Upgrade or not recommendation of my Audio system

[Deckard01]

Hello experts!

I have my audio gear for many years. My equipment is the rcam rdac and the Heed Canamp and my headphones is an Austrian made AKG K701 and a closed back AKG K550.

I listen now mostly from Qobuz 24/192 and my personal collection form DSD to flac audio files. from my macbook or windows device through foobar.

These days I read the forum and I see many compact dac/amp devices. I see that the Mojo 2 seems very good option but quite expensive. And then the BTR7 which I do not think that can be connected to an external Amplifier.

Do you have any recommendations for a good compact dac/amp so as not to be always with the rdac and Heed. As my rcam dac I see that only support 24/96 and PCM.

Do you believe that an upgrade is really necessary? Do I really miss something from these new items?

Is there any device with similar audio quality as mojo 2 but not so expensive?

Moreover I hope to have a Sennheiser HD 600 in the future, as I always wanted one pair so as to compare with my 701. I do not know really if this buy too will give me something more.
But I do not wont to bother you too much with my thoughts!

Thank you very much!

 

[Vict0r]

A new DAC/AMP won't do much. They're not supposed to be hardware EQs, so (if they're relatively transparent and efficient) you're already set. Your source files are fine too. Improvements can be made by "upgrading" your headphones and applying EQ to them. Then again, sometimes "good" is good enough, and the only improvement you can make is letting go of the fear of missing out and just enjoying the actual music.

For whatever it's worth; i used to own a K701 and prefer the sound of my HD600.

 

[charleski]

the BTR7 which I do not think that can be connected to an external Amplifier.

It certainly can. Like all dongles, all you need is a 3.5mm->RCA cable. It can produce 2Vrms and will have no problem driving the relatively high input impedance of a headphone amp. This (or the Qudelix 5k) would be a good choice if you want a small portable solution that can handle both USB and bluetooth inputs. Both offer on-board EQ, which is probably the main advantage they offer.

The Arcam Rdac is a bit old, but while a more modern DAC will probably measure better it's unlikely you'd hear the difference.

 

[Deckard01]

It certainly can. Like all dongles, all you need is a 3.5mm->RCA cable. It can produce 2Vrms and will have no problem driving the relatively high input impedance of a headphone amp. This (or the Qudelix 5k) would be a good choice if you want a small portable solution that can handle both USB and bluetooth inputs. Both offer on-board EQ, which is probably the main advantage they offer.

The Arcam Rdac is a bit old, but while a more modern DAC will probably measure better it's unlikely you'd hear the difference.

The dac issue is my only concern and that I needed somethng more portable so as to move around and not two devices.

As I check that rdac can only support 24/96 and not 192 that qobuz support. And there is no DSD support.

I did not care about any MQA nor for Bluetooth so much. That is the reason for searching after years for a new DAC. Somehow to be up to date, but I can not spend much money so as to follow the new age gadgets. I just read so much good reviews about mojo 2.
Qudelix 5 as I see does not support DSD.

About headphones I have read that always HD600 was a good and fair in price reference headphone. As I can not effort now headphones such as HIFIMAN or Focal.


I still can not find out if any more afforable dac/amp can sound similar to Mojo 2. I guess not.

Sorry, but I have some years to read about my hobby because of family issues and now I start again to read about.

I thought my devices could support DSD and higher audio files.

Thank you very much for the response!

 

[Deckard01]

A new DAC/AMP won't do much. They're not supposed to be hardware EQs, so (if they're relatively transparent and efficient) you're already set. Your source files are fine too. Improvements can be made by "upgrading" your headphones and applying EQ to them. Then again, sometimes "good" is good enough, and the only improvement you can make is letting go of the fear of missing out and just enjoying the actual music.

For whatever it's worth; i used to own a K701 and prefer the sound of my HD600.

Yes I want to try too the HD600.

Now i try to reed how can I EQ my K701, as I did not know I could or of it really makes a difference. I read here in forum something about Oratory EQ. I should find out how the process works.

Thank you very much for the response Victor!

 

[HarmonicTHD]

The dac issue is my only concern and that I needed somethng more portable so as to move around and not two devices.

As I check that rdac can only support 24/96 and not 192 that qobuz support. And there is no DSD support.

I did not care about any MQA nor for Bluetooth so much. That is the reason for searching after years for a new DAC. Somehow to be up to date, but I can not spend much money so as to follow the new age gadgets. I just read so much good reviews about mojo 2.
Qudelix 5 as I see does not support DSD.

About headphones I have read that always HD600 was a good and fair in price reference headphone. As I can not effort now headphones such as HIFIMAN or Focal.


I still can not find out if any more afforable dac/amp can sound similar to Mojo 2. I guess not.

Sorry, but I have some years to read about my hobby because of family issues and now I start again to read about.

I thought my devices could support DSD and higher audio files.

Thank you very much for the response!

24/96 is plenty. Actually 24/48 already is. Don’t worry about it.

For everything else you already got good comments from the other posters.

 

[Deckard01]

24/96 is plenty. Actually 24/48 already is. Don’t worry about it.

For everything else you already got good comments from the other posters.

Thank you very much Harmonic for your response!

I guess I may stay with the rdac.

I was thinking that my only purchase would be if there was a dac/amp with similar sound signature as Mojo but at lower cost.

Thank you again!

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

It seems to me that there are a wealth of choices available. The number of audio components of this type that have distortion below the threshold level of human hearing is huge. It hinges on features, price, and appearance for me.