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Looking for first audiophile setup

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Jun 10, 2021
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Hello,

I've been along time listener on my computer using the motherboard.
About time I switched over to become an audiophile for better music quality.

Headphones - Drop HD6xx / HD 660s
Headphone amp - Topping A50s
DAC - Topping D50s
P50 power brick

Can everything be bought for around 750 euro / $915 (europe based)
These are my initial outlines of the products to get.
Good enough for switching from computer motherboard music?
I would appreciate your opinions.

Thanks.
 
OP
H
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That's a solid set up. Depending on your motherboard's audio quality you may not need the DAC.

Highly recommend downloading PEACE/Equalizer APO to EQ the headphones.

Thanks, as that it my initial idea to start me off.

Running X570 Aorus Ultra mboard - Realtek ALC1220-VB codec
On Linux - PopOS distro atm
Using Steelseries Artic 5 headset

I should have mentioned that above, but that's the current gear I have.
Looking to move into better gear, so standalone units.

Pre planning to use this gear (apart from the dac) for when I get a turntable/phono.
 

Berwhale

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I wouldn't bother with the P50 unless you like the look of the stack and the simpler cabling (from a power perspective). I would also wait and see how the new Topping EX5 is priced when it's released. Having balanced outputs is a real plus if you ever plan on connecting powered monitors to the system. You should also consider the Topping E30/L30 combination as it's a fair bit cheaper and is likely to give identical results from an audio perspective (you would loose the Bluetooth capability of the D50s).
 

weasels

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you'll notice the biggest difference replacing the Steelseries with the Sennheiser.

I found the 6XX is definitely workable without an amp, but the bass after equalization is better with a separate amp (i'm using a Schiit Magni 3).

I actually have the same motherboard and can't swear to hearing a difference with an external DAC (I have a D10 on my desktop) but I also use the DAC with a laptop where it definitely makes a difference.
 
OP
H
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I wouldn't bother with the P50 unless you like the look of the stack and the simpler cabling (from a power perspective). I would also wait and see how the new Topping EX5 is priced when it's released. Having balanced outputs is a real plus if you ever plan on connecting powered monitors to the system. You should also consider the Topping E30/L30 combination as it's a fair bit cheaper and is likely to give identical results from an audio perspective (you would loose the Bluetooth capability of the D50s).

Yeah, I'm looking at a better power delivery and reducing sockets. I hadn't heard of the EX5, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for that one.
Thanks for this information about balanced outputs.
D30 Pro / A30 pro is more expensive, the HD660s still viable with them?
I like the idea going down to the L30/D30, as I've no need for bluetooth.
 
OP
H
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you'll notice the biggest difference replacing the Steelseries with the Sennheiser.

I found the 6XX is definitely workable without an amp, but the bass after equalization is better with a separate amp (i'm using a Schiit Magni 3).

I actually have the same motherboard and can't swear to hearing a difference with an external DAC (I have a D10 on my desktop) but I also use the DAC with a laptop where it definitely makes a difference.

Strange world, both having the same motherboard.
Never had expensive headsets, always kept them to around 100 euro.
I'm eager to start somewhere, as the sennheiser seems the general start point.
I keep hearing, having an external DAC, compared to the computer dac is worth the investment.
That leads to headphone + amp to complete the upgrade.
 

Berwhale

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D30 Pro / A30 pro is more expensive, the HD660s still viable with them?

Yes, the HD660s are not difficult to drive and will work with pretty much every well measureing HP amp mentioned on ASR.

I have also been considering the D30Pro/A30Pro stack as a possible upgrade to my x50 stack. This would mainly be to get balanced inputs to solve a ground loop issue I have with my PC (I'm currently using an optical connection to my DAC to isolate it from the PC). However, the EX5 looks like it will be a neater solution that will hopefully be a little cheaper.
 
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Altogether, plenty of good information so far.
Nice options to start me off with amp, dac, and headphones.
I don't mind upsizing or downsizing from my initial list of A50s, D50s.
 

STF_YVR

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660S+D50s+A50s+P50 is my current WFH desk setup and I love it. Did you pull the trigger ?
 
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