It’s so hard to settle on just one amp, one headphone and one DAC. There are just to many possible headphone/amp/dac combinations out there to try. The rabbit hole is endless and there is no such thing as endgame in my opinion. It’s the main reason why I have a “collection of sound“ as I like to call it. Even with all the gear I have I still enjoy listening to other gear at different price points to see if there is “more” sound to had.Spent some time this evening comparing HPA4, Moon 430HAD (dac and amp), DAC3 and RME ADI-2, and wow what an experience that was. Headphones used were HD800S, Utopia and Empyrean.
Without writing a lengthy post, I felt like the RME/HPA4 pair suited trance and dance music best, but the Moon 430HAD (as a dac and amp) brought so much more to the party when it came to vocals and atmosphere, especially for sound tracks.
I’m looking for my next potential upgrade from my V281 (to be paired with my current RME ADI-2) and I’m unsure which way to go (HPA4 or 430HAD), but it’s going to be really interesting trying to decide which way to go.
A friend is doing the same and he’s buying both which I’m reluctant to do at this time, but damn they’d all live very happily together, used for they’re own purposes and matched music types.
The main thing anyone can do is just be happy with what you have because there will always be something better to come along. System synergy is the key. Some headphones just sound better when paired with certain gear. Put a different headphone on the same gear it may not be as enjoyable as enjoyable. So the search continue.......