I have never been much of a headphone listener/user. Earlier this summer I tested out using an Audioquest Dragonfly Red with an iPhone as Roon Endpoint for headphone use on my patio. I have a pair of Bose Wired noise cancelling headphones that I used quite a bit when I traveled for business. The sound is very good and the noise cancelling headphones work very well my patio which is near a busy street. According to the lights on the Dragonfly Red, I am getting high resolution music sent to my headphones
I have found myself using headphones in the house more and more, which cuts down on noise complaints from my wife. I’m now looking at getting a new set of audiophile oriented headphones for listening in the house. Is anyone else using the Roon\iPhone\Dragonfly setup for headphone listening? Would a wired headphone amp/dac sound better?
Yes and wil be a big improvemnt on Bose noise canceling, which in my experience suck for sound quality… I would not go overboard something like the Meze 99 Classic would pair very well and have room to imrpove on kit later if you wanted and still keep up, I had them with dragonfly black. red and cobalt and now use them with a more dedicated setup with a raspberry pi, SMSL SU9 DAC and and Schiit Heresy Headphone amp. For the price I dont think the Mezes can be beaten really. They also look gorgeous when using the wood and gold finish.
My recommendation is that you buy the THX AAA 789 amp now and sort out the rest later. $250 is a great price for a truly end-game amp.
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Once you have this amp, you’ll be equipped to evaluate DACs and headphones. You’ll change DACs and headphones often in this hobby, but a good amp can last decades.