I received the DP-X1 from PJ today but forgot to order the leather case which was stupid of me. I ordered one separately from Ebay as I believe it is a very important to have one. Right now I am using it with the Sennheiser HD650 unbalanced. No distortion with the volume all the way up to 160. I have a 2.5mm TRRS to 4 pole XLR adapter coming from Ebay. I could not find one locally on sale so I will have to wait. The single output is capable of driving the HD650s so I can't wait to hear how the balanced out sounds. I have a Cowon Plenue P1 that I like very much since I liked the laid back sound of BB, but I needed a DAP that has a good interface and capable of running Tidal. The Cowon P1 has virtually no listening fatigue. I also have the Ibasso DX100 with the original 9018 ESS chip and I think the Onkyo sounds better but last time I listened to the DX100 was a few weeks ago. The DX100 has good sound but I cannot stand the interface - I am thinking about selling it off one of these days since I don't use it much. In comparison to the Oppo HA2 portable dac/amp (uses the same ESS chip), well it just isn't on the same level as the Onkyo. I have also listened to the LG V10 with the single ESS chip and although it sounds good, I didn't like the design of the phone to warrant purchasing it, also not on the same level as the Onkyo. The volume dial is very ergonomic and functional. All in all, an excellent purchase.