Haven’t heard either so can’t help. I expect not many people have. When I was shopping for a headphone I watched lots of YouTube reviews of models I was considering and learned to read frequency response and other graphs. But that second option is only for a chosen few, grin.
You might want to do some reading of the many existing threads first:
DAPs - HifiGuides Forums.
From what I’ve seen, people who’ve done both generally seem to feel there isn’t a clear-cut advantage to either option.
Imo I would only buy a dap if you want it to be separate from your phone. Otherwise imo a dac/amp combo is more futueproof imo
For a good powerful dap, check out the hiby r5, plenty of power on tap
When I get back I will add a comparison of the aeon 2 closed and elegia since I own both
Wow ! I’m blown away with the help and responsiveness of this community! You are awesome!!
We don’t want you to get stuck with beats or other overpriced stuff, that’s all. 
Coincidentally I’m rec’ing the Kennerton Magni once again. Seems to fit all the criteria. Not sure about import taxes though.
Good luck with your search!
William Murdoch @ The Headphone Experience Reviews
First Impressions
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I actually when I first got the aeon 2 closed I sold off my ether c flow 1.1 as the 2 closed was the better product imo, but I was also considering selling the elegia. I ended up not but I do generally prefer the aeon 2 closed as a package overall. The sound depends more on preference
My honest to god #1 suggestion would be for you to get cheap pair of cans first. You mentioned this is your first foray into the hobby. The fun of this hobby is getting new gear and “upgrading”, learning to appreciate new detail from the music. So if you want to enjoy the hobby that way, I would suggest getting a cheaper setup in the beginning, figure out what you like and go from there.
Though to answer your original question, with a budget you are looking at the ether CX from drop would be a pretty solid choice.
Hi guys! A busy week is almost over ! I spent a lot of my free time reading up, thinking and comparing the recommended headphones !
The last post made me rethinking this a few times and I think @Atomic_coco is right I can’t appreciate 1000$ Headphones and I’ll be able to appreciate them a lot more if I “work” my way up to them.
That’s why I think a smart move right now is to pick up a really good future proof dap ( that I can pair with better and better headphones over time) and then get good but not 1000$ good headphones.
Thoughts?
Dap or Dac/Amp combo? Also I misread your initial post as I thought you already owned a m11 so I assumed you already had some nice headphones lol, I agree with @Atomic_coco, starting towards something more reasonable is a smarter idea (I should have noticed lol)
Dap is a player right? And dac/amp is a digital to analog converter and amplifier correct?
Well I don’t really know what to get I’m just afraid to have too many things if I go the dac/amp+ Phone route
Right now I’m looking for a office setup wich means I’m trying to avoid a lot of bulky boxes coupled too each other if that makes sense
So the dap is a player correct, like a fiio m11. A dac/amp combo that’s portable would be like a fiio q5s (just using fiio since apples to apples). I would say the more futureproof choice would be the dac/amp combo attached to a phone, unless you really want to keep your music separate from your phone or hate the concept of having something extra to connect on the back of your phone
Also something to look at now would be the massdrop x beyerdynamic dt177x now back on drop, at 380, it would check most of the boxes you want in sound and usability
I get the impression that most DAPs are really intended for use with in-ear monitors rather than over-ear headphones. This is because the power output of most DAPs is miserly to conserve battery run time. That said, there are increasing numbers of over-ears that are low power draw. But historically quality over-ear headphones required relatively high power.
So if you do buy a DAP and want this to be your main electronics this will restrict your headphone options, unless you buy one of the extra-power DAPs like the Hiby R6 M0N recommended or the Astell & Kern Kann or Kann Cube.
The m11 or r5 can get headphones going fairly well, the thing is that most daps only output ample power in balanced now so you have to go balanced for some headphones. But you are correct that most daps and dac/amp combos are made for iems in mind
I saw Z speak very highly off the BTR5 if I understand it correctly the phone sends the music to it over Bluetooth and the BTR amplifies and converts the signal and drives the headphones that are plugged into it correct?
That is correct. It is a nice unit. You can use it with bluetooth or plugged in via usb. I would just suggest going balanced with what you get if you can to use full size headphones with it
Now you have to explain what you mean by balanced.
Yea and the btr5 is also cheap enough that it won’t hurt if I have to get something stronger and better down the line
I was reading about balanced vs unbalanced cables and headphones but I’d lie if I told you I understand the difference
So the btr5 has a single ended out and a balanced out. Most headphones are single ended, with a 3.5mm trs or 1/4 inch trs jack (trs means tip, ring, sleeve). Many companies are starting to introduce balanced audio (you don’t need to really know how it works electrically), which will typically have a 2.5mm trrs or 4.4mm trrs jack. When a manufacturer typically goes balanced with their gear, they focus more on the balanced output of the amp and the single ended output tends to get neglected a bit, so it typically doesn’t sound as good as the balanced output. There are plenty good single ended amps, but if something has balanced I would use that (something that has balanced doesn’t make it sound better than single ended, it just means that to use the balanced amp you would want to make sure your headphones are balanced ready). With most headphones with detachable cables on each cups, you can buy a balanced cable to use with it, but some headphones won’t work balanced, so it depends on the headphone
Also @MaynardGK how about you also give an explanation because you are able to phrase things in a more understandable and digestible manner?
Just call me Nard, grin. Saves typing. I have a beyerdynamic DT 1990 and an Audio-Technica M50x. I don’t know from balanced. What I tend to observe is an amp with both a single-end and a balanced output often delivers exactly twice as much power via the balanced as the single-ended connection. I’ve also read people bemoan the cost of balanced cables.
My poor feeble memory cells think balanced outputs were designed to use something called common-mode rejection to provide a cleaner signal for long cable runs between devices. But in the headphone world it seems to be all about doubling the powah to provide extra heft and authority to the headphone’s sound. But I wouldn’t know from personal experience.