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I honestly prefer my metal on speakers but the DT990, Elex and Grado sr325e probably get the most metal play of my headphone collection. I think the HP amp and DAC you are looking at will be a good step up. How much are you budgeting for your stereo rig, it's not as cheap to get into as headphones.
monkey4054
11
Apr 17, 2019
ElectronicVicesHi, yeah I've been looking at the Elex pretty closely, never heard Focals or Grados before, I'm a bit put off from what I've heard about them being bass light. As far as my stereo rig, that's something I'm looking to save up for in the future, but budget wise I think 10k for the total system might be the sweet spot before diminishing returns kicks in, at least that's what I've gleaned from the research I've done. Looking into brands like JBL, Klipsch, B&W. Don't know much about speakers though.
monkey4054The elex isn't bass light IMO, it's not bass boosted either and it's bass extension is almost unparalleled for dynamics in it's price range. Another advantage is I can get pretty similar performance from the Elex with just about any of my sources... from my LG v20 to my Cayin iHA-6 and everything in between. Grado I also wouldn't classify as "bass light" as it does have a boost in the bass frequencies but falls off hard after about 60-70 hertz so it isn't for tracks with deep bass content. Grado does guitars unlike any headphone I've found before or since. Grado is not super comfortable for the long haul and I wouldn't recommend it as one's primary HP unless you just really love the Grado sound. 10k is more than enough if you are talking a HiFi (stereo, not surround). Honestly I've not found a Klipsch south of $2.5k a pair that I liked and at that price there are other speakers I like more. KEF, B&W, Revel, Dynaudio and Elec Adante would get my money before Klipsh or JBL. When it comes to speakers buying will be different, you will probably get a better deal going to a dealer in person. I know a dealer with a standing offer for the Revel Performa3 F208's for $3500 (retails for $5k per pair). If you can find the same that will leave you 6.5K for pre-amp/amp and sources... you could also skip the pre-amp if you don't want to add a lot of analog sources and just go integrated DAC from PS Audio, Mytek or Benchmark. You need to tailor the amp purchase to the speakers as some will require monstrous amounts of power and others will be easily driven by a 30 watt Prima Luna tube amp. My towers aren't super efficient (sealed design) and can take 500 watts RMS, I run them with 400 watt monoblock amps but that would be extreme overkill for something like Klipsch.
(Edited)
monkey4054
11
Apr 20, 2019
ElectronicVicesThank you very much for your insight. It definitely seems like I need to go and audition some gear. Too risky to buy something so expensive blind.
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