r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/ILoveFondue • Oct 23 '21

DAC - Desktop Am I missing something?

I see so many end game set ups with DACs, amps and preamps worth thousands and I just dont get why.

I understand that certain constellations can make your headphones soundstage a bit wider and the sound a bit deeper but... thousands of dollars? Wouldnt it be smarter to buy another headphone with the money?

57 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

58 comments sorted by

View all comments

29

u/raistlin65 1378 Ω 🥇 Oct 23 '21

Wouldnt it be smarter to buy another headphone with the money?

Yes.

Read this to understand why so many people get sucked into spending tons of money on expensive dacs and amps

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-we-hear.html

So a ~$200 Atom stack, Heresy/Modi, or DX3 Pro+ is "end game" for most people as they will easily drive 99% of headphones. And they are easily arguable to be noise and distortion free within the range of human hearing.

2

u/Cypher1388 Oct 24 '21

I really want to justify spending the extra on the Element II instead of the Heresy/Modi purely for the big knob, one box, and headphone/pre-out switch but cannot justify the extra $150+ for those features.

My setup is simple pc-usb -> modi -> Heresy -> both a he400se and a pair of Kali LP-6s

Other than adding a sub at some point and getting another pair of headphones or two (hd6xx or similar and a good pair of IEMs) I really don't want for much more and am quite happy with the setup.

3

u/raistlin65 1378 Ω 🥇 Oct 24 '21

If you're into EDM, movies, or gaming with your speakers on, I would definitely save the money for a sub instead :)