Headphone amp + DAC + Volume + ROON READY

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...

@atanarjua99 It would depend on whether your streaming client’s communication protocol is supported by the Sonore OpticalRendu. For example, if your streaming client is ROON then the protocol is called RAAT and the Sonore OpticalRendu does understand that. The OpticalRendu is classified as ROON READY which is the best possible level of ROON integration.

Your iPad will work with whatever streaming client you use. If you use ROON then there will be a web server installed on your network that will render the ROON client GUI to your iPad.

In terms of the OpticalRendu purchase options. I have 2 or them so I have compared the options. I have the expensive LPS and the cheaper one. I would have been better off just getting the cheaper LPS. I have 2 USB cables of varying price. I could not tell a difference in any USB cable. My DAC could have something to do with that.

Both of my OpticalRendu’s are the ROON only version for $999. I do not need the other streaming protocols since I only use ROON and have no intention of changing.

BTW - My post above mentions the Topping A90 headphone amp and the Matrix Mini-i Pro. I gave that gear to my buddy and now use the RAAL SR1a headphones with my regular stereo amps. The RAAL is incredible and more like 2 channels and not headphones.

@yyzsantabarbara 
Thanks so much for this. Based on your multiple generous responses to the OP, I have reached out to Small Green Computers - which puts together some Sonore packages. Honestly my headphones are probably not good enough warrant the most expensive models, though I am a fan of LPS. I was also intrigued by the idea of using their Roon core to replace my Mac Mini core. 
Like you, I only need Roon. If I am travelling, I just use Spotify but otherwise all Roon.
Oh, one more ?? Did you. like the Matrix Mini i-Pro?

@atanarjuat99 The Matrix Mini-I 3 Pro is the most convenient DAC I have used. It is almost like a quasi portable DAC. It has so many network connection options that it is easy for a non-computer person to use. I gave it to my buddy just for that reason. I was getting tired of the crap gear he was using to listen to music. He still has not setup the headphone system 6 months later but I will help him do that soon.

The DAC is not the best sounding DAC I have owned but it is rather good and DACs these days can be incredible under $1500. I have a few DACs in this price range that are better sounding than the Matrix but none are as convenient to use as the Matrix.

I am a fan of the following reviewer and he has reviewed all the DACs that I have own or owned. I agree with most of his observations on these DACs. Here is the Matrix review.
Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3 Review - Third Time's a Charm (soundnews.net)

The $1500ish DACs I like better are the following:

- Gustard X26 Pro ($1500) (a warmer DAC with very nice customizable sound)
- Benchmark DAC3B ($1700). Works so perfectly with my all Benchmark living room system
- Topping D90SE ($900), maybe the best measuring DAC and I really like this one

I stream optical to the Gustard and Topping. I stream with a microRendu to the Benchmark DAC3B. I use Sonore streaming products.