4K headphone + headphone amp/dac system recommendations please

@soix 

I’m unfamiliar with that site. Thanks for the pointer. 

@jrareform 

And there’s a big difference in tube gear when you go up price tiers. 

I don’t doubt it. But I worry about availability, expense and the gradual degradation of tubes over time that somehow brings to mind the metaphor of a frog obviously being boiled to death over a period of incremental temperature changes. 

Thanks for your suggestions of Meze Empyrean and Audeze. I would not call myself a bass head; I don’t prefer music in which bass plays an outsized role. However, poor bass extension, like fatiguing highs, is something I cannot put up with for long. I’m not sure the Sennheisers would be adequate in this regard, so the Audeze might well be worth a listen. On the other hand, the Jotunheim in single-ended mode has excellent bass, which might work with the Senn HD600 series.  

RE: EQ, I noticed many of the reviews on headphones.com mention EQ. It would seem it’s assumed that EQ is an expected component in headphone systems, these days. I’ve had a Lokius in my main system before. I’m not very techie, so I’d actually prefer twisting knobs to using ap on a phone to control a digital interface. 

@ghdprentice 

Can you say more about/be more specific, regarding what factors are at play when utilizing the sort of electronics you favor ?  

@stuartk If you are close to Los Angeles there are a few great options to hear some great phones.

BTW - I should have mentioned Stax as a brand I like. At the Denver meetup in January a Stax rep had the entire lineup for me to hear. I think the entire Meze lineup was also there, except for the 109 which I ended up buying. You need to buy one of their amps to drive them but some of those amps are not expensive. I preferred the Stax to Meze but got Meze to save money on something I use infrequently.

Check out the excellent offerings from Ferrum!

@jmfinney 

Thanks for your suggestion. 

Big-time headphone person here (@Pharmaboy on Head-Fi). I own a lot of stuff and often review loaner headphones, amps, DACs. 

Everybody hears the same things quite differently, so I can only respond from my own experience and sonic tastes:

• DAC: Consider either an R2R (resister-based) DAC, or a non-oversampling (NOS) DAC. Either one can be had with a tube output, if that’s your thing (it’s definitely my thing). Either R2R or NOS digital will change how you perceive digital. Not only is it far less edgy and "processed" sounding then delta/sigma, chip-based designs, but the notes tend to have real weight and body. My best non-tube output NOS DAC is the Metrum Onyx. If you can find one of those, it’s endgame for as long as you want it to be. Many recommend this tiny Laiv NOS uDAC, said to sound great, but has only balanced outputs (2 x 3-pin XLR), which might be a barrier for some.
• Headphones: Difficult because prices vary wildly. I’m a huge fan of ZMF headphones, which veer towards the musical (and physically beautiful) design camp. If you can pick up a gently used Aeolus (open-back) or Bokeh (less expensive closed back), you’ll be quite surprised at how non-edgy & annoying headhphones can be. For a more budget-friendly new option, there’s always the HFA Dahlia 2 (I really liked the sound at CanJam):https://hififorall.com/products/hfa-dahlia-2-headphone
• Amps: Again, difficult because prices vary wildy, also because you have to decide whether you need balanced output (I do because all my headphone cables are 4-pin XLR). My favorite amps are by Violectric. I just reviewed the V222, a compact, wonderful-sounding balanced desktop amp. You can get one new for a little under $1,600 from a terrific dealer, Power Holdings Inc, or look for one used