I primarily listen to EDM (ie Deadmau5, Overwerk) with a mix of bass and nice layered trance-type stuff. Prefer the bass and isolation of closed-back headphones. After some reading I went with the Fostex TH-900mk2 headphones.

I stream off amazon music HD with this for highest bitrate (supposedly).

Current setup:
Headphones: Fostex TH-900mk2
DAC/Amp: Denon AVR-S660H

I think this sounds OK, but before spending any big money curious on thoughts if upgrading to a dedicated DAC/AMP combo would make a difference, or if there are any notable chokepoints in this minimal setup. Thanks!

  • Exact3BEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    Rule #7.

    But receivers tend to have a high output impedance (or at least they used to) on the headphone-jack that can indeed affect bass, making it more bloated and boosted. Some people like this, some don’t.

    Changing to a dedicated headphone amp would surely clean this up, make the bass tighter but at the cost of less quantity.

    I’d get some basic 100€ amp from a reputable manufacturer (Schiit Magni, JDSLabs Atom etc.) and test to see if you like it more. If not, then I guess a new pair is due.