New to This, Help me decide!

[BUNNI]

Hey All, Very new to the audiophile community. but i dont know much, so i want some suggestions, I do know some brands, Focal, Hifiman, Audeze, Sennheiser, Meze, and so on.

But Im having a hard time deciding what to get, my budget is around $5000-$10000, and for music that i listen to, I mostly listen to hip-hop and RnB and i like alot of bass. im hoping to stay within that range of brands but if you guys know of more brands with really good headphones let me know! Happy to hear suggestions!

[KEN DAVIS]

The brands you list are primarily known for headphones. Do you want a DAC and amp along with headphones? At that same budget?

[BUNNI]

1 hour ago, KEN DAVIS said:

The brands you list are primarily known for headphones. Do you want a DAC and amp along with headphones? At that same budget?

thats would be nice yes. what do you have in mind?

[cjf]

Where do you anticipate listening to music? By this I mean, will you mostly be in the same room as your PC and intend to use that PC as your main playback source OR would you mostly be in a different room that you don't have a computer in at all?

 

Depending on the answers to those questions a possible better direction can be given.

[BUNNI]

8 hours ago, cjf said:

Where do you anticipate listening to music? By this I mean, will you mostly be in the same room as your PC and intend to use that PC as your main playback source OR would you mostly be in a different room that you don't have a computer in at all?

 

Depending on the answers to those questions a possible better direction can be given.

I Intend to listen to music in the same room as my PC, as it is the quietest room in my house.

[KEN DAVIS]

Now I like a detailed sound for classical music, so this is what I'd get (and what I did get):

1) Focal Utopia
2) Cavalli Liquid Gold (original, but the new Monoprice version sounds pretty good so far and is much cheaper)
3) Chord Qutest
4) Bluesound Vault for ripping and streaming

 

Shopping new you can get this for under $10K... used you can do even better. You can add a Chord M-Scaler later if/when you can afford it.

[davide256]

On 9/22/2020 at 8:36 AM, BUNNI said:

Hey All, Very new to the audiophile community. but i dont know much, so i want some suggestions, I do know some brands, Focal, Hifiman, Audeze, Sennheiser, Meze, and so on.

But Im having a hard time deciding what to get, my budget is around $5000-$10000, and for music that i listen to, I mostly listen to hip-hop and RnB and i like alot of bass. im hoping to stay within that range of brands but if you guys know of more brands with really good headphones let me know! Happy to hear suggestions!

And you would use what to drive your headphones??

[BUNNI]

9 hours ago, davide256 said:

And you would use what to drive your headphones??

As Ken Davis suggested the Cavalli Liquid Gold, i would probably run them with that, given that the Focal Utopia's are only 80 ohms, and it doesnt take much to drive them, but as the same time, im open to more suggestions, because im very new to this stuff.

[davide256]

15 hours ago, BUNNI said:

As Ken Davis suggested the Cavalli Liquid Gold, i would probably run them with that, given that the Focal Utopia's are only 80 ohms, and it doesnt take much to drive them, but as the same time, im open to more suggestions, because im very new to this stuff.

Not a fan of Focal headphones and the Utopia while excellent didn't impress me. Meze Empyrean sounded better, natural vs Hifi. Of course

everyone's raving about the RAAL SR1A now on this site as the ultimate reference headphone, haven't had a chance to audition it or

the Hifiman HE1000SE. Because the RAAL's are "earspeakers" you do need a traditional 100W + amplifier to drive them.

[KEN DAVIS]

Schiit makes their Jotunheim-R amp specifically for the RAAL headphones. Much cheaper than the alternative. I do like the RAALs for their natural sound. They are the only headphone that I have listened to that sounds like the music is coming from outside your head, rather than inside.

[auricgoldfinger]

If you listen to hip-hop and RnB and like a lot of bass, consider auditioning the Audeze LCD-3 or LCD-4.  They are known for their bass reproduction.  Be forewarned:  they are heavy and feel like a clamp is around your head, so they are not the most comfortable headphones for long listening sessions.  Definitely try before you buy.  Personally, I prefer a more reference sound, so I use the HE1000se. 

[BUNNI]

Ok, after thinking through all the recommendations you guys have given me, i have narrowed down a list that goes as follows

 

Focal Utopia

Meze Empyrean

Audeze LCD-4

 

And as for amps, i will probably go with the Cavalli Liquid Gold.

 

Thank you all for your help, its up to me to decide now.

[cjf]

On 9/25/2020 at 2:58 AM, BUNNI said:

I Intend to listen to music in the same room as my PC, as it is the quietest room in my house.

In that case I would recommend the following simple setup:

 

1. Benchmark Audio HPA4 Line/Pre/HeadphoneAmp

2.Benchmark Audio DAC3-B connected to the PC of your choice via USB

3. Whatever money you got left, choose a headphone

[KEN DAVIS]

11 hours ago, BUNNI said:

And as for amps, i will probably go with the Cavalli Liquid Gold.

Note that original Liquid Gold amps can be hard to come by. Monoprice makes one licenced from Cavalli and with his approval. It is a lot less and more easily available. It also includes a DAC. I have one and I will be comparing it with my original one, but at this point I can't say how they compare. Nor how the built-in DAC compares with the Qutest.