[willywonka]

Current Situation: I have a Quicksilver Headphone Amp on the way. My current DAC is a Schiit Modi and I am looking to upgrade to something more complimentary to the Quicksilver HA.

Quicksilver Headphone Amp: https://quicksilveraudio.com/products/headphone-amplifier/

Source: PC > Tidal > DAC > HD650 (Expanding Headphone Collection Next)

Music Preference: Agnostic to Genre, Lean towards Americana/Bluegrass, Vocal Performance, Rock, Metal, and Classical.

Sonic Preference: More Emotion/Soul compared to clinical transparency, The Quicksilver HA is stated to have a little deficiency in the bass department in exchange for better Mid/Highs, so I am hoping to compensate that with the DAC. Additionally, although it is a tube amp it is supposedly quite neutral.

I have narrowed it down to three options based solely on reviews and will not be able to audition either prior to purchase because I am a lone ranger in my audio journey. I leave out my considerations, as I am not looking for confirmation bias (or am I?) and these are in no particular order:

Option 1: Schiit Bifrost 2/64 - $829 (Silver Version, bc “aesthetics”)
https://www.schiit.com/products/bifrost

Option 2: Denafrips Ares II 12th-1 - $1,002
https://www.denafrips.com/ares-12th

Option 3: Holo Audio Cyan 2 - $1,198
https://www.kitsunehifi.com/product/holo-audio-cyan-2-dac/

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and I am looking forward to ending the research phase and enjoying the system!