Just checking in for my bi-monthly update. Have most, or all of the Kickstarter units been shipped yet, or did that slow moving bus get another flat at some point?
I have different devices depending on where the main audio source is. For PC I've just been using an Essence STX with every PC since 2011, and up until recently had been using some Beyer HD880s (with different pads) for both since I normally have two different systems at a time, but for the last few months I've been using those on my desktop, and some 1990s on the one I use with my TV.
For streaming stuff that plays directly from the TV, and the occasional game console, I've been using this since 2011:
Unfortunately the headphone jack isn't the best (but it's still serviceable). The real downside with that though is that it doesn't have any decent output options for using with external headphone amps, so it can't be used like a Mixamp, or similar device. Still fine for non critical listening, which would be the bulk of what I watch in terms of visual media. I find the 1990s are also much easier to drive with the headphone jack on that box too, so explosions and stuff don't sound so distorted like they can sometimes with the 880s I have.
Funny story about that box too is that I actually started down the Dolby Headphone path with an old Triton box that allowed you to use your own headphones. Initially I wasn't impressed (but it was more of an issue of the headphones I had at the time more than anything), so I exchanged that box for the Triton AP "Pro" headset that had discreet drivers...thing sounded like absolute crap though, and my next step was with the Pioneer unit.
For 4K stuff, I got so sick of waiting for the A16 to ship, and also never expected the retail price to be $4,000, so when that was revealed, I just decided to grab a used A8, which was meant to be my "backup" system for the A16, but since I don't even have that yet... Mainly use my Sennheiser HD800s with the A8. I also don't use the headphone jack of the A8 much anymore. It was fine when I was just using the 880s, but not so much with the HD800s since I needed more ways to tailor the sound than what comes with the unit. I used the optical out, and have it hooked up to this Monolith 124459, which gives me plenty of power and I can actually have decent explosions in films now with the Sennheisers, without them sounding either anemic or boomy. It also lets me tame the shrillness out of the HD800s without changing the rest of the sound too much. One can argue all they like that the HD800s are "balanced and not shrill" or whatever (*might be true for
very specific music genres), but when bullets start flying, and you hear glass shattering, you'll quickly question that opinion.
Now I just have to hope that the ten year old A8 I purchase lasts until the A16 actually arrives.