iPhone and Philips SHP9500 headphones

I am guessing that the amp cannot drive the headphones as it is less so at lower volume.  I just need a DAC.

Not familiar with these but if you want the very best then Shure SE846 are absolutely incredible and insanely expensive but justified price given the uniquely better performance over all other IEM.

For cheaper light weight over ears with great external sound isolation then the Sennheiser HD 25 will play loud and dynamically and sound pretty good with iPhone.

Portlandlay -

Having followed and commented on your prior thread, my take is:

Don’t expect to get a big increase in performance by adding a DAC - Your headphones were a bargain/ budget choice at $55 so you should simply be happy with them for what they are.

If at some point you plan to take a big step up, then you can consider all new headphones, a dac/amp, etc. But at the price point you’re at now, I would just enjoy your new purchase, let them break in for a bit and in the meantime perhaps tweak the EQ settings in your iPhone to your satisfaction.

BTW - I assume that your new headphones are big improvement from where you were previously correct?

Enjoy!

Greg