Re. allocations of funds, I’ve found it helpful to remember that some components offer particularly good value because they either scale well or they offer an excellent price-to-performance ratio, as with the Sennheiser HD 6x0 headphones and the Schiit Bifrost 2, respectively. To this end, I keep this excellent post by @ProfFalkin bookmarked: Recommended Gear - #2 by ProfFalkin, which is well worth checking out, @Gordon_Freeman, given your interest in the Aeolus and Eikon. [Edit: sorry, @Gordon_Freeman, I didn’t realize you already have these ZMFs]
I’ve found it helpful to keep an eye out for those items that are said to serve people well for a good, long time. By the time I get my next amp, one of my current amps (a Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid) will have done its duty for three years. (Even then I may still hold on to it since it offers a good synergy with my Focal Clear).
And thanks to @Torq’s recommendation, which pointed out that a couple of $1K DACs represented the first meaningful steps up from it, I’ve been delighted with the Massdrop Airist R-2R DAC. While I hope to upgrade it this summer or fall, were it not for the release of the Bifrost 2, I probably would have gotten even longer use out of it. I’m grateful to Torq and ProfFalkin, among others, for the great advice.