My experience with this is I’ve had 3 different Dac Amps DAC x6 was the first one I had which I did not have any reference to before switching over to a Schiit Magni 3+ and Schiit Modi 3e (Both give plenty of volume). On the Hifiman Edition XS using the DAC x6 the sound was very claustrophobic and warm compared to using the Schiit stack which was much wider and neutral sounding, for me this was a huge upgrade. To add to this I also tried this on a portable DAC Amp which is the DC03 Pro which soundstage sounds closer on the side but a bit sounds warmer. What’s your experience?
i don’t think it makes a huge difference, i listen to a ton of different sources and headphones and speakers and amps need the juice to drive the speakers/headphones. I usually EQ anything to taste though.
DACs are more snake oily, but I don’t try a lot of DACs so who knows. Apple makes an $8 DAC (the iphone 1/8 adapter dongle) that doesn’t seem to do anything to the sound of any of my headphones I use it on.
I would strongly urge you to take this energy about Amps and DACs and redirect it into researching new kinds of music. Listening to music instead of your amp/dac combo is a hell of a lot more fun.