Upgrade advice

[Mr_B]

Hey all

 

Appreciate any thoughts about potential upgrade I'm trying to nut through.

 

I currently have a Q-DAC and Asgard 2 amplifier that I use to watch Netflix etc, using Focal Elear headphones which I recently upgraded from HD6xx's.

 

It sounds pretty good, and I think the fairly recent addition of the Asgard 2 made a nice improvement.

 

However, I also game on PC, and I use a Strix Soar sound card and HyperX headphones.

 

There have been a couple of DACs advertised that have got me thinking about some improvements. Specifically, a NAD M51 and Questyle cma600i, both of which should be higher quality/sound and have balanced outputs which I have not yet tried (and I have nowhere to audition). The NAD would need a new amp to use a balanced headphone cable but the Questyle has balanced outputs for headphones and is an amp as well.

 

I'm wondering if it is worth replacing the TV setup with something like these units, and moving the Q-DAC and amp to the PC.

 

I've read a bunch of info, but its hard to work this out given I cant audition for comparison.

 

A couple of questions:

 

Assuming a budget of about 1K, do you think upgrading the TV setup would give noticeable gains? Would be either opportunistic second hand sales, or something like a Questyle Cma 400 could possibly be stretched to.

 

Do you think moving the current setup to the PC would be worth doing? The HD6xx's could be used as an option. I might give this a crack to see, but the above question is a significant factor also.

 

Do you think balanced outputs are a worthwhile improvement?

 

Cheers 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Mr_B
Corrections

[Mr_B]

Made a couple of corrections above.

 

Appreciate any advice, and please let me know if I’m asking the wrong questions.

[Irek]

You already have a pretty good systems. It's impossible to answer your question as the improvement is a very personal thing. 

Some shops might be able to send you demo to try at home. 

[Mr_B]

56 minutes ago, Irek said:

You already have a pretty good systems. It's impossible to answer your question as the improvement is a very personal thing. 

Some shops might be able to send you demo to try at home. 

Thanks Irek, appreciate your thoughts.

 

I understand that there is a point of diminishing returns, but do not have a good sense of where that sits - you confirm I may be somewhere around this.

I also understand that personal preference is also a factor, such as warm, neutral Etc etc, and I think my preference is for warm, though I think all gear mentioned is solid state rather than tube (which might be warmer as a generalisation, not sure). Will give this more thought.

 

I have a feeling that I could be missing some ‘oomph’ and fullness at quieter volumes, but this may simply be normal.

Very useful, and thanks again. Great tip on potential demo and returns.

 

I may have read too much about upgrading and chasing the dragon

[Irek]

I auditioned few weeks ago Focal Stellia Reference + Ifi DAC and amp - over $10k system.

That Ifi has very cool features, quite expensive though.

Next time I am going to try Ifi itube2 tube buffer, similar cool features.

[Mr_B]

Very nice, bet they were great

[Stedes]

On 04/07/2020 at 3:18 PM, Mr_B said:

Hey all

 

Appreciate any thoughts about potential upgrade I'm trying to nut through.

 

I currently have a Q-DAC and Asgard 2 amplifier that I use to watch Netflix etc, using Focal Elear headphones which I recently upgraded from HD6xx's.

 

It sounds pretty good, and I think the fairly recent addition of the Asgard 2 made a nice improvement.

 

However, I also game on PC, and I use a Strix Soar sound card and HyperX headphones.

 

There have been a couple of DACs advertised that have got me thinking about some improvements. Specifically, a NAD M51 and Questyle cma600i, both of which should be higher quality/sound and have balanced outputs which I have not yet tried (and I have nowhere to audition). The NAD would need a new amp to use a balanced headphone cable but the Questyle has balanced outputs for headphones and is an amp as well.

 

I'm wondering if it is worth replacing the TV setup with something like these units, and moving the Q-DAC and amp to the PC.

 

I've read a bunch of info, but its hard to work this out given I cant audition for comparison.

 

A couple of questions:

 

Assuming a budget of about 1K, do you think upgrading the TV setup would give noticeable gains? Would be either opportunistic second hand sales, or something like a Questyle Cma 400 could possibly be stretched to.

 

Do you think moving the current setup to the PC would be worth doing? The HD6xx's could be used as an option. I might give this a crack to see, but the above question is a significant factor also.

 

Do you think balanced outputs are a worthwhile improvement?

 

Cheers 

 

 

You have a really good pair of headphones. The NAD is a nice DAC but a) it's getting a bit long in the tooth now, b) the asking prices used are based on RRP even though most people here bought them at 900 bucks on special so overpriced used and c) they don't have a headphone output.

 

Of what you mentioned the Questyle 400i is, in my opinion, your best option. The DAC is very good and the headphone amp, especially using the balanced outputs is superb. Using the balanced outputs will definitely make a difference with your hedphones. You also have a preamp output to use if you want to add speakers to the setup later.

Edited July 15, 2020 by Stedes

[Mr_B]

Thanks Stede, appreciate your thoughts.

 

The Questyle looks to be a good option. I'll continue to contemplate that and also keep an eye on the classifieds for random opportunities.

 

Ive managed to temper my thoughts on upgrade, so will see where I land. Its very easy to get a little carried away