience are pretty good these days, but your milage may vary depending on what you have.

I agree. That was what I was thinking the other day while listening to my atom fed directly by the laptop. I can't see why anybody would need more, amp-wise, and an external dac is a small incremental improvement at best. How many times can you say the first product I bought is all I'll ever need? Most of us stumble onto something we really like after wasting a lot of money.

The only caveat is deciding whether you prefer separates or an integrated dac/amp. I mean, aesthetically and ergonomically.
 
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WutDaRut

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Update:

I installed the Modi3 and Atom...and wow. The difference is audio quality is night and day compared to my onboard audio.

Previously if I would play games with high volume it would hurt my ears now I can blast the things even louder but my ears don’t seem to be bothered. Everything seems much cleaner and more pleasant to my ears even at loud volumes.

I’m fairly new to all this - but hopefully that makes sense.

Thought I would provide an update and thank you for your help and input.
 

jasonq997

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Update:

I installed the Modi3 and Atom...and wow. The difference is audio quality is night and day compared to my onboard audio.

Previously if I would play games with high volume it would hurt my ears now I can blast the things even louder but my ears don’t seem to be bothered. Everything seems much cleaner and more pleasant to my ears even at loud volumes.

I’m fairly new to all this - but hopefully that makes sense.

Thought I would provide an update and thank you for your help and input.

Glad this is working out for you. Modi 3 (the non multibit version), according to the measurements in this site is a really good DAC. The combination between that and the Atom is going to be about as good as it gets.
 

garbulky

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If you are looking for something that cheap, I suggest looking for an upgrade set of headphones that are not quite as power hungry. Same advice goes if your other option is hifiman stuff.
Yes the HD700's are 150 ohms versus the 300 ohms - but they still benefit from good beefy headphone amplification. I use the HD600 and I'm about to upgrade to the HD700. I have great (subjective) results with a Bas X A-100 couple to a DAC that has a volume control. That would run you likely at least $500 though. I was somewhat unsatisfied for a decade with my HD600 and now I realize it was all because the headphone amps I previously had simply could not drive it well.
 
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