Phil's Superpower of Enthusiasm

Headphones, goldens, whiskey, and wine.

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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 April 2026)

Table of Contents:

  1. Favorite Audio Stuff
  2. Headfi:
    1. Headphones (current and former, bold = strong recommendation)
    2. Headphone Amplifiers/DACs/DAPs:
  3. Audio Setups [as of 4/2026]
  4. Living Room ATMOS system
  5. Misc Audio Gear
  6. Favorite Dogs:
  7. Network Attached Storage: Synology DS220+ running:
  8. Booze
  9. 3D Printers
  10. 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 Audio Stuff

Headfi:

Headphones (current and former, bold = strong recommendation)

Headphone Amplifiers/DACs/DAPs:

  • Alo: Pilot dongle
  • Apos: Druid R2R, Gremlin
  • Audioquest: Dragonfly Red
  • Apple: USB-C to 3.5 mm dongle (many), Lightning to 3.5 mm dongle (many), various iPods
  • Chord: Chordette Gem, Mojo 2
  • Crinear Protocol Max
  • Darkvoice 336se (tubes)
  • Fiio: K11 R2R, BTR11, BTR17, KA11 dongle
  • Fosi: DS2
  • Holoaudio: Bliss (Kitsune Tuned Edition), Cyan 2
  • iBasso: DX170
  • iFi: Zen Streamer, Hip DAC V2, Uno
  • JCally: JM6 Pro, JM12
  • KB Ear BT15Pro
  • Matrix Audio Element i
  • Moondrop: Dawn Pro
  • Mytek Brooklyn Bridge
  • Qudelix 5k
  • Schiit: Asgard 2, Bifrost (OG multibit), Fulla, Gjallarhorn, Hel2, Jotunheim 2 (no DAC), Magni+ (no DAC), Magni Heresy, Magni Piety (Nitsch collab), Magnius (no DAC), Mimir, Modi 3E, Modius E, Saga F, Sys x 2, Vali 2
  • SMSL SU-9
  • Snowsky: Echo Mini
  • Topping: E30, L30, DX5 II

Audio Setups [as of 4/2026]

  • Main:
    • Devialet Expert 140 Pro Super Integrated
    • KEF LS50 Standmounts (on cheap stands)
    • Schiit Saga F Pre-amp
      • Rega RP3 Turntable w/Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge
      • Technics dual cassette deck
      • SMSL SU-9 DAC
      • Kyocera DA-710cx CD player
    • Apple TV 4K
    • PS4 (Uncharted edition)
    • Xbox One X
  • Mac Studio:
    • Near-field: 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
    • Topping DX5 II DAC/Amp
    • Mojo 2
    • Apos Gremlin/Druid R2R stack
    • Schiit Fulla
    • Fractal Scape
    • Elgato Stream Deck
    • Blue Yeti mic/Audio-Technica ATH-R70x Refine
    • Razer Kiyo Camera
  • Desktop:
    • Mytek Brooklyn Bridge
    • Matrix Audio Element i (feeding the Holoaudio Bliss (KTE)’s second XLR input)
    • Ropieee Raspberry Pi 4b Streamer (feeding the coaxial input of the Holoaudio Cyan 2)
    • Ropieee Raspbery Pi 3B streamer w/7″ touch screen
  • 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
    • Apple TV 4k
    • Pioneer Andrew Jones SP-FS52 Towers

Living Room ATMOS system

  • Onkyo RZ50 AV Receiver
  • 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

Favorite Dogs:

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

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

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. ↩︎