I do this too. Have a topping A90 when needed and I couldn’t imagine upgrading. I still kind of want the benchmark amp but mainly to say I have one. Similar to a McIntosh amp, they are nice to look at.

I use the element x with the LCD4S and it works great. No experience with the cans you mentioned.

Sorry I need longer

Excellent seller item as described trustworthy

Are these the wood appearing ones or carbon? Looks like it may be the carbon?

I’ve been using the Element X with Roon for two years now and it is excellent. Still very happy with the purchase and zero desire to upgrade. I demoed the Bartok and it is excellent but the law of diminishing returns certainly applies here.

It is excellent. Had a firmware issue one night and Arthur called me after hours to resolve it.

I just got the MA X-SPDIF 2 for use with my speakers. This is my second MA product and it seems like they make high quality stuff throughout all product lines.

Hope you like it, still like mine over a year later.

I haven’t tried the Mytek but heard it is excellent. I would imagine at this performance the only thing that matters is the headphones attached. At audio science review the matrix measured better, probably not audible.

The element X works great and the M is very similar. I use it with Roon and the integration is flawless.

If you plan on upgrading cans later I would get an amp/dac combo that would work with whatever you plan to get. That being said I always feel like there is certainly more bang for the buck upgrading the headphones or speakers than source/amp components past a certain performance point. If you...

What planars are you going to use?

Certainly not all, it does fine with my LCD-4s. You certainly aren't going to get away with RAAL requisite ear speakers, electrostatics etc but I would say it is fine for 99% of what is on the market.

Glad to hear you like it. I got mine last year and still love it. Easily best single box option in the price range.

Yeah I haven't noticed any difference in performance.

This is what I ultimately did. Also as of last week I updated the firmware and the element X no longer says "uncertified" in Roon.

I did not listen to the element x and Bartok in the same setting. I was on a trip for business when I auditioned the Bartok.

I thought the Bartok was a very nice piece of equipment. Had all of the bells and whistles one could every ask for and couldn't imagine there would be a better DAC/AMP combo in one box. I believe it was better than what I currently listen to but it isn't even in the same ball park as far a...

Looks like you would need a preamp and amp for those although I'm not very familiar. I chose the 8cs because they will be roon ready some day, I hear the new ones are shipping with the roon firmware in place that is uncertified but very functional.

I am using it with Dutch and Dutch 8cs and love them. I have a friend who is a Kii Three dealer and can probably get you a deal if interested. Yes I usually just switch inputs, have never looked into doing both headphones and preamp section at the same time.

I don't think you will be disappointed. I still love mine. I unfortunately don't use it for headphones much these days since I am using it as a preamp until my active speakers are roon ready.

Fair enough, thanks for your thoughts. Different strokes for different folks.

When you say much more complete than the matrix are you talking about the TT2 or Dave and what do you mean? I was also considering the chord line up but the features of the element x seemed much more comprehensive than anything in the chord line up. Not saying chord doesn’t make good products...

Yes it was