Headphone amp + DAC + Volume + ROON READY

An update to the comparison of the BHA-1 vs HPA4. I did some exercise and came back for a final listen with the Bryston BHA-1 before it is returned to the bedroom.

This time I decided to replace the upgraded Meze Empy XLR cable, the WyWire Platinum, with the stock single ended cable from Meze. Both are made from copper. The stock cable is not as detailed as the WyWire, that is why I upgraded from the stock. However, putting the stock back in and listening on the BHA-1 system was different than before. The bass, while still a little forward was less pronounced than with the WyWire. The sound stage was also a bit smaller and the best part is that my fatigue with the BHA-1 was greatly diminished.

Now I am not sure if it was the exercise that helped my head but the sound was very pleasant even though it was not a clear as with the HPA4.  So now the BHA-1 has lower fatigue vs no fatigue with the HPA4.  I can live with that. I will switch cables when I go back and forth to these 2 headphone amps.

It's going to take some convincing for me to pay for ROON + TIDAL when foobar2000 is FREE.

With Foobar2000 are you playing lossless music streams for free? You must be playing your ripped CD's for free.

After 4 years of using ROON my lifetime license is essentially free for me now. However, even if I had to pay I would for the following reasons:

- Great eco-system of gear that is ROON READY. So I can easily distribute my systems all over the house. I use Sonore Rendu products for the streaming work. 

- Great client GUI available in many device types (mobile phone, computer, tablet)

- Great discover feature in ROON. Most have this but ROON's one is what I know and like. I keep adding albums everyday based on the AI based recommendations.

- Ability to up-sample though I do not do so yet and it maybe better to do it in a DAC (due to network transportation issues with large data streams)

- Ability to run convolution files to taper the sound curve (bass) for your room. I plan on doing this with my next speakers which will be in a small room. JRvier is the other software that I know supports this. I plan on outsourcing the work to create the convolution files to professional sound engineers. They will do this with my microphone based sound measurement of the room.

- I actually pay for both Qobuz and ROON this year. I may continue to use both since I like how they play on ROON.

A little update to what I ended up with. The fatigue I was feeling with the Bryston BHA-1 was too irritating to ignore. Especially, since I listen to the BHA-1 in bed before I go to sleep.

I sold the BHA-1 and now have the Topping A90 headphone amp which is a great little headphone amp for $500. I pair it with a Matrix Mini-i 3 Pro DAC which has a great number of connectivity options. It sounds great with my Meze Empy headphones. It has volume (not used), it will be ROON READY soon and has a streamer built-in. It costs $899. A nice combo for the bedroom, which I prefer to the BHA-1.

Hi guys, I know that this is an elderly thread but when I googled my question, it kept coming up. Long story short: I am a roon user. Normally I listen in our TV room where my speakers, amp, Lumin T2, subwoofers etc are located. But sometimes that room is occupied by others and I just want to hang somewhere else and listen to music using headphones. @yyzsantabarbara mentioned the Sonore optical rendu and the lite version.
?Question: If I bought the optical rendu and plugged my IFI micro black label usb headphone amp into it using USB, could I use my iPad to connect to the IFI headphone amp? And is the extra cost of the Optical Rendu (not the lite version) worth it or should I spring for the linear power supply - or both. I am primarily using Sennheiser HD 650 headphones with an upgraded cable. But sometimes I use the Beyerdynamic 1990 Dt pro  or the Shure 1540s. (also with upgraded cable). So not super expensive headphones...