Phil's Superpower of Enthusiasm

A place to write about things I enjoy, for my own edification. Headphones, audio gear, albums, whiskey, wine, golden retrievers etc.

recent posts

Lawyer, unabashed nerd and geek. Purveyor and pusher of excellent sci-fi/fantasy, good food, and repartee. He/him. Dog dad/servant to @Goldendenali.

I’m experimenting with Amazon Affiliate status in an attempt to defray some of the costs of headphone reviews; Amazon links may be affiliate links (depending on whether or not I’ve figured out how to use them correctly). Please feel free to buy elsewhere; this is just one way to recoup the costs of this hobby.

My Favorites and Current Setup (as of November 2025)

My Favorites and Current Setup (as of November 2025)

Table of Contents:

  1. Favorite Dogs:
  2. Favorite Audio Stuff
    1. Audio Setups [as of 12/11/25]
    2. Living Room ATMOS system
    3. Misc Audio Gear
  3. Headfi:
    1. Headphones (current and former, bold = strong recommendation)
    2. Headphone Amplifiers/DACs:
    3. Network Attached Storage: Synology DS220+ running:
  4. Booze
  5. Albums (constantly shifting, but these mostly stay on there)
  6. 3D Printers
  7. EDC Knives (no particular order)

For posterity (and so I can remember in six months), here’s my current favorites in a number of categories:

Favorite Dogs:

  1. Denali
  2. Bodhi
  3. Nika
  4. All other dogs.

Favorite Audio Stuff

Audio Setups [as of 12/11/25]

  • Main:
    • Devialet Expert 140 Pro Super Integrated
    • KEF LS50 Standmounts (on cheap stands)
    • Rega RP3 Turntable w/Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge
    • Apple TV 4K
    • Kyocera DA-710cx CD player
    • PS4 (Uncharted edition)
    • Xbox One X
  • Mac Studio:
    • PS Audio Sprout100 integrated amplifier connected to Mac Studio via USB 2.0, Dali Spektor 2 standmount speakers, and an old Energy Subwoofer
    • Holoaudio Bliss (Kitsune Tuned Edition)/Cyan 2 stack
    • Schiit Mimir/Jotunheim 2 stack (balanced)
    • Apos Gremlin tube amp (driven via Jotunheim’s XLR out)
    • Schiit Fulla
    • Fractal Scape
    • Elgato Stream Deck
    • Blue Yeti mic/Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250 ohm)
    • Razer Kiyo Camera
  • Gaming Computer
    • Schiit Modius E/Magnius Stack (balanced)
    • Schiiit Modi/Nitsch Magni Piety
    • Chord Chordette Gem BT DAC (running into the Magnius’ single-ended input)
    • Topping E30/L30 stack
    • Schiit Hel 2E gaming amp/DAC
    • Razer Kraken gaming headset
  • Workshop/Basement
    • M4 Mac Mini running the Roon client
    • Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC/Asgard 2 Headphone Amp
    • Schiit Rekkr power amp
    • Pioneer Andrew Jones SP-FS52 Towers
  • Deck/Bathroom:
    • Bluesound Powernode Edge super integrated
    • Klipsch KHO-7
    • Random Mirage speakers from Goodwill
  • Main Bedroom
    • Peachtree Audio Nova 150 Integrated Amplifier
    • Bluesound Node 2 Streamer
    • Pioneer Andrew Jones SP-FS52 Towers

Living Room ATMOS system

  • Onkyo RZ50 AV Reciever
  • 2 x Canton Ergo 92 DC towers
  • Klipsch wireless subwoofer
  • 4 x KEF T301 slim surround speakers
  • 4 x KEF Q50a ATMOS elevation speakers
  • 2024 Apple TV 4k
  • U-turn Orbit Turntable
  • Xbox Series X
  • PS5
  • Nintendo Switch
  • Steambox
  • Sennheiser RS175 wireless headphones

Misc Audio Gear

  • Bluesound Powernode 150
  • Arylic A50 streaming amplifier
  • NAD D3020 integrated amplifier 
  • 2 x Pioneer Andrew Jones ATMOS bookshelf speakers
  • Pioneer Andrew Jones subwoofer
  • 2 x Paradigm Atom SE
  • 2 x 1981 Allison Six bookshelf speakers
  • Bluesound Node 2
  • Kef LSX

Headfi:

Headphones (current and former, bold = strong recommendation)

Headphone Amplifiers/DACs:

  • Alo: Pilot dongle
  • Apos: Druid, Gremlin
  • Audioquest: Dragonfly Red
  • Apple: USB-C to 3.5 mm dongle (many), Lightning to 3.5 mm dongle (many)
  • Chord: Chordette Gem, Mojo 2
  • Crinear Protocol Max
  • Fiio: K11 R2R, BTR11, BTR17, KA11 dongle
  • Fosi: DS2
  • Holoaudio: Bliss (Kitsune Tuned Edition), Cyan 2
  • iFi: Zen Streamer, Hip DAC V2, Uno
  • JCally: JM6 Pro, JM12
  • Moondrop: Dawn Pro
  • Mytek: Brooklyn Bridge
  • Schiit: Asgard 2, Bifrost (OG multibit), Fulla, Jotunheim 2 (no DAC), Hel2, Magni+ (no DAC), Magni Heresy, Magni Piety (Nitsch collab), Magnius (no DAC), Mimir, Modi 3E, Modius E, Sys, Vali 2
  • Topping: E30, L30, DX5 II

Network Attached Storage: Synology DS220+ running:

  • 2 x Seagate Ironwolf 4TB drives
  • 2 x Seagate Exos 16GB drives1

Booze

Favorite Rye: Jack Daniels’ Heritage Barrel Proof Rye
Favorite Bourbon: Stagg Jr. Batch 13
Favorite Affordable Rye: Redwood Empire Emerald Giant
Favorite Affordable Bourbon: Redwood Empire Lost Monarch (yes, I know it’s actually a bourye. Deal with it)


Albums (constantly shifting, but these mostly stay on there)

  • Mezzanine by Massive Attack
  • Boxer by The National
  • The Bones of What You Believe — Chvrches
  • XX — The xx
  • American Beauty — The Grateful Dead
  • angel in realtime — Gang of Youths

3D Printers

  1. Bambu Labs P1S
  2. Bambu Labs A1 Mini
  3. Bambu Labs A1
  4. Bambu Labs H2D

EDC Knives (no particular order)

  • Benchmade Griptilian
  • Benchmade Mini Griptilian
  • Spyderco Delica 4
  • Spyderco Tenacious (daily carry)
  • Kershaw 8700BLK

[Yes, the featured image is a WordPress-generated AI image. It’s … really something.]

  1. These keep dying, and I do not recommend them. ↩︎