^agree 100%. Just ordered Sony ier-nw500n/ne and new Hifiman HE400i 2020 for this player. Excited to hear both of them soon!

Just got my NW-A55L, upgraded FW after few albums + changed area to E2 to uncap volume and to get radio. It was good before updates, but after those I would rate it excellent. Thanks for MrWalkman for providing FW (I am running DMP-A50 FE version). Now I just need to get those Sony...

^^ and ^  I bought  Fiio Kunlun E18 already. Thanks for replies anyway.

In my opinion it is not required and things you list in your post might be overkill. I would first test some good headphones using your phone as  DAP. If that is not good enough for you try to add amp or amp/dac to  the setup. Of course if money does not matter, you can go straight to dx80 and...

^Agree, I have not "burned in" my tube amplifier at all. I switch it on and wait until tubes glow properly, then start listen to music. It takes around 1-2  minutes until tubes are ready. I have not noticed that my amp would have been sounded different after 10, 20 or 30 hours. Maybe that...

^ I am having same problem as you, to find enough time and location near me to test speakers. However it will save you some money compared to buying without hearing and then selling those and buying again. Repeat that 10 - 20 times and you may want to go to test speakers prior buying :)   This...

I would recommend to test Tannoy Mercury V4i or Q-acoustic 3050. I like them both very much and have Tannoy's myself.

Tested your example song with AKG 550 mk2 directly from my phone via google play. Compared sound to amplified as well. I must say that these headphones worked well without amping. Bass&treble was almost same without amplification. I would recommend to test these headphones as well.

PC --> Onkyo TX-NR636 -->AKG 550 MK2   Sounds good to me!

Ok, just made decision to buy Fiio Kunlun E18. I paid 140 Eur for it.   Decided was made based on:    - Size: bigger is better :) I am going to use this with note 4 and also as desktop DAC/amp. Therefore heavier and bigger is good - Battery capacity: this unit has 3500 mAh battery vs. >1500...

That crackling noise might be produced by your soundcard, there are some known issues with it e.g. http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArticle.aspx?sid=24669   In my opinion PC soundcard might not be optimal DAC, especially as some PSU's are quite noisy (EMI). I would prefer sound signal from...

Hi!   I think this post describes pretty well what does difference between 16bit and 24 bit mean in practise as well as what is differences in sampling frequencies: http://www.head-fi.org/t/415361/24bit-vs-16bit-the-myth-exploded 

These are EU version headphones I believe. As per box specs are: 32 Ohm impedance, 114 db Sensitivity and 200 mW max input power. I guess these are quite easy to drive headphones what comes to amplification requirements.    Thanks for comment related to K1, I also noticed now that K1 does not...

First post here and being newbie what comes to headphones and amps, I am of  course asking for some guidance and help what comes to buying my first amp/dac.   I have recently bought AKG K550 MK2 headphones and have been taken JRiver Mediacenter in use. I am pleased with sound already, but I...