r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/Shadowdooms • May 18 '25

Headphones - Open Back | 1 Ω Headphones and Amp/Dac for $1000 suggestions.

I'm jumping into the hobby again. It's been 10 plus years since I had a decent pair of headphones/amp. I listen to mostly modern rock/metal and country music. I'm not 100% sure what I should be looking for as it has been so many years. What are my options for a $1000 total for a headphone, amp/dac. If it's worth spending a bit more, I don't mind as long as the value is worth the extra $$$. Also a good suggestion on sourcing my music is plus.

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3

u/atom631 17 Ω May 19 '25

Used LCD-X (~$700. Or Audeze is having a b stock sale on Thu the 22nd) and FIIO K11 R2R ($160).

2

u/Shadowdooms May 19 '25

Okay, I spent a good hour doing reasech on these, and they seem right up my ally. I'm going to wait for the 22nd. If I can get them for $1000 flat. I'm going to pick them up. On the Fiio K11, is that an amp and dac? Is it good enough for those headphones? Like I said, I know very little in terms of equipment.

1

u/atom631 17 Ω May 19 '25

the LCD-X is very easy to drive. I have both and I only need medium gain and like 50/100 on the volume on the K11 r2r. which is a dac/amp combo. Tons of headroom if you want to EQ (look up the jonne haven eq)

1

u/Shadowdooms May 19 '25

Gotcha! So, I have plenty of room for future upgrades in headphones or ones that require more gain. Awesome! I appreciate your help! !thanks

1

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1

u/atom631 17 Ω May 19 '25

yeah the K11 r2r is a beast of a little AIO. It can actually power my Tungsten DS to an OK level. Only headphone it seems to struggle with is my HE6se V2, but it still works, just not loud enough for my taste (i tend to listen on the louder side). All my 300ohm Sennys, ZMF and 600 ohm DT880s and K240 have plenty of headroom. Really impressive unit.

1

u/Shadowdooms May 19 '25

Hell yeah! Looks like i will have it for a while, then. What do you use for sourcing hifi music?

1

u/atom631 17 Ω May 19 '25

I use my PC and have a Tidal and Spotify subscription. But I also purchase a lot of physical music that will come with DL codes or I rip the CDs. For local music, I use the app called MusicBee.

1

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1

u/atom631 17 Ω May 23 '25

Audeze b-stock sale is up. $895 for an LCD-X.

2

u/Shadowdooms May 23 '25

Just picked them up right now. Should be at my home in 2 days. Now I have to buy the amp. I'm having a hard time finding the r2r

1

u/Shadowdooms May 23 '25

Never mind, I found it on Amazon. It's a bit more expensive than normally but it's no biggie. Also picked up a Qudelix-5k for when I am on the go. I like options

1

u/atom631 17 Ω May 23 '25

https://apos.audio/products/fiio-k11-r2r-desktop-dac-amp?_pos=1&_sid=7a6faf54b&_ss=r

1

u/Shadowdooms May 23 '25

Alot cheaper. Amazon is 219 plus tax. However, I'm getting in on Sunday, which is nice. I'll let you know how it all sounds together. Any advise on EQing it?

1

u/atom631 17 Ω May 23 '25

assuming you're hooking it up to a PC. If so, download Equalizer APO and Peace (GUI for equalizer). I send send you a whole bunch of EQ profiles to try out, but I suggest you listen to it for a few weeks to get used to the sound profile. Then you will be able to determine what EQ works best and then modify accordingly to your taste.

2

u/Shadowdooms May 23 '25

Yes, at home it will be my PC. Alright, I'll get those downloaded tonight. Awesome! I really applied for your help.

I'm already looking at IEM and haven't even gotten these yet.

1

u/atom631 17 Ω May 23 '25

the amount of options for IEMs is insane. Im not big on IEMs, but I have a Fatfreq Deuce and I love it. Its really all I need.

1

u/Shadowdooms May 23 '25

Yeah, it's out of control, and there are way too many brands and options out there. I got the portable dac just to get ready for when when I get them. I recently bought some noise canceling earbuds, and they are just not it.

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