Decent dac/headphone amp (

[tristaaan]

So basically, i've just bought some Grado SR80i's and although they sound so much better than the last set of cans i had (AKG K430's) i feel they aren't quite giving their full potential. I have been thinking about getting a dac/headphone amp to boost their quality.

I mainly use them on my pc, plugged into the headphone socket built into the volume controls of my surround sound. Doing this does sound better than straight out of the built in sound card, and my iPod Classic. I was just wondering if a DAC/Headphone amp would make much more of a difference, and if so what your reccommendations would be, all suggestions welcome.

I have a budget of around £150 and i've been looking at the FIIO line (E07/E09 combo and E10) as well as a few other older DACS (HRT HeadStreamer, Beresford TC7510 etc)

Thanks in advance guys

Tristan

 

[emperor's new clothes]

I am very pleased with rPac although others have reported reliability problems. Best as headphone amp - analogue output iffy. Easy setup with iMac and 100% reliable.

 

[tristaaan]

yeah i've looked into the rPAC, trying to read up as much as i can about as many DAC-H/Phone amps as i can. though i'm pretty sure that almost any USB DAC i get would be an improvement over the current set up i'm using.

 

[Anonymous]

Aune X1 DAC. Far superior to the rPAC and very detailed, weighty and, for £130 - a steal. Buy off eBay but fom a UK seller to avoid customs charges (potentially) and lengthy waiting times.

 

[eggontoast]

Aune X1 DAC. Far superior to the rPAC and very detailed, weighty and, for £130 - a steal. Buy off eBay but fom a UK seller to avoid customs charges (potentially) and lengthy waiting times.

Is your comparison between the rPAC and the Aune from personal experience or from what you've read ?

 

[tristaaan]

has anyone had any experience with the FIIO DAC's? heard a lot of great reviews about the E09/E07 combo, or even E09/E17. and like Eggontoast said, is your rPac and Aune x1 comparison based on personal experience or just on reviews?

thanks for the feedback so far guys!

 

[eggontoast]

has anyone had any experience with the FIIO DAC's? heard a lot of great reviews about the E09/E07 combo, or even E09/E17. and like Eggontoast said, is your rPac and Aune x1 comparison based on personal experience or just on reviews?

thanks for the feedback so far guys!

I've had the E7 and E09 combo and currently have an E17 & E09 which I use in the office. TBH when I changed from using the E7 to the E17 with the E09 I didn't notice any difference. It is a good combo for the price, the E09 can drive any headphone to a deafening volume with good clarity and bass control. If your going to use the E17 or E7 as a portable amp the E17 is definitely better than the E7, but only marginally. A work college has the E10 which I've used and if you don't need the battery power and portability option I think it is a no brainer really, they can be had for very little money and offer good performance. To sum it up it depends on how much functionality you need, if you just need a DAC/headphone amp for the PC the E10 is a great buy, if you want more functionality start off with an E17 then add an E09 at a later date if you feel you want/need more drive.

 

[fatman]

http://www.firestone-audio.eu/shop/products/allproductslisted/fubar3-mkii.php

I've had a few Firestone Audio products over the years and been impressed..... still use the Fubar4 but this deal looks good for your budget.

 

[Anonymous]

Aune X1 DAC. Far superior to the rPAC and very detailed, weighty and, for £130 - a steal. Buy off eBay but fom a UK seller to avoid customs charges (potentially) and lengthy waiting times.

Is your comparison between the rPAC and the Aune from personal experience or from what you've read ?

Personal experience. I went through 4 rPACs in the shop on returning my faulty one - most disappointing sound even on the 'right' one that was not faulty. The Aune X1 blows it away. Super sound.

 

[SJCT99]

I really like the rPac and have not had any issues.

 

[mitch65]

Aune X1 DAC. Far superior to the rPAC and very detailed, weighty and, for £130 - a steal. Buy off eBay but fom a UK seller to avoid customs charges (potentially) and lengthy waiting times.

Is your comparison between the rPAC and the Aune from personal experience or from what you've read ?

Personal experience. I went through 4 rPACs in the shop on returning my faulty one - most disappointing sound even on the 'right' one that was not faulty. The Aune X1 blows it away. Super sound.

Don't know about the rPac but the X1 is very good.

 

[bemaniac]

i find the rpac flawless with the new firmware reliability wise. I can only compare it to the thing I owned before which is the xonar ST sound card and it's the same but I miss the EQ presets on the xonar. I'm using denon ah-d7100.

 

[Oldskool1976]

Another thumbs up for the Aune X1, I have mine hooked up to a Nad 320Bee and Dali Zensor speakers. Sound quaility is excellent to my ears and everyone who has heard this setup.

 

[tristaaan]

seems to be a lot of love for the Aune X1, looked at a few other forums and reviews etc too, all seem to be saying X1 is one of the best at this price range. Think I'll probably go for that, I'll get back to you all with my thoughts when I've got it and tried it out Thanks for all the feedback guys!!

 

[luxybaby]

I've got an rPac and whilst it does suffer from that drop out problem intermittently (which can no doubt be solved; I've not been that bothered with it to update firmware or even adjust USB bus settings...) it is a cracking piece of equipment - very dynamic and listenable sound that is not tiring, small form factor, pliug and play connectivity and head phone amp. For £150 it's fantastic - Arcam have a deserved reputation for quality DACs at that price point and slightly above.

 

[Ben123]

Sold my rpac as couldnt deal with the sheer lack of bass (its not my headphones). I recommend a beresford if your in the UK. The Tc-7520 (gatored) can be picked up quite cheap on ebay and is my weapon of choice for headphone listening.

 

[Anonymous]

Did you order the X1 tristaan? Do report in please.

 

[tristaaan]

i haven't yet no, sadly i had a problem with the car so had to spend some money to get that fixed, probably gonna be a couple of weeks before i can order the x1, but i'm pretty sure that's what i'm going to go for

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, bad luck tristaan. Do report in when you get it. Highly under-rated in my opinion.

 

[fatman]

Russ Andrews currently selling Firestone Fubar4+ for £126

14day home trial, worth a listen?

 

[tristaaan]

just ordered a fubar 4+ (due to them only being £126 for a while) will report back in a couple of days once it's arrived.

p.s. thanks for the tip off about the fubar Fatman

 

[Bbx1]

Would be good to hear your thoughts on the Fubar. I use AKG701's and was also looking for something reasonably priced with USB. Went for the Beresford 7520 and upgraded the opamps which does a pretty good job for the money. Worked out to about £150 all in.

 

[tristaaan]

So i've had this Fubar 4 Plus for a few days now, given it a good listen. It is safe to say i am thoroughly impressed with the difference it makes.

The bass is a lot tighter, the mid range is more defined and voices are almost heavenly! (compared to the previous sound i had anyway, i'm sure a more expensive dac would bring out even more!) it is definitely doing my cans a lot more justice than the standard soundcard in my computer, and it just keeps getting better the more i use it. Only issue i have now is that some of my music files are a little poor quality (nothing to do with the Fubar) although it does bring out all the deficiencies in my bit rate and recordings etc.

would definitely recommend it if Russ Andrews is still selling it for £126!!