Headphones and DAC on a budget

[markhooper32]

Hi, I have a small budget of £200 and was hoping to be able to buy headphones and a DAC to use with my onkyo av receiver I have been looking at the akg k451's which you can now get for £50! Then maybe £150 on a DAC. But will I be better off just spending the whole £200 on headphones? Thanks in advance - Mark

 

[Audiofilo]

I would just buy the AKGs and try them without a DAC. I think you might be pleasantly surprised and potentially save £150! My only word of caution is that they are meant for portability, so you might be better off with more of a 'home' headphone. What kind of music is it for?

 

[pauln]

I would say definitely spend the money on better headphones. For £200 you could get something quite nice and there's a lot of choice at that price level. A dac/amp could come later perhaps but there is no way I would be spending 3 x the cost of the headphones on one; the other way around would be more reasonable.

 

[dalethorn]

Yeah, take your maximum budget and get a headphone with it. But to commit the maximum budget that way, you really have to know what you want in all respects so that you pick a winner that matches your requirements. If you can't be sure then you may have to get the experience one headphone at a time.

 

[markhooper32]

Yeah I listen to a lot of music at night in flac via a USB stick,but depending on my mood I'll be listening to anything from the prodigy to Jamie cullum so maybe I'll try find some good all round headphones. Thank you

 

[dalethorn]

Here are a couple of my favorites, especially the Custom One Pro. I've reviewed both here, but what I really like about the COP besides the great comfort and quality is the sound - one of the few headphones I've had that needs no EQ or other adjustments to sound great on a good system.

http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/soundmagic-hp100-closed-back-headphones-hp100-prodid-4393.html

http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/beyerdynamic-custom-one-pro-closed-back-studio-headphones-prodid-4470.html

 

[pauln]

More good reviews: http://noblehifi.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[Ryanr1987]

Look to much better headphones with that budget.

Denon AH-D600

Audio Technica ATH900X

Shure SRH840

MrSpeakers Mad Dog - selling mine for £190

AKG K267 if you find it used.