[PhantomDust]

Looking for a Dac/Amp Combo that will power most headphones and iems. It has to have a pentaconn port. I'd prefer something very revealing while not coloring the sound at all. I have a Focal Clear (Original), Arya Stealth v3 and 64 Audiio U4S iem and the Moondrop Variations. Currently I have only a dap which is the Fiio M11 plus.

I'm looking at the Questyle CMA 12 and the Fiio K9 Pro ESS but it doesn't seem to put out a lot of power to the balanced port. Any thoughts?! Thanks!

 

[Craft Ears]

My vote would be on a Questyle. They blend musicality and detail very well. As for driving your headphones, there will be no issues here

 

[Monsterzero]

You didnt mention a budget, so I will throw the Violectric v550 into the hat. There is a 2nd version available that has a 4.4 jack.
It puts out a ton of power, especially in balanced mode, and has a high degree of technical profiency. It also has dip switches in the back to increase or decrease the gain, so you can listen to anything from ultra sensitive IEMs to the Abyss 1266 with zero background noise.

It does lean slightly warm, but not to the degree of the Violectric v281 or the newer v222. They do make the v590 which is an amp/DAC combo, but from reports I've read the DAC section of the v590 is only so-so, meaning it would be best to pick a separate DAC.

 

[Hiker816]

Might be worth reaching out to audio-gd. They have some great options, and I bet they'd install a pentaconn jack if you asked.

 

[PhantomDust]

My vote would be on a Questyle. They blend musicality and detail very well. As for driving your headphones, there will be no issues h

That's great!! Thanks for the input.

 

[PhantomDust]

You didnt mention a budget, so I will throw the Violectric v550 into the hat. There is a 2nd version available that has a 4.4 jack.

I did forget to mention my budget.. which is around 1400 USD. That's a bit out of my range but I appreciate the input.

 

[LoneFurrow]

I'd add the Cen.Grand 9i-90SA Pro "Lark" to the list of options. I don't know how easy they are to find in the US but I've been really impressed with Cen.Grand products. The "Lark" is their entry level DAC/Amp but is still excellent. Although it uses an ESS9038 DAC, it's much more musical and engaging than that chip can sometimes appear. I don't think you'd have any issues powering the IEMs and headphones you mention.

The Questyle CMA-Fifteen is an option too, albeit probably over your budget. The amp section is fantastic but I find the DAC a little bright for my tastes and musical preferences. I would add I owned a K9 Pro ESS for a few months but found it pretty disappointing overall, I'm afraid. I didn't find it particularly engaging musically, and it proved technically glitchy, so I eventually returned it.

 

[silent-circuit]

Topping D90SE / A90 Discreet stack. Lots of power, won't color the sound, absolutely black background with everything. Plus a remote and the ability to act as a speaker preamp if needed. They're solid.

 

[Craft Ears]

That's great!! Thanks for the input.

Also, iFi Audio Zen series, especially the Signature, with better power supplies. It really punches above it's weight. And looks cool!
And their Diablo DAC/AMP is magnificent.