hurtyewh OP t1_jdm1ev5 wrote on March 25, 2023 at 12:03 PM

Reply to comment by SayEye in What does a high end DAC really offer? by hurtyewh

I mean there is a DAC somewhere unless you somehow use them fully analog.

SayEye t1_jdmd0g0 wrote on March 25, 2023 at 1:52 PM

I had the PX5/7 from reviews the headphones were supposed to be very good with huge soundstage.

I never felt that, had to remove earpads to enjoy them better but went momentum 3, for me these are very good and enjoy them more.

I will try getting a dac and re use my PX5 maybe I might recoup the 350usd lost, but then I might be wasting more money rather than just enjoy my momentum 3.

Audio quality really depends on

1 headphones 2 Source quality 3 subjective preference and also music type 4 EQ 5 Transmission type

I have played around with the above and still enjoy my headphones but will consider a dac only for serious listening, to me it's like getting a VR device,some get immersed by VR, for some it's still not good enough but just a gimmick

hurtyewh OP t1_jdme8jm wrote on March 25, 2023 at 2:02 PM

I mean all bluetooth audio devices have a DAC built it already. A desktop DAC is different. Likely mixing any external dacs or amps with BT devices will only make them worse since they usually have internal DSP without which they'd lose all purposeful tuning.

I have 40+ headphones, dozen dacs and amps etc, but the high end dac side of things I have little experience with.

SayEye t1_jdmtobf wrote on March 25, 2023 at 3:56 PM

Thank for letting me know... Most recommend Topping DX3pro + and the Version 2 of Ifi zen dac

hurtyewh OP t1_jdmuikn wrote on March 25, 2023 at 4:02 PM

Yeah, I have both, but with high end I mean something like $1000 and above for just the DAC.

SayEye t1_jdmzryg wrote on March 25, 2023 at 4:39 PM

Wow that's a nice price, you probably would want one with better connectivity because judging by a youtube review the topping dx3 pro plus and dx5 sound the same, it's the placebo effect I guess for high end dacs. 1000 actually gets you closer to high end headphones like Susvara, wouldn't you want rather to invest in those.... Don't say you have them already🤣😉

Good luck

hurtyewh OP t1_jdn20zv wrote on March 25, 2023 at 4:55 PM

I haven't heard them and that's a bit much for a blind buy, but I'm getting an LCD-5 soon which is close to that price range. My expectation is that a $100 Topping E30 does essentially everything worthwhile soundwise, but I'm interested in being sure. Some Chord stuff in the thousands of dollars I like less than some cheap stuff as well. We'll see if I find any motivation to get the DAC. Seems not for now.