I currently have a Modi 3 and Magni 3 and I am looking to upgrade in the next couple of months. My budget is about $400 and I am primarily looking to upgrade the amp, but I am not opposed to a DAC/Amp combo. I know the THX 789 is the obvious answer if I spend everything on the amp, but any other suggestions? My current headphones are modded T60RPs and HD58X.
What about the monolith thx desktop? It’s an all in one with lots of features, and with more then most will ever need. The 789 is a great choice, but the monoprice thx 887 and smsl thx 888 are coming out and might be more available then a 789
Also just noticed, but you would be better off sticking to your amp and dac setup and putting your budget towards a better pair of headphones imo. You can get some pretty nice headphones for the 500 usd range
To be completely honest, in this price range id consider the Atom or if you are someone who also likes aesthetics of the products you use - the new Asgard 3 (which I heard today for a couple of hours and is a major improvement over the v2 i still own imho). Id put the saved money towards approx. 1k of saving until the next headphone if I were in your position today.
If he already has the magni 3, I really don’t see the point of going to the atom, as I’m guessing he would want more power. The Asgard 3 is a great product at a great price, but I would still suggest saving for better headphones
I agree with your sentiment about going to higher end headphones first - nothing to add here 