I have the balanced cable for my Sennheiser HD 600s from Surf Cables and it works great. Pono sounds so much nicer in balanced mode!

I played around with the DAC and it would allow you to increase/decrease volume but it could never get off the one screen and you couldn't access any of the DAC functions.

I have the Schiit Magni/Modi combo and it really does the job. Like you, my listening is off my laptop in a fixed desktop configuration. The Schiit combo is excellent - and at a great price.   +1 for the earlier suggestion of foobar2000

Yes, the sound is amazing - what a change!    That's the good thing - as I explore other headphone options, I know that the Schiit combo will be able to drive whatever I decide on.   As to others on this thread, I sense no love for the ATH-M50X, and I wonder why. I've read nothing but...

I ended up getting the Schiit Modi/Magni and all I can say is "Holy Sch**t" !! Just amazing. The ATH-M50X's really shine using this DAC/amplifier combination.

I certainly see your point. I wasn't thrilled with the sound from the B & W P5s and find the ATH-M50x much better sounding to my ears. Maybe the over-ear vs on the ear has something to do with the sound to my ears. Cost certainly isn't the issue since the B & W's cost more and B & W is certainly...

My laptop is stationary on my desk, so no real need for a portable setup. The Schiit Modi/Magni combo seems to be a great choice. Thanks for the tip!

The ATH-MX50s are decent headphones for their price point. I'm listening to FLAC off of my laptop; For now, I'm looking for recommendations for a USB DAC/Headphone amp. Later on I can upgrade my headphones. I want to get the source system tweaked first. Adding better/expensive headphones now...

Hi all,   Am looking for recommendations for a USB DAC/Headphone amp. I have an old FiiO E7 which is just so-so and I want to replace it. I will mostly be using this with my Audio-Technica ATH-M50Xs, and sometimes with B & W P5s. I listen to FLACs exclusively.   There's a lot out there -...

What would be nice is to FINALLY get playlist support on the X3. It amazes me that what is really a standard feature of just about any portable player is not available on the X3. 

No, still no support for playlists. I had thought this would be addressed in the new firmware but it wasn't.   I'm waiting for this too ... in the meantime I uses the X3 at home when I have time to kick back and enjoy the music, but won't take it to work as I don't have the time to constantly...

I played around a bit with the beta firmware. There have been some nice tweaks to the UI, but the orange theme was kind of ugly - the black theme was fine. Of course, the volume issue was a no-go (I listen to just FLAC) - had to pretty much max it out whereas before I could play it around 26-28...

Bummer. Maybe it will make it into the final release.

Is playlist support in the beta?

The way Neil has talked about the Pono and Pono Music, it would lead you to believe that they will have the best masters available for their audio selections. The truth of that will be revealed when the Pono Music store is open for business.