uberburger101

A used pair of ES7 will fit your budget nicely.

Music preference? Supra-aural or circum-aural? Portable or non-portable? Open or closed?

Another new toy?

Did someone say more Grado?

I have not tried the DAC section of the D3 so I cannot comment on the sound. I think it will keep you happy though, if you don't try the Pico that is.

I have both the iQube and the P51, and have tried the Pico many times. The iQube itself has a very nice lasting quality to it due to it being neutral. My P51 has been with a friend for a few weeks now, so I won't comment on the sound because honestly I can't remember much about it. From what I can remember is that the iQube has a wider soundstage than the P51, on par with the Pico. As for the DAC, sometimes I wish the iQube had one. I've tried the Pico's DAC briefly at the last meet and I have to say I was pretty impressed. If you thought the amp section was good, wait til you hear the DAC. All I can say is, go with your gut feeling. These 3 amps are all excellent, and you will be happy with any one.

If you thought the Pico's amp section is good... wait til you hear the DAC. I'm not helping, am I.

The Pico too.

Or the XXS if you really want portability. I've heard the P51 and W3 combination is magical, YMMV.

Atrio at its price point is hard to beat, if you have a larger budget try the IE8. A review for the Atrio can be found here.

Retails for $319 at SE. Price/performance it's hard to beat iBasso range.

320kbps is plenty enough for portable use IMO. It's very hard to tell the difference in the environment that a portable rig will be used for. 128kbps on the other hand...

Big Sony fan eh? *cough*R10*cough

More new toys to try!

Luckily I only had unfamiliar tracks, with an unfamiliar headphone.

Yes.

Made a mistake with the circum-aural part, though I think ES7 far surpasses D1001 for your genres. You might want to look at both.

ES7 will do well for you then, you can easily find them used at less than $200. They have a forward sound not unlike the Grados, and excel on genres like pop/rock/metal.

Kudos for the effort.

What's your budget, and what kind of music do you mainly listen to?

The D7000 I believe.

Corrinne May or Diana Krall.

Eric, you need to factor in the cost for a new table too.

Thanks, cheers.

Team Woody?