@jkkyler said:

What I am about to recommend isn't new as it has been on the market for a couple of years but I ordered one finally as a Christmas gift to myself and I have to say one of the best audio purchases I have made in a while. The product - Qudelix 5k Dac/Amp. It can be used as a USB dac (from a computer or a phone with a OTG cable) or a bluetooth dac/amp combo since phones no longer have headphone outputs (and most of my headphones aren't powered well enough by a phone anyway). It has both balanced and unbalanced outputs and adjustable 1-2 VRMSm power output. That is a nifty little feature to have but to top it off it also has a built in customizable 20 band pEQ.
For those of you that don't know a pEQ is much different and more powerful than the graphic EQ of yesteryear but even more significant than that is the fact that the phone app has a built in database of hundreds if not thousands of presets for specific manufacturers and models. Most are to tune the response to the Harman curve which is the idealized frequency response that headphones should have in order to give a tonally balanced sound. So you can elect not to use it , pick the preset that matches your headphone and use it (sometimes there are a few - the Harman curve, slightly altered ones from well known headphone reviewers , profiles for aftermarket earpads or different production years etc) , or start there and then modify it to your likings as it will store 10 or so user defined preferences in flash memory. I found profiles listed for every one of my headphones from my least expensive pair Beyerdynamic DT990's 250 ohm ($149) all the way up to my Stax electrostats that are over $1k and everywhere inbetween.

Best of all is the cost - $109 which is very modest for such a full featured device. and the thing is fairly tiny - the size of a matchbox. You can toss your phone on the counter somewhere and clip the thing to your shirt or pu tit in your pocket etc. Also has pause, track forwarrd controls etc in addition to volume controls. Also has a built in microphone so when you are wearing headphones you can take a call or use as a headset if you want although I have not used that feature so can't speak to it's quality.

Anyhow, rarely have I found something that truly punches as far above of its price point so wanted to pass along the info. and sing its praises. I have no financial interest in the product and do not get any kickbacks or referral fees.

https://www.qudelix.com/products/qudelix-5k-dac-amp

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0338/5530/7835/files/5K_Size.jpg?v=1590633009

WIth the holidays coming up thought I would buimp this as a X-mas gift recommendation. I still use mine nearly every day and love it. FIrst thing I do when I get home from work is usually grabbing my Sundaras plugging them into the Qudelix and then decompressing to some Livephish for 1/2 hr or so while playing fetch with my dogs.