Lol PayPal Friends & Family

Never had any.

Schiit is generally good value for money, apart from occasional QC/technical issues. There's a thread for Mjolnir 3, if you go through it, you should get an impression if it's for you: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-mjolnir-3-impressions-thread.969416/

It should be fine, they know their stuff. I've ordered from hifigo a while ago and more recently from Linsoul. Linsoul has same shipping options and they work :)

I'd god for separates - easier to change the dac only if like the amp, or vice versa. Another consideration is DACs tend to sound best after they've been on for a few days, so separates let you keep the dac always on and only switch on/off the amp. Can't comment on Schiit vs JDS Labs as I have...

No idea, sorry

EF400 can be had for $309 open box which seems like a great deal to me. One thing to note though is that it only has USB input.

Haven't had too much time to listen to it (on Speakers these days), but so far pretty awesome! I mostly own closed-back headphones, but haven't done any comparisons yet.

A topping will probably impress you after your current dac/amp. I have only listened to Anandas with a Schiit Lyr 3, and I liked how it sounded. There's a huge thread here on head-fi dedicated to this amp. I always vote for separates, esp if you want to be future-proof. So a Schiit Lyr 3 (or...

Having heard none of the above, but having owned some SMSL and Topping, I'd go with the Hifiman being the R2R dac and what seems to be a descent headphone amp. There are some reviews on the internet with some comparisons, pros and cons to help you decide if it's for you.

I'm confused. Is it close or the same headphone? RT vs X

Any non-Focal headphones that isolate well or as good as Focal? P.S. I used Elegia with the Dekoni Stellia pads.

I wouldn't say that about the Elegia. "OK" is a more descriptive word. Are there any better-isolationg ones?

Just to confirm, is it isolation from the outside noise? It's on my list of consideration also esp considering the comments above, but the reason for choosing a closed back is to be able to listen to the music in a noisy environment.

Does that mean that the X will have a more forward midrange? Would call them bright, or sparkly or anything like that? How is the outside noise isolation? Is the build quality the same as the "premium" versions if the AEON closed?