JDS Labs The Element II

I bought a pair of HD6xx the next day, that's how excited I was that music could actually sound better. I started with a Schiit Magni + Modi Heresy, which was a major upgrade from my cellphone, lol. Now I have the JDS Labs Element II thanks to my friend getting it before me and heavily recommending it. It's still crazy to think that most people never hear their favorite songs in their full glory.

An external dac usually helps clean this up, and the amp providing the power has a much bigger role to play since it can multiply the juice quite a bit (depending if your headphones need much). I bought a mid-level dac/amp B-stock (JDS Element II) largely because I like to control volume with a physical knob, and it provides a completely clean sound (i.e. when cranked to max with nothing playing, it still sounds silent) and has plenty of power in the amp section.

A couple months ago, I decided to try some other things and ended up buying a JDS Labs Element II and was quite amazed by the sound performance. At the same time, I'd been saving up to buy a new PC.

JDS Element II is amazing. If it was $100 more I'd pay it.

i think you have to jump a couple price tiers before you can realllly hear the difference. i went from M50x ($150) running off my motherboard headphone jack, to Focal Clears running off JDS Labs Element II dac/amp ($1400 total), and the difference sounds like night & day to me. worth the price difference?

I use a JDS Labs Element II and it's fantastic. Have a Chord Mojo for listening in the living room from my laptop, but absolutely love the Auteur with the Element II. I know everyone says that ZMF cans are great paired with tubes but I don't have room and the increased inconvenience likely isn't worth any difference in sound for me.

If you can afford to spend a little more, you could go with the JDS LABS Element II DAC/amp combo or the EL series separate DAC and AMP that will easily power the 712. You can get an equivalent set up from Schiit Audio by getting the Asgard 3 with an internal DAC, or do separates. The Asgard 3 will power pretty much anything and it sounds great. Do you have a maximum budget?