iPhone and Philips SHP9500 headphones

Thanks Greg. Yeah these headphone are way nicer than the Klipsch I had been using. I like the open back design. I also like they are over ear. A lot of headphone for $50. These are what I got but not at amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500-Precision-Over-ear-Headphones/dp/B00ENMK1DW

Honestly, I think it’s the amp portion more than the DAC. I think a tad more oomph would help drive these. They are absolutely fun regardless. Some material is fantastic some is a but tilted up.

Buying cheap headphones and then spending extra money on a headphone amp for a $500+ iPhone just seems like a dogs breakfast to me. If you want better sound then why not start with headphones.

I admit that people do this with speakers too - often spending 20 times what they spend on speakers to purchase the source, amplifiers and bits of wire between them. 

As they say - you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.

I hear you shadorne. My experience is that speakers and the recording swamp everything else.

Having said that, you said you not familiar with the headphones.  Maybe you should read about what people are saying about them first.  They are not your ordinary headphones.  Maybe read some reviews on them.

Aside from that I would like a Dragonfly DAC for my Mac computer so spending another $50 (going rate for the original Dragonfly).   I don’t think any of that is out of line.