What music is best for life in a tiny box?

WOW! Thank you for all the great responses!

@Rdavwhitaker I have been eyeing the creek for a long time and have heard good things about the Sennheisers. I have also heard great things about the Grados, and they are a third the price.

@Roscoeiii All good questions. I am a solid-state guy (I have nothing against tubes..just never had the money to check it out...maybe now?) There will most likely be a computer involved. I have a great (good-enough) sounding 2-ch Adcom for an amp. Good question about noise. My previous sea tour I was on a submarine. Noise was definitely an issue. I would imagine while we are steaming, noise will be an issue as well. (they don't build them for comfort!)

@Elizabeth Agreed, but I am unsure about the usability of speakers, esp if i have a roommate. Also, the DAC or player must support FLAC. I have very little in MP3.

@Arni Interesting. I have never heard of CEntrance, but looks good. I do want an analog in for my headphone amp in case I take my PSX for a transport.

@Jdoris Agree completely. Thanks for your support.

@Rsuminsby Cool. Yeah, I need to see my living arrangements before I can settle on speakers. I like Cambridge (bang for buck) so I will look into that as well.

My problem with USB DACs (not that I have used them) is jitter. Plus, as a Linux user, driver support is also of concern. Something designed from the ground up to play digital music is kinda what I am looking for.

Thank you to all for your great comments! Would love to hear from more of you.

@4est Was just looking at the Burson; I like the build of it. I will look into the other as well.

@Jdoris I like Music Hall stuff. The build does not seem as impressive as Burson, I know, that is only part of the picture. Plus the MH looks deep. The laptop I am not including in the $2k, I need that anyway for chatting with the fam and gaming. I will let you guys know, but I do not report to the ship until January...so you may have to wait awhile.

@Rsuminsby I like Cambridge and have heard good things. I will be on a DDG. Yes a stateroom with, at max, one roommate is FAR better than a "closet" with 9 racks in it!

@Arni It is too funny, I was in my garage this morning, and in an old stack of papers, I found an old Stereophile I had not read...guess what, it is the one that reviews the CEntrance! Fate?

Thanks again. I think I am strongly leaning toward a DAC with USB connector. The Creek mentioned above I have heard great things about...any other headphone amps? Maybe I should go tube. What was that Chinese one reviewed several months back in Sam's Space?

Okay, after days of research and playing the, "Well for only $100 more I can...."-game, I found myself seriously contemplating the Bel Canto DAC2.5.

Then reality set in, just too much for now.

So, as a start, I think I am going to go with the new V-DAC II and the Creek OBH-11. I will continue to use my AKG 240s. So $550 is a modest start, and I will see where to go from there.

What are your thoughts?

@Swamp Thanks for the input. I found and read the review in SP. Looks interesting. I really like that is can be used to record from vinyl. It has made my short list with the V-DAC II and the Centrance DACPort(though I am very dubious about its ability to drive headphones. I may go with the LX).

@Mapman the original model of 240s I had were 600ohm. Definitely were hard to drive. My kids broke those. The replacement I bought are 55 Ohm, much easier to drive, but they sound no where as nice as the older ones :(. I have been interested in tubes for sometime now, so I agree, I might get into it! I know Sam Space in SP review a Chinese made tube headphone amp. I just need to find that old review.

@Shadorne I know I said $2k budget originally, but I don't think that is responsible right now. So, I think my budget is really about $500-700. So that kinda rules out Benchmark's stuff. Thanks for the heads up with Sennheiser. Those have made my short list too!