Unrelated but how do you like your Sonos Amp? I’ve been eying picking one up to replace my old receiver.
I really like it. It’s not too big, packs a lot of power for its price and works well with hdmi-arc if that’s something you want to do. All the integrations are super legit EXCEPT spotify. Spotify has issues with accounts and disconnecting your computer or mobile so that sonos can use it. Since sonos needs its own connection, pretty often it will be refused by spotify cause your phone or computer etc is still “connected”. I haven’t found a solution to this even after two years. BUT every other integration works flawlessly. We recently got a sonos sound bar for our TV and its pretty legit to play a record in the other room and have the audio play in the living room too.
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Oh, interesting, I haven’t had any issue with Spotify and Sonos, but that does seem vexing. But, I like it too—I replaced the receiver and amps for my whole house system with a few Sonos Amps, and it works great.
Nice! Yeah the multi room is definitely a big part of what’s drawing me to it, our turntable is in our living room but I’ve got this dream of putting a Play 5 in our home office to listen to records while my partner and I work. Everyone I know who has Sonos generally raves about it but man that price does start to add up.
here’s my SOtM streaming set-up. I have it paired with Roon / Tidal and a MacBook Pro. Headphones are a trusty pair of Seinnheiser HD 650s with an aftermarket cable and a Grace Design m920 headphone amp or my electrostatic set-up with Stax SR-007s.
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dont kill me pls, but can anyone recommend an amp that would allow me to run 150ohm headphones for around 50 bucks? i’m not expecting top tier audio, i’m also not using top tier headphones, i just need something to drive them.
Always love to have a hifi installation in my living room to listen my CD collection.
I have for the moment a good old Pioneer A-676 Reference, i love it, with my B&W the sound is great for classical and rock 
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That’s gorgeous, it reminds me of Pioneer’s classic a-400x 
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Listening the Violin Concerto No. 3 from Mozart right now, that’s just gorgeous on this amp !
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Check out any cheap DAC on PartsExpress with a phones output.
Just replaced the bulbs in and cleaned the face/knobs on my Marantz Model 2015 after getting it back from my brother. It still needs some new paper as well as a more thorough internal cleaning, but boy does it look better (and sound just as nice as I remember). It’s driving a pair of Altec Bolero 890c speakers (those with the horns) as well as some Koss CM-530s. The Altecs obliterate the Koss when it comes to mid-range clarity, so I think the 530s will be finding a new home soon. Can you tell we prioritize audio over video quality in my household? 
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Man old hi-fi sure is pretty.
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EDIT: I really gravedug this Q, didn’t I. Hope you got that amp sorted!
I don’t have an answer to your actual question! However, your desktop may be able to, possibly your laptop, depending on sensitivity also. It’s not that high an impedance. Have you tried it?
If you have a Realtek chip, it may sense them as Ultimate power output. If you’re not getting the gain you want, go into the audio console app and select Ultimate. You may need to plug them into the line out directly, in back, if the front jack isn’t working great. You can then gauge if you have enough power and get an amp if not. Go up to around $100 ($135 shipped with tax, or so) and you can grab a Schiit Heretic or Magni+.
(Also, I’m recently running Beyer DT 900 Pro X with either an oldish Electric Avenues portable op-amp or a Magni+, though it’s overkill. Source DAC. Using raw tuning or reasonably close to Harman via AutoEQ.app and Equalizer APO. Hoping to pick up Audio Technica r70x next year, so I thought I’d prepare to EQ into 450ohms, though I guess they aren’t actually hard to drive.)
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Finally picked up the Sennheiser 560s. Hoping to enjoy the wide sound stage some report and perhaps the most listenable tuning I’ll have sans EQ. Mail day this week.
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This is a rabbit hole where I successfully got away with only dipping a toe in. My most thought out setup is in my office, and it’s nothing more than a pair of Micca MB42x on a “Douk Audio” digital amp pulling analog from my motherboard; it has a little USB DAC but I can’t tell the difference, so I don’t use it. Headphones are Philips SHP9500.
Elsewhere, the living room has the “nice sounding” Google Home thing from a few years back, and there is an LG soundbar to go with the LG TV. The game room upstairs has the Denon receiver we brought from our last house’s media room and a pair of Sony tower speakers I bought off FB.
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Also successfully dipped my toes in, found good enough, and then stepped away.
Setup:
- Sennheiser HD660s2 I got on big discount from Amazon
- JDS Labs Element III mk2
- Wiim Pro Streamer
- Switched to Tidal yearly sub at just the 16/44.1 tier.
Completely satisfied with this setup and will not change a thing unless something in it breaks.
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I’m a big believer that in many of these hobbies, when you’re coming in you can get 80% of the benefits with your first entry level purchases if you do a bit of research. Even keyboards: imagine the difference versus your pack-in membrane board or laptop keyboard when you’re using a Keychron or even a hotswap gamer board with your choice of budget keycaps and switches. Keyboard bug bit me hard (and fountain pens decades before that), though in my specific case keyboards take more of my time than my money, but I was pretty content to land on “louder and clearer than before” with my audio stuff.
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Yah, some great headphones, amps, DACs, (and keyboards) are available now for $200 or less, certainly under $450, at which level they may have design or technical features you may not be getting in that $150-$200 range. The value of those will vary for different people. I’m willing to spend more on a keyboard than on audio at this point.
I don’t think you’re getting better performance above that (approximate) level, or maybe even above $200 for amps/DACs.
That’s not to say there are not things worth buying above that, or that there are not really substitutes for, but it’s about some specific quality to the sound (HD 800 comes to mind) or fancier build at that point, or collecting, or cognitive bias, or some combination of those.
I have a Magni+ running from a Apple USB-C dongle out of my motherboard and a few pair of headphones averaging $190.
I know better technical performance is available at the same price point as the Magni+, but it works for me, and I thought the discrete design was cool. Not sure if I’d get the Heretic were I to do it again, but I probably wouldn’t hear a difference anyway. You can’t really beat the $9 dongle tho.
One thing I would like is a Qudelix 5k so I can parametric EQ these cans from my iPhone and get cleaner EQed audio from my TV, which I use them for sometimes at night.
EDIT: There are some amazing budget IEMs, but I know some expensive ones have multiple drivers of different types. That seems awesome, and it would be hard to do this inexpensively.
EDIT 2: More power to you if there is a keyboard from a designer you are a fan of that you just feel is a work of art or speaks to you and you are happy to pay a bit more for it, especially for a small run. Been there. Go for it. Part of the fun of the hobby.
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Absolutely! That goes for so many hobbies. The point at which diminishing returns become an issue is very personal, and if you’re keeping up with the bills, then enjoy!
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