The Best HiFi Products that Won't Break the Bank

[@OzSteve]

New camera looks great. Glad to be able to help 😃

[@PassionforSound]

Thank you again for your help. The new camera is making both B-roll and A-roll easier and hopefully better.

[@KXP70]

Nice one Steve 🍻

[@TheVTRainMan]

OOof... quickly realizing "wont break the bank" means something completely different to me.

[@burrowingduck]

The ohrase "Won't break the bank" and recommending a completely superfluous "digital to digital converter" are 2 things that are completely at odds with one another.

[@seheyt]

Yeah. I assumed it was

[@andrewkateb]

Yeah, absolutely understand this. I'm in many groups who's members vary in gear purchasing price in the very low hundreds to the multiple 10's of thousands. I'm only midfi but as long as it sounds good to you, that's all that matters. And I do try to buy 2nd-hand where possible. So many audiophiles want to continually upgrade (me included) so their loss is our gain!

[@PassionforSound]

Value and price are always subjective items (not the actual price, but what that means to each person).

[@seheyt]

@@PassionforSound Why run for the platitudes that aren't essential to the theme? If you were gonna say "expensive" is also subjective, then yeah. However, there is published information on median incomes in most regions of the world. In that context I think it's fair to say that ~$4k is not cheap.

[@sandydennylives1392]

I upgraded this winter as well; got a Sony a306 Walkman, and fresh from 2016 my Sony N3 in ears, which make a perfect match, a case, a 512 GB sd card, and a $35 portable amp, for the best Hi Fi under £400, brought in the black fridays. Looking in future for a quality dac/amp, and a possible built like a tank with no reported driver failures IEM with meat on the bone.Happy with my Senn 560s for now, but I like the looks of the Sony MDR -M1 for contrast. Got enough Hi Fi in the home for now. An AK Sr 35 might lye ahead, there's no urgency.

[@sply77]

My whole system is less than 500 euros and Im really happy with it. :) Dali Zensor 1 Speakers Onkyo A-9010 Integrated Amplifier SMSL SU-1 Dac Sony BDP-S490 SACD Kenwood kd3100 Vintage turntable with Nagaoka MP-110 Art DJ pre II Pre Phono

[@PassionforSound]

Nice. Happy listening!

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

Thanks for the video. I suggest 1,000 to 2,000 range next. Then 2,000 to 3,000. 3s the charm. Happy Christmas 🎄

[@PassionforSound]

Merry Christmas to you too! 🎄🎄

[@BrianVallotton]

Merry Christmas Lachlan!

[@PassionforSound]

To you too, Brian!

[@paulstevens8378]

I have the Fiio M23 running a pair of Mark Levinson 5909 headphones. Love the combo.

[@joshuakarp2586]

I can’t wait for your Gungnir 2 review! I love your videos and appreciate you!

[@PassionforSound]

Thank you for your kind words. It's arrived but is still in the box because I'm scrambling to wrap up for the year.

[@joshuakarp2586]

@@PassionforSoundno rush my man! Happy holidays!

[@PassionforSound]

@joshuakarp2586 thanks Josh! You too.

[@Cestmoi50]

Nice overview👍🏼, thanks and for now I wish you happy holidays and all the best for the new year🙂

[@PassionforSound]

You too! I hope your holidays are full of music and joy.

[@mohamedahmed1023]

Great list! I have the Eversolo DMP A6 with powered monitors and a subwoofer. But I'm interested in checking out the Blue sound Node Icon as it also has a subwoofer out, HDMI ARC, and headphone amp. That would check off streamer, DAC, and headphone amp in one device.

[@PassionforSound]

Great features!

[@darinbuchan349]

Ive been watching your videos for some time now. I am very interested in the Sparkos Gemini as a headphone amp for my upcoming ZMF Bokeh. I am torn between the Gemini, the Mjolnir 3, and the Homage. What do you feel would pair best? I am leaning towards the Gemini simply due to never having used tubes before but being curious.

[@PassionforSound]

The Gemini is a great choice to allow some dabbling in tubes without getting "stuck" in a certain sound thanks to its 'tuneability'. I haven't tried the finished Homage (only a prototype) so I can't comment on that, but can say that the Mjolnir 3 would also be an amazing choice.

[@andrewkateb]

Great video Lachlan!!! Some wonderful gear there at decent price to quality ratio. Love to see the next couple of tier videos too.

[@PassionforSound]

Thanks mate. I'll try to make some more once I dig myself out from under the piles of gear I have to get through 😂

[@MykeBinaryMan]

I would love a Geshelli dac but being in the UK it very hard to get one so I will probably settle for the Chord Mojo 2 as it would fit nicely on top my Violectric V202 and having listened to my friends as a portable amp i was blown away by its sound with guitar solos.

[@PassionforSound]

The Mojo 2 is awesome and more versatile in some ways. Definitely an excellent alternative at the UK pricing.

[@KristianDowling]

Lachlan congrats on the new camera. If you’d ever like to try some Leica cameras let me know. I’m in Melbourne and happy to arrange a loan through Leica. Big fan of your work 👌🏼

[@PassionforSound]

Thank you for the offer! I don't have any time for photography these days because the channel keeps me very busy alongside my non-audio work. Do Leica make good cameras for video or are they predominantly for photography?

[@topandrun126]

Because of your review of the XD05 Pro I decided to get it. And it is awesome. Thank you

[@PassionforSound]

I'm so glad you like it!

[@Aitiska-c8c]

For an efficient headphone like Meze 109 pro.Does Chord mojo 2 make any difference in sound quality and worth the money?!

[@PassionforSound]

Absolutely! The quality of the power is more important than the amount of power needed. The Mojo 2 and 109 will be great together!

[@ben23a31]

Best amp for power and features are the Outlaw class AB mono blocks: XLR & RCA, trigger in and out, auto sensing power on, 300 "real" WPC. $399.00 each. ATI based design.

[@Hare_deLune]

So Lachlan, I have to ask. Did you happen to try the Topping B-200 monoblocs with the Xduoo Ta-66 as a preamp? If not, I would love to know what you think of that combo, as it is something I've been considering for my next system.

[@PassionforSound]

I didn't test that combo. I'm generally not into tube preamps - I'll tend to just use a tube amp. I expect it would be a nice enough setup, but it might get a bit too polite depending on the speakers and room.

[@annebokma4637]

So how did I spend €500 on audio in the last two weeks... Pair of lineaum LX5 at €100. Tube amp el34 2*6w €150. ZD3 dac €150. And I got a pair of lii song f6 to fool around with open baffle.. and that makes €500 😊 now tomorrow I am picking up quad ESL 57 in bronse for €700. Second hand gear is great value

[@Bootrosgali]

Noire 2 still with Noire X out now? And what about Fiio FT1+ FT1 Pro ?

[@PassionforSound]

Unfortunately, I recorded this video a while back and only learned of the Noire X about a day before/after recording. In all cases (the Noire and the FiiO headphones, I can't recommend what I haven't yet heard). The FT1 and FT1 Pro are here for review soon though...

[@Nearest_Neighbor]

What camera is it?! (sry a gear head needs to know 😁)

[@PassionforSound]

Sony ZV-E1. It's not particularly good for photos (I've got my A7R3 for that), but it has MUCH better autofocus for filming and it's more compact for when I need to move around with it.

[@Nearest_Neighbor]

@ Nice! Basically a perfect camera for your use case. Let's go! 🙌

[@bats151]

Who makes the stand you put the amp in that’s on your desks it looks very nice

[@PassionforSound]

That's the Burson Audio Mothership. They're a bit pricey, but also excellent. I've got a review of them on the channel if you do a search.

[@mikelm222]

What camera did you buy for video ?

[@PassionforSound]

Sony ZV-E1 🙂

[@NawfalHasan]

Thanks for this, it was very helpful. I have a small suggestion. This video isn't fully helpful to make a purchasing decision. All good amps under 1k, but who is pairing 1k amps with 1k headphone? Most likely people are looking for sub 300 USD amp to go with 1k USD headphones or 1k USD amp to go with their Utopias and LCD5s and 1266s etc. It feels so wrong to spend as much money on amp or DAC as on a headphone. I understand the intention of this video was different, but it will be very helpful if you could do a video on best budget "audio system" at each price category, which include all the essentials - DAC, amp and headphone. You have always been one of my fav audio reviewers, content like this makes me happy to have subscirbed!

[@PassionforSound]

I'd actually recommend roughly matching the value spent on each component because a $1000 headphone will sound better with a higher level DAC and amp than what you can get for $300 (as per your example). Likewise, I'd recommend nothing less than a $3000-4000 DAC and amp for something like the 1266/Utopia, etc. or you're wasting money on headphones of that level of performance.

[@NawfalHasan]

@@PassionforSound thank you.. this certainly opens up my mind because this is the first time I'm hearing this view point. Not an audiophile, I'm trying to make my first high end purchase, but after all the videos I watched and all the opinions I heard on Reddit and other forums, almost all of them suggest spending the bulk of your budget on headphone. This angle is a little hard for me to swallow considering bulk of your sound quality is coming from the headphone itself. Nevertheless this has kept my mind open...

[@PassionforSound]

@NawfalHasan think of the music you hear as being the product of the entire source chain. Buying expensive headphones for a cheaper source chain is like buying expensive tyres for a low performance car. You might still notice some improvements from the tyres, but they're not going to give you anywhere near what they're capable of if you don't fit them to a higher performance vehicle.

[@NawfalHasan]

@@PassionforSound I think its the other way around, or the main contention here is "which is the engine here and which is the tyre here". IMO buying expensive headphones for a cheaper source chain is like buying expensive V12 engine for cheaper tyres. Sure you might notice some improvements with better tyres but you better spend your budget on the powertrain. Let me ask this, if I have a budget of 2k, wouldn't I benefit more if I spend 1.5k on headphone and .5k on amp, as opposed to 1k each? Or say I have a budget of 7k, wouldnt I get better fidelity with a 6k Abyss 1266 TC and a 1k amp, more than say a Meze Emperean and 3k amp?

[@PassionforSound]

@NawfalHasan I think you can definitely make the argument in either direction, but the result is still the same. When you spend significantly less on any component, you're reducing the performance of the rest. Perhaps a better way to think about it is by tiers of products: budget, lower mid, upper mid, premium and flagship level. That takes it away from price a bit because the $4000 Utopias and $8000-9000 Susvara Unveiled/1266 all deserve premium or flagship level sources. Likewise, pairing a premium amp with a lower mid tier headphone like a Meze 105 or HifiMan Ananda would be overkill. Hopefully that makes sense?

[@fioreinforma-pilates-bisceglie]

Well done 👍 I recently bought a discounted tansio mirai land and iam fighting to find the right cable for them

[@PassionforSound]

Good luck in the hunt! I haven't tried those or I'd try to help.

[@CinemaDemocratica]

I just got a Fosi Audio ZA3 delivered yesterday and I am stunned speechless at how good it is. The YT hype rarely matches how good a product is in the flesh; this time the reviewers have managed to miss the excellence of this thing TO THE LOW SIDE.

[@GoranG-v9r]

Agree.. It's not high-end, but still sounds great for the price..! I have a pair in mono mode being controlled by a WiiM Pro Plus and I just rolled the opamps to Burson V7 vivids and the sound has improved dramatically, more life like and natural sounding in the highs and vocals.. Just waiting for the funds to accumulate again (bit pricey when you convert to Aust$), so I can get the J2S Dac with V7 Vivids on the XLR connection to make it even better....

[@PassionforSound]

I'm glad you're both enjoying the ZA3s. I definitely thought they were an excellent amp, especially with upgraded op-amps. I'm just rarely someone to hype anything because we all have different tastes. 🙂

[@CinemaDemocratica]

@@GoranG-v9r Hey I just went on Lazada -- which is the Southeast Asia version of Amazon, and they have the Burson V7 but it comes in three varieties: "Burson V7 Classic Single OpAmp 2," "Burson V7 Classic Dual Co-op Amp 1," and "Burson V7 Classic Dual Co-op Amp 2." Which one is the right one for this use-case, and do they ship in pairs or will I need to buy two of them? (I ask because each one is roughly the same as the price of the amp itself, hahaha.)

[@CinemaDemocratica]

...Or do I only need one? I'm only operating one ZA3 in stereo -- haven't gone down the bridged-mono rabbit hole yet.

[@GoranG-v9r]

@@CinemaDemocratica if you dont plan on running XLR interconnects then it wont make a big difference, i'm still running co-ax and theres a slight improvement with 2, but will have a better idea once the Geshelli J2S comes in and I can use the XLR cable sitting on my desk..LOL Depending on your budget, you can go mild to wild with these as a base...

[@bling5279]

I would love to see a comparison between the Centaurus and DACs on this list.

[@PassionforSound]

Some will no doubt feature in that review... 🙂

[@IHearEverythingDude]

7hz zero 2, is freaking amazing

[@aj8ky]

Aune s17pro has been discontinued. They’ve just released the s17pro evo. Better thermal performance as well as independent output switching with independent volume control, as well an auto shut off setting for the screen. It’s a little more expensive, but not much.

[@PassionforSound]

Thanks for the update!

[@RocketLauncherwithInfiniteAmmo]

You got the new camera in time for Xmas!

[@PassionforSound]

Haha. Yes, but it's more of a work tool than a present 🙂

[@daysofgrace2934]

Amazon HD sub + Echo Dot + Echo Link - it's a fully INTEGRATED content plus hardware to run it on eco-system. I use that exclusively to feed my Marantz PM6006 stereo DAC/amp into Arcam Muso (mini bookshelf speakers) and an Arcam Logo subwoofer...

[@vaneast411]

looking forward to your XD05 T ;-) review.

[@PassionforSound]

It's coming! I love the colour of the XD05t. Haven't spent long enough with it to comment on its sound yet.

[@vaneast411]

@ I don’t need another portable but this unit is likely going to be very difficult for me to stay away from really looking forward to your impressions Lachlan!

[@PassionforSound]

@vaneast411 be strong! 😂😂

[@Hijynx87]

I figured it would be stuff like hiby r4, questyle m15i, cayin ru6/7, fiio k11/r2r lol.

[@nbramaputra]

Moest charmy hifi entusiasm are the low budget,were the music is in center,you can get nice tube amps 2 hand and speakers, repeat my self moest sharmy is low budget entusiasts loving their hifi.

[@Helmond2017]

Thats a nice list. But still no budget gears 😅

[@PassionforSound]

That was in my previous two videos up to $250 and up to $500. 🙂

[@Helmond2017]

@PassionforSound will check it out, thanks 🙏🏻

[@OzSteve]

I'd like to see $1K to $3K

[@PassionforSound]

Cool. I'll see what I can do. Might be a little while off though...

[@markaprill6501]

Yep. Because I want to improve on the mojo 2 if possible not that I need too.

[@Wyd4]

Was just about to go to bed. One last video i guess :p

[@PassionforSound]

Hope it was worth having less zzzzs for 😁

[@calvinyip364]

Pls review Fiio ft1 pro

[@PassionforSound]

It's on the way...

[@markaprill6501]

I have hifi-man ananda nano as a spare pair and a pair of empyrean one as main pair. Hifi-man sound great but you can rest assured your headphones will be replaced by a cheaper better pair of hifi-mans by the time the box arrives in the mail…that’s just how hifi-man operates. Pair of the week. As far a chord mojo 2 goes..this thing is so great as much as want to buy more gear I can’t justify it…

[@AllHandlesHaveBeenTaken]

Dartzeel D5Pro clone + any Wiim streamer + SMSL SU-1 = max value

[@P4sta.]

i feel like mentioning the arya stealth at 600 is a layup

[@PassionforSound]

Yeah. I didn't include that because I'm not sure if it's going to be around for much longer. It's now two generations old so I'm guessing (only guessing) that they'll discontinue pretty soon.

[@P4sta.]

@ if u can get it at 600 would u recommend it?

[@PassionforSound]

@P4sta. Yes, that's an excellent price

[@P4sta.]

@@PassionforSound ok perfect lol cus mine is arriving today lol

[@vjyamat6527]

Not including the WIIM Mini is questionable.

[@PassionforSound]

The WiiM Mini is in a much lower price bracket and is also not particularly good. (WiiM Pro and Pro Plus are excellent though)

[@VisionCarrierDreamCatcher]

Go for 1k to 3k. then pick the overall winner and another best value within the price range

[@PassionforSound]

Nice idea!

[@milnez]

I ordered a pair of kiwi ears Division headphones... Does that count...😂

[@PassionforSound]

If you're excited for it, absolutely!

[@aRc11-11]

JDS Element IV

[@akhtarizod5802]

Now you are obligated to return favor to them !

[@OMBEWSSS]

In the end gonna be 10k ++ 😂

[@PassionforSound]

I haven't done that one yet, but you never know

[@okay1904]

Sorry, if you have to have a Digital to Digital Converter in between a USB output and a DAC, that DAC must be an inferior one. I'm using a TempoTec Sonata BHD dongle which costs less than $60, and these is absolutely no noise whatsoever, from this DAC. None. The $9 Apple dongle also connects to USB, with not a single audible noise. A properly designed DAC will filter out any noise from USB. MY two inexpensive Dongle DAC, as described above, already do this. In conclusion a Digital to Digital Converter is just a waste of money, and I am shocked that this presenter would spout such ignorant assertions, that this would clean up the noise. Unless your DAC is incompetent, you do not need such a D to D converter. It has reduced my respect for this presenter, he does not seem to know as much as he initially appears. Another one of the HiFi bunch - more myth and hype than truth. !!??? We need KZbinrs who truly know what they are talking about.

[@PassionforSound]

None of the noise is audible noise, but USB noise from a computer can affect the timing accuracy of the downstream DAC and reduce its sound quality. The DDC isolates that noise and a good DDC like the SU-6 reclocks the signal with excellent quality clocks that are as good or better than those in many expensive DACs.

[@andrewkateb]

Thanks Dr. $60 Audio. Can you state where you are getting your obviously well informed information, with no grey areas?? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that you never had respect for this presenter and you just want your 5 minutes of "ignorant and naive" fame on a very well known and extremely well versed audiophile. I have no idea about DDcs, apart from knowing what they do. I don't require one but I know a ton of people that do. Are you a DDC expert? A flat earther mayhaps??