This audiophile-sprout needs a reality check and DAC and AMP recommendations

[jools]

Yeah, the DX5 was where I first started. It got great reviews here and ticked most of my boxes with regards to digital inputs. And price-wise it also would let me get a Sennheiser HD6XX or even let me get the HD800S with a little extra money added.

But then I made the mistake and read about the DX7, which were even better. And the new, unreviewed DX9 is an even bigger flagship.
So I had to stop, step back and think some more.

If I can EQ to my likeing, and get a DAC that is pure/clean like what most toppings measure(I hope I understood these technical parts of the reviews), maybe something like the DX5 is fine now, and for years to come? If HD800S is what I want next, my wife would probably not approve of the upgrade after that one, hehe.

Any DAC in the excellent category on the big list (the blues) or probably any of the greens will sound the same. All that matters are features and styling. I have DX3 Pro+ and it's been great for me. But my next step is EQ for room correction. When this comes up a lot of people comment on how to do it with free software but if you want the same correction from TV (optical), PC (USB) and phone (Bluetooth) then it has to be in the DAC (unless you want to go digital to analogue and then back for DSP and then back to analogue...) As far as I know that means either RME ADI DAC or MiniDSP Flex. My RME arrived this week and I'm swapping it in today. I'll be sad to take out the DX3 because its great, a better size (for me) and the display is exactly what I want and the RME doesn't have bluetooth (adapter on the way but that's additional expense, hassle and stuff. On the other hand, the RME will let me go balanced (which may or may not make any difference, probably not) and I can get a UMIK and start to learn about room correction which seems like the biggest upgrade available to any of us who aren't doing it. And as a bonus, my expectation is that the RME will be totally reliable for years to come and although I've had no issue with the Topping I don't have that same confidence.

 

[Robhimself]

Any DAC in the excellent category on the big list (the blues) or probably any of the greens will sound the same. All that matters are features and styling. I have DX3 Pro+ and it's been great for me. But my next step is EQ for room correction. When this comes up a lot of people comment on how to do it with free software but if you want the same correction from TV (optical), PC (USB) and phone (Bluetooth) then it has to be in the DAC (unless you want to go digital to analogue and then back for DSP and then back to analogue...) As far as I know that means either RME ADI DAC or MiniDSP Flex. My RME arrived this week and I'm swapping it in today. I'll be sad to take out the DX3 because its great, a better size (for me) and the display is exactly what I want and the RME doesn't have bluetooth (adapter on the way but that's additional expense, hassle and stuff. On the other hand, the RME will let me go balanced (which may or may not make any difference, probably not) and I can get a UMIK and start to learn about room correction which seems like the biggest upgrade available to any of us who aren't doing it. And as a bonus, my expectation is that the RME will be totally reliable for years to come and although I've had no issue with the Topping I don't have that same confidence.

I still haven't decided if I should go with a dac/amp combo or a stack. The RME ADI-2 has definitly been praised lots of places, but if I decide that I want a stack then I need to look elsewhere. I do love the aesthetics of the topping D70pro + A70 pro. And both measures waaaay into the blue I do want to point out that I will mainly use computer and headphones. But hopefully what ever I buy will last a decade or two, and I don't know if I've added speakers in my office/cave by then.

The UMIK and doing room correction stuff sounds pretty interesting

 

[Rhamnetin]

I still haven't decided if I should go with a dac/amp combo or a stack. The RME ADI-2 has definitly been praised lots of places, but if I decide that I want a stack then I need to look elsewhere. I do love the aesthetics of the topping D70pro + A70 pro. And both measures waaaay into the blue I do want to point out that I will mainly use computer and headphones. But hopefully what ever I buy will last a decade or two, and I don't know if I've added speakers in my office/cave by then.

The UMIK and doing room correction stuff sounds pretty interesting

The RME gets you built in PEQ, the Topping stack gets you a headphone amp with a lot more power which you probably don't need with your current headphones. I'm not sure what the RME uses for volume control, but the Topping stack gets you a preamp with relay switched R2R volume control, while channel balance varies per unit if using a potentiometer instead.

 

[JIW]

The RME gets you built in PEQ, the Topping stack gets you a headphone amp with a lot more power which you probably don't need with your current headphones. I'm not sure what the RME uses for volume control, but the Topping stack gets you a preamp with relay switched R2R volume control, while channel balance varies per unit if using a potentiometer instead.

The RME uses digital volume control controlled by its DSP in combination with different analog output levels. You can read about the digital part in the manual on page 94 and 95.

 

[Count Arthur]

I've had an RME ADI-2 for a while and been very happy with it. The recently added Remote app, which allows you to access the settings, and particularly the EQ settings, which I found fiddly using the controls and the screen on the unit itself, is the icing on the cake.

I wish it had more than 5 bands, but, as far as I'm aware, there aren't any other DACs that offer this together with a very good headphone amplifier.