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Headphone, Amp/Dac recommendations

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I am completely new to the audiophile world. Being in my 60’s I’m pretty old school listening to jazz, rock and classical. i will be using an IPhone 7 or my pc. Have a 300 dollar budget. What headphone and Dac/Amp setup do you recommend from the current drops. Need help!
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rastus
1391
Oct 11, 2018
For $344.97, a bit over budget... but... you won't be starting out at a level that would disappoint, DSD proponent btw; "what was this audiophile stuff they were touting?" From current MD drops as requested: D30 DAC & A30 headphone amp and a pair of HD58x cans. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/topping-d30-dac?utm_source=linkshare&referer=HBCVS7 ; https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones?utm_source=linkshare&referer=HBCVS7
Get a good player for your PC, I'm using Audirvana, https://audirvana.com/, a great white paper explaining what you will be about to enter into: http://m.marantz.co.uk/DocumentMaster/master/Marantz_DAC_White_Paper_6th_March-2018.pdf
Shelf for the Topping's, why not offered on MD, a mystery, maybe it's too transparent? https://www.amazon.com/Topping-14x14x4-5cm-Amplier-Shelf-Transparency/dp/B01NCZQ0ZZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1539260871&sr=8-1&keywords=Topping+14x14x4.5cm+for+A30+D30+Amplier+Shelf+Transparency
phoenixsong
1055
Oct 11, 2018
If you don't mind a stationary setup, SDAC (dac)->O2 (amp)->HD58X (headphones) would be a good combination. Note that the headphones are open-backs, which means they'll leak more sound and don't isolate as well. For portable use, I'd recommend you get one of those mobile DAC+Amp units (something like the audioquest dragonfly red) and pair it with the Thinksound On2 headphones. Do note these headphones are on-ears, which might be an issue for some.
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