I have a budget of $1,000, I just recently got into the hobby, I have the Topping MX5. I am looking for something that puts out more power and features, I like features like : XLR, 4.4mm balanced, and 3.5mm connection for headphones. I feel like the Topping MX5 doesn’t have enough power to power Planar Magnetic Headphones very well, since i almost max out the volume output for my headphones. I am a big fan of Planar Magnetic Headphones, who knows in time i will move to dynamic drivers etc… Oh I almost forgot, this will be a Desktop setup, i will just be connecting the Dac and Amp to my Desktop. I listen mainly Pop music, Anime songs, but I do take a dab at other genres sometimes. I really like my low end bass, treble, and especially Vocals, i hate it when Vocals get muddy when you have music that has so many things going on, i lean towards natural sounding signature, if possible clean sounding imaging and soundstage
what do you have for headphones and what genres of music do you listen too?
if you want to stick with topping the A30pro has almost triple the power of the MX5 and has all the outputs you want
I manly listen to pop, and anime songs, I really like low end bass, detail, and vocals, but i am really knit picky with vocals, i have to hear them loud and clear
The headphones i currently own is Fostex T20rp mk3 , HiFiMan Edition XS and Ananda.
I’d say take a look at a warm DAC lije the iFi Zen and then test the headphones out with some powerful solidstate and hybrid tube amps.
Do have Links to the products you mentioned or just the names of the products?
there are a few Zen options… it’s a bit convoluted, but the iFi Zen DAC is actually a combo DAC / headphone amp with both 6.35mm s-bal and true 4.4mm Pentacon balanced connectors. it has both line level RCA and 4.4mm Pentacon balanced outputs for just the DAC portion as preamp. then there is the Signature DAC which is just a DAC, no headphone amp and the same outputs for any headphone or speaker amp. the Signature DAC us supposed to use more premium parts, but it’s almost universally agreed there is no difference between it and the combo. then there is a new Zen Air DAC / Amp which is much lower in price but does away with all the balanced audio support and connectors.
note they also have a Zen CAN, which us a standalone amp. the amp brings 3D+ to the table as the combo only has iFi’s legendary X-Bass. I believe it may offer a bit more power than the combo, but like the standalone DAC, ni real ‘difference’ is the general opinion. a Air CAN us rumored, but has not been released. the difference us it has no balanced outputs, so lower price.
realistically, I think the standalone DAC and CAN amps exist to satisfy those with OCD who wanted a separate Zen device for each function, but in the end the vast majority learned paying 2x the price didn’t result in better sound than the original combo unit.
Zen DAC v2
Zen Signature v2
Zen Air DAC
Which one is the one that suits my needs the most?
I want the cleanest sounding, natural sounding, have the power to power anything, also offer great vocals and low end bass
get the combo unit… the first link to start.
then get some 4.4mm Pentacon balanced cables for your headphones. balanced output has more power than most single ended… however, there are some single ended amps that perform as good as some balanced. a great example if an amp with power is the Schiit Asgard 3. just the amp, don’t get the optional DAC interface card for it.
Hart Cables makes excellent custom cables and HFG members can get a 10% discount, just mention who you are on there and they’ll apply it manually
oh, and aside from the Asgard 3 as an excellent solidstate amp, take a look at xDuoo hybrid tube amps… or Schiit’s Lyr 3, again without the optional DAC.
Which one has the most power, to power anything you throw out at it, i want to future proof, so i don’t have to buy a Dac and Amp for awhile, i want the best performance and best in dollar for dollar in everything
I think i want separate DAC and AMP that compliments each other very well and checks off everything i am looking for.
I just need to know what i need to setup everything properly
the Zen DAC has a headphone amp, but it can be just a DAC and bypass / disable the amp via a switch and use either the RCA out or 4.4mm balanced ports on the back of it. they are line level, so whatever you connect the DAC to controls the volume. 
Which Zen Dac’s do i need, that will last me for a while, until i feel like upgrading
this DAC:
where do you live?
Pennsylvania, United States
What else do i need to buy, besides the DAC?