Thanks @Bookbear appreciate the input 
Always willing to consider alternatives, Thanks @pennstac
Would love to have some of the pricier units, but not really in the budget atm. Worth considering as things eveolve though, Cheers !
I think I detected that you live in Ireland so this suggestion may be good for you. The Verum headphones are made in Ukraine which may be more accessible than the US. here is a review from a trusted reviewer for them:
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@Thomas_Roy Will have a look … thanks !
If you are looking for a portable amp/dac vs a dedicated desktop setup the ifi HipDac 3 is a great option, as long as your headphone is pretty efficient. I have one, it sounds great and is pretty affordable. It works great with my Focal Clear, ZMF Bokeh Open, and HFA Dahlia.
For $200 it punches above its weight in terms of price/performance, has good battery life, and is very compact. It’s not just for iems btw.
Good luck, you’ve already been flooded with ideas! 
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Nope, I’m Canadian through and through btw lol … have a good one
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Added to the list … many thanks !
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Regarding AMP/DAC, I’d suggest to try your new headphones with what you already have.
iPhone and laptop can sound decent with volume headroom compatible or even better than dongles.
I’d better save for more powerful and feature reach (but still within ~300$ budget, like FiiO K7 BT) desktop AMP/DAC than buying dongles which limited in power and not so convenient to use at a desk.
But dongles are fine for portability if you need it, in this case Qudelix 5k looks like the best option with power, sound quality and features close to desktop and with low price, maybe just not most convenient because of the buttons you may click by a mistake.
Probably FiiO BTR7 is closest competitor to 5k, but maybe less powerful for some headphones, tried it with DT1990Pro and sound was fine.
It’s a great list. The HiFiMan planars don’t require a great deal of power, but easily benefit from an amp. The Sennheiser HD 6XX are 300Ω, so they also like a little extra power. I’m not familiar with the Adam H200, but the Sennheiser HD 560S and the FiiO FT1 aren’t very power hungry. The FT1 have a fair soundstage for being closed back, but can’t compete with the HD 560S. It’s also just a bit brighter, which should help that wide soundstage perception, you know, as ears age. The FT1 can deliver more bass. The HD 490 Pro, with the producer pads, also has more bass than the HD 560S but at a steeper price than the headphones on your list.
If your output is already analog, the Schiit Magni (without DAC) is very reasonable, and more than enough power, adding great headroom to all the headphones on your list, or opening the list up to most any dynamic/planar model. It doesn’t have balanced output, included along with the unbalanced cable for the FT1, and an available alternate balanced cable purchase for all your Sennheiser and HiFiMan picks.
If your music is USB output based, or benefits from the higher quality DAC processing that an external unit affords, the Schiit Magni Unity retains the ability to accept RCA analog input while adding a USB DAC. If you wanted balanced output that gets more expensive from Schiit Audio, and in what appears to be your target range, FiiO balanced/unbalanced output DACs could be your best value.
Purchase and try the Sennheiser HD 560S without an amp. If you can return them, that’s extra security, but I don’t think you’ll need it.
I have not decided on a headphone yet, but that is good advice once I do acquirea unit. If I then feel the need for a dac/amp in addition, I will be coming here again for advice on best pairings. Cheers @Aleksandr
@HD_424 Thanks for the input. I kinda just stumbled across the Adam Audio H200 while cruising utube. DMS did a review of it. You can see it here if interested >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSEbSo9WVQU. As always, I appreciate everyone that takes time to respond with their thoughts and suggestions. Many thanks !
You could probably also fit the Philips X2HR in among the headphones on your list. They are probably priced in between the HD 560S (higher) and the FT1 (lower) and are a great, well built pair of open backs. Philips also makes what may be the current best low price bargain in open back headphones, the SHP9500, about US $80 though some retailers. The SHP9600 is of similar value, and might sell some places for even less, though I think the SHP9500 may be the better of the two. Both can be purchased on ebay for about US $50 from merchants who include “Make an offer” To me those two SHP models should make it impossible for any headphone lover to live without at least one open back pair, or they’re what you also must consider adding, if you were to chose the close back FT1, an excellent pair, over all the other open backs on your list. The SHP9500 may not be able to distinguish itself above the Sennheisers, or HiFiMan that you are considering, but for the imaging and detail, they are still a great choice, and ae a comfortable, well constructed pair.
The construction of the X2HR isn’t of the past, not really. They bare all the signs of CNC rapid fabrication, but when contrasted with plastic or metal molds, the extra handling and care required, even in CNC processes, and the self adjusting headband, bring forth the feel of high end and of earlier times. Great headphones don’t need to also be great to look at, but to me, the Philips X2HR still are. Their soundstage easily rivals or even surpasses the HD 560S. I prefer the fit of the HD 560S, and yet that’s my head, and many wears write that they like the X2HR better.
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As an idea that’'s a bit from left field, I haven’t seen anyone mention (apologies if I missed it) … Audeze Maxwell.
At first look, you might pass straight over these, but give it a moment.
On the downside, they’re closed back, and are seemingly marketed as “gaming” headphones. They are also a tad on the heavy side, but I’ll come back to that.
On the upside, they’re from Audeze (which is a pretty good pedigree, at least after a touch of EQ), they’re planar magnetic (hence the extra weight) and they’re wireless (though not ANC).
Is wireless an upside? In some ways, yes. in others, no, but like so much in audio it depends what YOU need. One upside of wireless is that you certainly don’t need to plan on extra expense on DACs, amps or dongles, because the Maxwell’s are active and that’s all built-in anyway.
The main upside, to my mind, is that they offer a pretty impressive sound quality, at the price. I’m in Europe though, and don’t now how US/Canadian pricing compares. They also have a degree of EQ built-in (to the Android and Windows driver/app) so you can tweak a bit. Full parametric EQ it isn’t, but it does give a bit of simple tuning options. and, IMHO, the default tuning is pretty good, right out of the box.
Now, weight. Yeah, it might be an issue. I’m about your age, and ‘heavier’ headphones certainly ar an issue for me. I tried a pair of Audeze LCD-4z (via a Chord Mojo 2) and while, yeah, I very much liked them, after 45 minutes, I was getting neck strain and a headache. The Maxwell give me quite a lot towards the sound of those very expensive LCD-4z’s, but at a fraction of the price, and DON’T give me neck ache or a sore head.
Oh, and our musical taste covers a lot of the same ground as mine, if that helps.
Anyway, if you do consider these, do your research because, like I said, this idea is a bit “left field”, and is certainly not a conventional suggestion. I suggest it to bring an option to your attention that certainly (in my opinion) covers most of your preferencs, but that you might not have considered.
Resolve did a video on these a year or so back, and they also get an honourable mention up against the Focal Bathys MG in the article he did recently, in the context of wireless, and where sound quality is desired but ANC is not. And they’re about a third of the price of the Bathys MG. I think, if you can live with wireless, and if being closed back is not a non-starter for you, they’re worth considering.
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Not to beat a dead horse but just to clarify, Audio Factory is a division of Lenbrook, Located in Ontario. One year warranty on all products and a 60 day return policy.
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@Saracen - I did actually look at these early on in my quest, but dismissed them because they were heavy-ish and kinda clunky. I already have neck and back issues, so don’t really want to aggravate that any further. I will circle back and have another look. They are a hair over 400 CAD, and for that money I would still lean to the 560s or the Fii0 FT-1 Peo or just bite the bullet and jump up a level to the 6xx or similar. Thanks for the reminder though. I will swing back and have another look at them.
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I would add that the ear cushions of Maxwell are small and my ears get hot quickly. The fit on the head is not secure. Sound quality mostly reminds me other bluetooth headphones.
By the way, I noticed, that small ear cushions is usuall thing for bluetooth headphones as well, probably because of portability.
I’d choose bluetooth headphones only if you need portability without wires and don’t like earbuds.
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I understand the hesitation about the weight. I too have back and neck issues (well, bone ssues generally thanks to cancer) but a specific weakness is cervical vertebrae (and the L2, but that’s not an issue here). That’s why, when I eventually ordered the Maxwell, it as in the expectation of sending them back. But, I ended up keeping them.
I have no idea quite why they don’t give me the same issues some other headphones (inc other Audeze do), but they don’t. I mean, they’re not as heavy as others I tried, but there’s not that much differene. Maybe it’s something to do with weight dstribution, or headband size, or something. Or maybe it’s just that the critical weight that’s going to cause problems happens to be a bit, but not much, above the Maxwell.
I’m very conscious that that last distinction, while apparently true for me, might not be the case for others, and it is certainly the case that suiting me is not much assurance that that’ll hold true for you.
The only advice I can give on that, and I’m sure it’s occured to everyone else anyway, is that, just like assessing whether you in particular like how a given headphone sounds, the only real way to know is to try it. Personally, I strongly recommend that for audio gear, wherever possible and practical, even if it’s courtesy of a store’s return policy. I did have a very frank discussion with a local store here in the UK when buying two different headphones that the odds were, at least one would come back. They accepted that. In the event, I kept both (to suit different purposs).
I can’t comment on the 560s, though I do have three other Sennheisers, and I’ve never heard the FiiO, so no view there either. I take the point about price, though. They are pushing the boundary a bit if UK pricing compares - the Maxwell are about UK £300-ish, and the 560s currently on sale at £99. And from what I’ve heard, they’re a heck of a deal at that price. I’m tempted myself, but that I fear the wife might apply some attitude adjustment with a kitchen knife if I get another set of headphones … for a while. 
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The fit of the Maxwell is secure enough for me, but I am using them in a pretty sedentary position. Partly, the point of them was specifially because I needed closed-back while recording audio. That said, I certainly wouldn’t use the Maxwells for going jogging. They’re also not what I’d pick, or indeed did pick, for travel headphones. But they’re fine for me, while sitting fairly still. Different head size/shape to you, maybe? Yet another reason, as if we needed another, to always try headphones yourself before finall committing … if you can. Even the best reviews (which is why I’m on this site, by the way), only get me part-way to a buying decision.
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