I have been reading this topic now for days, finished the last post Friday night!!! And immediately ordered my RNHP from a local supplier are in the UK… at £429 which seemed to be a good price in Europe 
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So after many nights glued to this topic, as I said above my RNHP is now on it’s way! I feel like I know all you guys personally - and what a great bunch… I don’t know what it is about groups that use this kind of community software but they all seem pretty nice folk - (shame you haven’t offered the black on white scheme option though, these old eyes don’t do white on black very well!).
Anyways, just saying hello and wondering what the assembled gathering think might be next (it’s Xmas soon!) on my shopping list now the RNHP will be my main amp? I started in headfi a short while ago with Senn HD600’s and a Mojo, then side graded to a RME ADI and eventually moved that to the main speaker system where it lived for a while - I always thought it was a much better DAC than a headphone amp.
Anyways after some serious upgrading across the main system this year I found myself with no hole to plug my headphones into at all! So as a stop gap I bought a Topping E30/L30 stack… what a little wonder that is, totally amazed at how they can now get so much into such a small box and for so little!
But I’ve been lurking here and around for a while and eventually decided on the RNHP as my next move. I am amazed at how clear and flat modern delta sigma DACs and THX type amps are now, but in my main system I’ve gone R2R and tube… so I wanted something with a little more character from my headphone amp as well. Judging form the posts in here I think I should be getting that and more from the Rupert Neve - it looks a lot of fun!
So, I’ll be using the E30 for a while as my DAC and still keeping the HD600’s but obviously the upgrade bug is biting and I was wondering where to invest next? I listen almost exclusively to classical on my headfi gear, I find I need that up close and personal as on my speaker system I can’t make out the quiet notes and if I turn it up then the crescendos make my speakers shout way too much… you just can’t get an orchestra into the typical Brit apartment living room!! 
I chose the HD600’s originally because they were advised for classical, but they sometimes feel a little ‘light’ on impact, the bass is there but it don’t rumble. Maybe it shouldn’t? I feel the RNHP might provide me with more choices in the headset department, but I don’t really want to spend huge amounts yet, maybe up to £500 or so but hey, who knows if the right cans call me?
Next would be the DAC and I have a sneaky feeling, after reading lots on here, that this will take me back into RME type price band (not that I want that one again)… I had a Denafrips Ares II for the main system but recently upgraded and sold it, but then I hear some folks think that might be over egging the pudding with the RNHP?
Anyway, hello, and all thoughts gratefully received - I need some new reading matter now I have finished this epic topic…!
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LOL! That is a joke. I didn’t want to do it at 500… this is a definite no-go now.
Im surprised it hasn’t jumped before now… electronics stocks are totally fucked at the moment and everything will go up.
Saying that, I’ve seen tons of RNHP’s go for the $350-400 mark on the 2nd hand market, definitely something to pickup. It does need a spacious DAC to get the most out of it though, as many have said before… BF2
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Ouch this is a big jump!
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Yea RME do great DACs for the price but the amps are a bit clinical - great for studio work, not especially for listening
Yep, fantastic amp, personally I prefer it more for studio work and serious analytical listening.
Lake People G111 is my go to for pleasure. Bigger, wider and smoother than the RNHP but with the same amount of detail.
If you haven’t read it yet, this is a good read.
E30 & RNHP is fine, but a tad crispy and lean for the RNHP imo. I currently have both my RNHP and G111 paired with a Geshelli Jnog which is a good step up from the E30 in my opinion. However with the RNHP a Schiit Bifrost 2 seems to be the magic pairing and I plan on getting that myself.
If you are solely listening to classical, the RNHP will be great for imaging and tone, however I feel you’d be missing out a little bit on stage width. A Jnog/J2 or BF2 would improve this though. That is if you like big soundstage? If your into intimate stuff then the RNHP is perfect along with the HD600’s
Headphones make the biggest difference in a chain though.
I personally haven’t listened to HD600’s as I know there won’t be enough bass there for me. I have Focal Elegia’s which are close as a closed back, very enjoyable if a bit loose in the treble… more than enough bass but no rumble.
If you want more impact and bass, chase it and see if you prefer it. Honestly, just trying things and experimenting is a great part of the process and learning what you prefer.
I feel Focal Clears would be a perfect match, (a favourite with the RNHP here) for classical IF you like an intimate soundstage with great imaging. Obviously that’s a fair bit over your £500 mark so you could try the Focal Elex, seems to be considered a budget Clear and 95% there in terms of sound.
I’ve been listening to alot of classical today on Hifiman Arya’s with the G111 and it’s the best I’ve heard alot of it, absolutely huge. Korngold is pretty damn great on this.
The RNHP will not power Arya’s properly though, despite whatever anyone else says, they just seem a bit lean and “off” on the RNHP.
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Nice. Try the AT r70x (470 ohms); that’s what I use with the RNHP and it kicks ass.
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Yeah I know, but these aren’t stupid people… if they think they can get $700, they can get $700.
That being said, the point of my post was that you can still get it at 5 new, for now, and even less second hand.
Personally I’m pissed off that their Portico 5017 also jumped in price. I wanted to get a second one to record in stereo 
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Those greedy bastards make great shit though. No doubt about that.
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Thanks @darylc loads of info there! Im afraid Schiit gear is a no go over here at the moment, quite rightly I think they are servicing their local market before exporting just at the moment! I’m looking forward to trying various amps over the coming months, had noticed good things about the Lake People and also SPL and Singxer - I really enjoy the journey so no rush for an ‘endgame’
Yeah I know. But if they are gonna get predatory they can keep it. They aren’t getting it from me. This is not an essential item! If everyone just said no and let the shit rot on the shelves they would have to bring the price back down. But I don’t see that happening either, so…
Oh well. It is what it is. No Neve for me I guess! 
Yea, im in the same boat here in Ireland regarding Schiit gear. It actually works out the same price if you order it direct though, with the slight arseache of customs, most have a good setup with online customs payments.
Completely forgot about these, “extended HD600s” they have been called. Totally worth it at the price.
Cool, it’s a good experience.
Well the RNHP arrived this morning, had it warming up for a while being fed by the Topping E30, in turn fed by Rp4 USB… first listen… schiit ( ) this thing is frightening! The dynamics are amazing, listening to Part’s Symphony No. 1 first movement: Canons and I am actually frightened… incredible slam and attack… crazy!! Micro detail is very good (I can hear right into the many strands of the orchestral mix) and the bass is strongly and menacingly underpinning everything. Flutes and brass are strident… a little too strident actually. Seems to me I need to up my DAC game to get the most from this amp! Oh… and I’m well pleased at how the HD600’s have scaled, seems there’s lots more in these old cans than I thought! 
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I’d say its a bit too colored for my personal liking but it can still be enjoyable, still think the bifrost 2 is a pretty awesome pairing for it if you can get one, another solid pairing was a holo cyan as well
Yeah the neve just isn’t up to the task for the arya, amazing with the clear though
Pretty great pairing as well for sure
Niceee glad you are enjoying it, and yeah the 600 can give you much more than you’d expect given their age lol
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++ for the Holo Audio stuff for the pairing. The RNHP just does so much right with so many headphones.
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Hopefully this link should work?!
Thanks for the ideas @M0N and @DagoRed the Holo looks lovely, and I’m thinking the new Spring 3 for my main setup at some point, but for headphone rig I was hoping to ‘upgrade’ from the little Topping E30 to maybe a third of the way to the Holo… 
- say £400 ish for now. The Schiit gear is not so easy to come by now and would be over £700 imported, like the Ares II and similar. I just wondered if any of the popular headphone desktop size DAC’s might be an improvement… SMSL, Topping and the like?
PS. And after listening again last night, this RNHP is soooo dynamic, from whisper quiet to explosive force in a nano second! I don’t think these 600’s have ever been powered so well!
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Maybe the e50 have heard good things about it but it’s to new to give a blind recommendation
Otherwise in the 3-600 $ price range it’s hard to say that many DACs are an worthwhile upgrade.
I myself am saving for a DAC upgrade in the direction of bf2 or ares II
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Yes I saw the e50s I think it was recently reviewed? They just seem to be adding more features and getting the specs even more amazing (SMSL and Topping) and not making any major improvements to the actual sound of the DACs (DAC’s sounding different, don’t tell ASR!). The Geshilli J2 looks promising, actually it sounds promising, it looks bl***y awful! I’ll keep looking, I don’t really want to go end game, I rather like the journey these days…
Honesty for that money, I’d really look into a allo revolution dac with the shanti lps, really good sound for the money with the upgraded psu, also reasonable amount of features for tweaking the sound a bit too. Personally think it’s a good place to be where it’s solidly above some of the more entry level gear. IMO there’s somewhat of a market gap between some of the good 200 buck offerings like a schiit modius, geshilli jnog, etc and the really true step up stuff from like denafrips, soekris, schiits higher end, holo etc. The stuff that sits in the middle 300-600 range tends to be either very small upgrades or more buying for features from the 200 range, the allo to me somewhat fills that gap pretty well
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