[aviusmc]

I'm about to order the Ultrasone Signature Pro or Signature DJ (haven't fully decided) headphones, and was looking for a little source/amp guidance. I was looking at the Fostex HP-A8 due to good reviews and the fact that I find the two-in-one package of the amp/dac to be very convenient. Furthermore, I heard that it plays real nice with the Fostex TH-900 headphones, which I definitely wanna check out someday.
 
Can anyone comment on that unit or steer me towards something they think is better?

 

[NA Blur]

Both the O2+ODAC and ASUS Essence One, and the DAC1 pre are all awesome.
 
If you are looking for something more portable check here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/620775/the-sub-200-portable-amps-shootout-11-10-amps-compared

 

[Currawong]

Budget?

 

[aviusmc]

Quote:

Budget?

 
 
Quote:

Both the O2+ODAC and ASUS Essence One, and the DAC1 pre are all awesome.
 
If you are looking for something more portable check here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/620775/the-sub-200-portable-amps-shootout-11-10-amps-compared

I'll look at those. And it's for desktop use, so portability isn't a concern. Thanks for the reply!
 
No real budget, I'm open to high-end suggestions, even if I need to save up for it.

 

[Currawong]

The April Music DP-1 was a lot nicer-sounding than the A8 IMO. It's rather overkill for the Ultrasones but if you ended up going nuts with a headphone or speaker rig it would survive as a source for quite a long while I reckon. 

 

[Jd007]

solid state dac/amp in one? schiit modi + magni + duct tape PPP

 

[GaryPham]

Audio-GD stuff is really nice, especially with the ESS9018 DAC chips.  I have an NFB-11.32 and it absolutely sings.  I have no doubt their higher end models are even better.

 

[Pe8er]

How about NuForce Icon HDP?

 

[aviusmc]

I'll start checking out reviews, thanks for the leads!