I love the crossfeed on this. I use crossfeed on my qudelix 5k all the time.
I think this is under powered. While I don’t need to drive an he6se or susvara, I don’t think this would do a sundara justice. And I doubt it could drive an arya. Personal experience on both of those.
But maybe one of the bigger ones? Possibly phonitor se would be competitive with the soloist. Need to go read some comparisons.
They are not low cost…you are overthinking and you have too many parameters…
Phonitor se is about the same price as the soloist. The other ones are more.
But I have no idea how they perform yet. So I need to read and learn.
Nah, the parameters are simple: the least I can spend to power most future headphones with as good quality as possible.
Good quality = depth and presentation with solid clarity. Nuance over wall of sound. I have heard wall of sound, it didn’t impress me. (A90/d90)
I suspect I would like r2r dacs as well based on what I am reading. I want to go as far in the other direction from a90/d90 while still being good for as many headphones as possible. (Meaning, not tubes)
Out of curiosity, how are you connecting your Nios to the Jot 2?
2 pin Hart Audio cables, which I then connected to the 1/4 inch or XLR amp cable.
Thank you very much! I hope you’re still enjoying the Nios.
I do enjoy them when I get to use them, since I only use headphones in the house.
They feel like an iem equivalent of the ZMF Aeolus, because they’re perfect for relaxing and listening to music.
That’s a nice, evocative description, thanks - good to know.
Likewise, more or less… I switch to IEMs when it gets too hot in the summer - the predicted 95 degree temperatures here from Sunday are reminding me of this - and I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a Jot 2 to pair with planar headphones as well as my Andromeda 2020 at some point in the future (though not soon enough for this summer’s heat, alas).
If I were making a purchase decision today, and was ready to unload the cash, I think it would be musicians pegasus / burson soloist.
musicians andromeda, audio-gd nfb1 (neither discussed here but elsewhere) and of course the playmate 2 are all close seconds. As is the denafrips ares ii on the dac side.
Unfortunately, this level of cash will require some planning on my part. But, barring any changes, the goal is set. The playmate 2 was so tempting because it could be an instabuy. But I wanted the option to go r2r.
Thanks for the feedback everyone!
@Tom_Ato can’t wait to hear about what your c9 sounds like on the other dacs! And again when the r01 comes in!
If you do decide to instabuy the Playmate 2, I’d advise checking which opamps @Tom_Ato used for his comparison, since the V6 Vivid opamps (as used by the Soloist and Conductor) are not part of the Playmate standard package, and will add another $200 to the price.
The instabuy included buying the stand and the vivid 6 opamps. If I had had a bit of gin tonight, I probably would have bought it already. ;p I could see myself wanting the playmate 2 at a secondary location.
But, at the moment, I think patience is good. I am attempting to solve my dap problems first. The stack is also much less appealing without a functional dap. I need music off my phone for all this to work.
I used the standard Playmate 2 without V6.
I do believe though, that the standard vs. V6 still not change the sound substantially but rather in details, so the basic sound signature will be the same. Since I don’t have enough spare V6s, I can’t test. 
I’ll be getting Hiby new R6 and R8 for my store soon. Any experience with those? I know technology wise Hiby seems to lead the pack in terms of usability and features.
May I suggest something unusual?
I have (and sell in Switzerland /Europe) Spirit Torino from Italy. They are still quite unknown but make some fine headphones. My favorite closed back is Radiante. Very unique and engaging sound. Unfortunately, it’s a bit more expensive at 2100$ but if you can demo one, it’s worth it. Works fine with DAPs too.
That looks amazing! What full size headphones do you use? I’m trying to get a good portable rig for my ZMFs
What looks amazing? Sorry, don’t know what you mean. 
If you do seriously consider the hp-2 and hear them, I am very interested in how they compare to the VC and the stellia. Those two are basically the only things I want to hear to see if I like them more than the hp-2.
Hello again everyone. I’m looking for suggestions for either a DAC/AMP combo or stack that would pair well with my IEM collection. I’m still pretty new. I originally got a pair of Drop 5xx, Sennheiser Momentums, and Hifiman Sundaras to start and paired them with a Schiit Magni 3+ and Modi. I then bought a Fiio K5 Pro to try out some higher resolution DSD files since the Modi didn’t like those.
Recently, I’ve been listening to mostly IEMs on Earstudio ES100 MkII through my phone and iPad. I’m looking to do a desktop IEM setup now, so what should I get. The Fiio does ok on low gain and it obviously has more than enough power, but I still get some hiss on some IEMs. I’d like to get something that has lower noise, probably less power, and maybe any features/designs that are specifically good for IEM use.
I have about a dozen of them ranging from the super cheap KZ ATR to the most “expensive” pair, the Shozy Form 1.4. I really enjoy the Shozys, and I’m also very happy with the KZ DQ6. I’m also looking for a new pair to splurge on up to about $500 which is also my budget for a DAC/AMP.
So please tell me what my best bang for the buck would be under $1000 for DAC, AMP, and IEM. Thanks in advance.
Schiit has the new IEMagni (still does 2.4w but has a 3 gain settings (one of them being 0.3) to make it work well with IEMs.
An all in one option not talked about much any more but I believe is still great is the JDS labs Element II. 1 box, looks great, huge volume knob, sounds great and quiet enough for IEMs.
Edit: as for IEMs at the $500 price range I’d look at the Blessing2 (or the Blessing2 dusk) or if you can stretch it to the Dunu SA6.
I want a store room like yours Tom. 