This is getting off-topic, so if you have further questions for me, I kindly suggest that you PM me and I'll gladly reply
In the meantime, I'm going to answer one last time here.
Of course I'm looking for validation, and of course it's fine, thank you. AND I'm also exploring and learning! I'm an engineer (but I'm better at mechanics and abstract math than at electronics) and I've spent literally all my life learning stuff. I'm curious about most things, and at this point I'm definitely on ASR to learn, not to teach. So I ask questions. Always have. And nobody's forced to answer.
Also, it's not only about me. I occasionally help friends and family who don't necessarily want to do extensive Internet research to find info. This very week I've advised my nephew (who has different requirements) on audio gear. But that's stuff that I don't need to mention explicitly here. So you may have the impression that I have a lot of requirements, but some of them aren't for me.
One last thing : I'm not a "Too many DACs> Too many amps> Too many headphones" guy. 25 years ago I spent a lot of money on Hi-Fi gear, and it lasted until now. Over the next 6-9 months I'll be spending a lot of money on Hi-Fi gear, and I expect it to last for at least 10 years (or maybe 25). Given that, of course I want to be CERTAIN that I'm doing the right choice. Be it a 10 K€ pair of speakers (which I will listen to, preferrably at my own place), a 500 € pair of cans, or a 250 € DAC/HP Amp combo. I don't care about the price of the device, I care about being CERTAIN that it's the right choice FOR ME. Because like you said, I'm the one that's paying.
So yes, I ask a lot of questions, and I'll probably keep on doing so. But this is not only about me. It's about learning, improving my knowledge, and eventually being able to advise some of my friends and family.
Now about design, I'm sorry to say this, but I'll sh*t on design (in your own words, not mine) every freaking time I want (not very often, but yes, sometimes):
- Maybe because I really don't like a given design (like the two I mentioned) and I just don't see it in my pretty living room (plus my wife has an opinion too). For instance the L30 may be amazing, but I can promise you that if it had the design of the Magnius or the Archel I would NOT take it. I'm lucky that besides being a great amp, its design is acceptable.
- Maybe because thankfully we have a lot of great choices at the moment (like Soniclife said in this topic), so design may be a valid criteria too for once. That wasn't the case 10 or 20 years ago.
- And maybe because I have additional requirements that I don't need to mention here. For instance I have a width requirement where width < 12 cm for fixed furniture reasons (so E30/L30 are OK, M300 is OK too, etc.). I didn't mention it because the devices I'm asking info about already fit that requirement
As for headphones, come on! You know the three cans I'm buying, since I've explicitly told everybody in the topic you mentioned,
HERE. I've always been transparent on that matter. Spoiler: the more difficult to drive is arguably the HD600, which has:
- Sensitivity by voltage: 105.10 dB/V SPL
- Sensitivity by power: 100.57 dB/mW SPL
- Average impedance: 352.18 ohm
(stats over nearly 500 HD600 cans :
https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/user-report.php?id=819#gsc.tab=0 )
There you have it. Now can you please stop judging my motivations? I'm always open to giving additional info, as long as people aren't trying to judge me for whatever (bad) reason. Thank you, and I hope you'll get my message.