Let’s for a moment step above the ranking of various DAPs, DACs, amps, and headphones, and look at the best concatenation of source, D/A, amp, and headphone. Yes, I am talking about synergy! What is the audio chain, the combination of specific source, D/A converter, amp, and headphone, that...

I suspect that I not the only person who has sold a headphone or IEM, then really, Really missed it and bought another one. Here are at least some of the ones I have done sold, missed, and bought another: HiFiMAN HE-500 AKG K701 V-MODA M-100 Grado GS1000e Beats Studio 2 Sennehiser PXC 310 BT...

Can you tell me of a DAP with a 1/4” headphone jack? Ideally it would be capable of streaming and of great sound. Thanks!

What do you recommend as the very best, cost-is-no-object, no-holds-barred STREAMING DAC? As further info, I love the crunchy sound of the iBasso DX-170 and the LoToo PAW Gold, and don’t particularly get excited by the Sony WM1A, Sony 507, or other Sony DAPs. Thanks!

I am trying to figure out why wireless mics connected to a MiPro - to - Yamaha soundboard via Dante turn off after a few minutes, sometimes returning to use in 30 sec or so but sometimes never. I see that they use a Netgear model 108P gigabit ethernet switch, which is an “unmanaged” Green EEE...

I am rediscovering the beauty of my Chord Hugo and seek a small digital-output source capable of streaming. It does not need a good DAC or amp, as I will use the Chord Hugo for that, but it would ideally hook right in without the Apple CCK needed for an iPod. I was originally considering the...

A friend is looking for a great closed headphone with good bass for around $400. He likes hip hop and rap, and wired headphones are just fine. What do you suggest? Thanks!

Does the Apple USB-C outlet that replaced the lightening connector on the current iPad require a CCK to input to a USB input on a DAC, or just a USB-C to USB micro adapter?

The disappearance of the iPhone headphone jack neccesitates the use of an external DAC to drive wired headphones, the most common of which is the Apple Lightening-to-1/8 inch dongle, selling for $8 to $10. At least based on price, this would seem to be a low quality DAC. The other option is to...

I’m adding a headphone capability to my speaker based audio system. Of course, I listed to speakers about 13 feet away, on the other side of the room, and that Ian where my Roon server is. To route to headphones, I either have to run a headphone extension wire across the room (actually about...

I have spent more years of my life than I care to admit waiting for Android-based streaming DAPs to come to life, or charging them because I forgot to turn them off, etc. Is there a good streaming DAP that is NOT burdened by Android? Certainly, one fast-responding, power-sipping, non-Android...

How do I solve the following problem? I am accustomed to having a great source (Roon), DAC, amp, and headphone right next to the chair that I listen to, so I can immediately adjust such things as volume, song played, amp or DAC used, and the like. If I transition to a speaker-based system, I...

Hi, all, I briefly had the iBasso DX160 and LOVED its sound and user interface and display and all, but found that it was all but unusable with WiFi - it would always quit after a few minutes, even right next to the wireless router, and I could not use hi-res streaming such as Tidal (or I...

I am looking for a short (6” or so) adapter cable to connect my 4.4 mm balanced headphone male jack to my pair of 3.5mm female connectors that are on my Pono player and my PHA-3. I am also looking for the reverse, to connect my male pair of 3.5mm plugs to a 4.4 mm jack such as on my Sony...

I run Roon on a QNAP server that has USB outputs (I use one most effectively with my Chord Hugo DAC). I want to make my Sennheiser HDVD 800 a Roon endpoint. It is on another floor, and I am sure that if I ran a USB wire, I could do this. However, is there a way to do it wirelessly...

I am considering concentrating my desktop system upon my Sennheiser HDVD800 (with HD800 headphone). What do you find to be a great source to drive music to the HDVD800? I would prefer sources that could include streaming, and I would prefer a system that would give me iPad-based remote control...

Motivation As my signature line can direct you with its links, I have compared well over 100 IEMs and headphones on various acoustic criteria such as transparency, soundstage, treble detail, bass depth, and the like. But what about... EXCITEMENT? That is what can change your mood from bad to...

I am looking for a music sever for a two channel system with these features: Store about 2TB of hi res, CD res, and Apple AAC files Wireless remote control app via iPad Streaming capability via WiFi (Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon HD) Rack or shelf mountable (display appears on remote iPad, not the...

I fear that I spend more time reading on head-fi than I spend listening to music (my only excuse is that, as a practicing pianist, I spend the MOST time making music vs. reading about or listening to it!)

When playing music from files with various sampling rates, from CD up through hi-res, how do I get Windows 10 to let the app (Windows Media, FOOBAR 2000, etc.) set the sampling rate that it uses to put out to an external DAC (Meridian Explorer 2 in my case, but could be Chord Hugo, etc)? I have...

My HP Pavilion PC, perhaps 2-1/2 years old all-in-one (HP 27-1a210) PC, which has multiple USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.0 port, will NOT allow a DAC to receive anything higher than 44.1 KHz sound... no hi-res. This is based on the lights of both my Sony PHA-3 DAC/amp and my Chord Hugo DAC/amp...

Over the 5+ years I have been active on head-fi.org, I have compared many components in groups of three, comparing on a total of 10 acoustic features (e.g., transparency, subbass,...) and ranking the three for each feature comparison as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. Having not compiled a list of all of...

The Ultrasone Edition 8, Fostex TH-900, and the Sony Z7 are the best closed headphones that I have, so I thought that it would be useful to compare them, using the method I have developed that uses snippets from four test songs, ranking three headphones' performance on each of 10 acoustic...

I have over 50 headphones, amps, DACs, and DAPs, but there are only a few that, if I lost or broke them, I would immediately replace, placing their replacement ahead of planned acquisition of any new or improved gear. My “Must Replace If Breaks” list includes: AKG K3003i IEMs LoToo PAW Gold...

I have several DAC/amps (e.g., Chord Hugo) that can receive their digital stream via Bluetooth. I have been hesitant to use that feature, using for example my iPod or my Lotoo PAW 5000 as wireless source, because I do not know whether they transmit the digital stream at the lossless CD rate...