I think it's a fine choice. You get a nice feature set and a good sounding dac for just $500. If you don't like it, then you can just return it for the cost of shipping.

International shipping is what worries me a bit. There's no local distributor for Emotiva, but there is for Schiit. Decisions, decisions.

Edit: dang it, I just calculated shipping (in case of any servicing needs), and it's around 60 USD each way. I'm just going to chicken out and get a Bifrost local.

Oh, definitely! All the best w your UERM setup btw.
Thanks all for your advice. Can't wait to get my new toy!

Quote from: iRo on April 08, 2014, 01:41:04 PM

Any recommendations for some comfortable headphones?

The V-Moda M-100 with XL pads are still the most comfortable portable headphones I've ever used. Low profile, great case, decent build quality. Bass heavy with a mid recess though and slightly artificial highs - so the sound quality might not be tolerable. If you can find them aftermarket for around $200 bucks I think they're a good portable buy for everything you get.

I'm a huge fan of on-ear headphones for on-the-go use because my glasses don't interfere with their seal. However, in my experience, I've never stuck with on-ear headphones for at home use. The same thing that makes them isolate and stay put on the go, their clamping force, makes them less viable for long term comfort. I currently have two Amperiors, a M-80, a PX100, and a pair of KSC-75's mounted to a Portapro headband. (I had a DT1350 around recently as well.) They all get sidelined when I get home for the comfort of my larger circumaurals.

I've heard that the V-Moda XS has pretty low clamping force though. They may be more comfortable for long term use than the other ones I've experienced. I don't have personal experience yet as mine won't arrive until the end of this week or beginning of next week. For your combination of fashion needs/profile size and removable cable 3.5 cable, I think it may be your best option. If you can relax the requirement to a 2.5mm plug, Tyll just measured the ATH M-50x redux the other day and it looks like they made some nice sonic improvements. The M50's really aren't as large as they look, and they might be a good option. The Shure 840 series also uses a 2.5mm removable cable and as a result there are ample replacement cables around.

I've owned M-100 briefly back when there were no XL pads around. The normal pads were lacking in comfort and i also had a problem with it's SQ for exact reasons you stated. That's also one of the reasons i'm actually looking into XS now since it should be more balanced then M-100. Not sure if it'll be worth revisiting M-100 with XL pads?

Thanks for sharing your experience with on-ear, Valentine. That's what i thought, i just never owned a headphone of that type myself. I guess i'm gonna wait for your impressions on XL when it arrives, to see if it's an exception in terms of comfort. If not i might look into M50x or something else.

Quote from: iRo on April 08, 2014, 01:41:04 PM

Any recommendations for some comfortable headphones? The requirements are:

1) Detachable cable with standard 3.5 mm input;
2) Won't look like a fucking satellite on my head.

Unfortunately, Fidelio L2 didn't work for me as all-around home/portable solution. Headband caused long term discomfort no matter how i adjusted it. And while i like their looks it does protrude a little too much i think. There are gaps between my head and headband, i wonder if that's the cause of both comfort and appearance  issues.

I was thinking about new XS headphones by V-MODA, which seems to address some of my problems with L2. The only thing that worried me is that they're on-ears. Anyone with on-ear experience can chime in on how would they fare long term for indoors use?

Does the it need to be 3.5mm where the cable connects to the headphone body? I assume you're only talking about a 3.5mm native connector at the far end of the cable so that you don't need a crazy 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor like you would with a bunch of Grados or Sennheisers, right?!

Nope, the former. I just want to be able to use some cables i already have at hand, like V-MODA BoomPro, which basically transform any headphone into headset. I guess i could use 3.5 to 2.5 mm adapter and pair it with something like M50x. In the end if i won't find anything else i might go that route.

That was my main gripe with V-Moda's. I like portable headphones to be foldable thus I prefer a my PX200-II or K181 despite the better looks. I still consider the PX200-II as one of the best small portable headphones. 

Foldable headphones occupy less space and sometimes my backpack is quite full.