Entropy.

"best," at least for gaming performance... in my opinion https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cqm7d9 Price is close enough

Have you tried options such as akg k36/371, nth100, grado, CAL SE, etc?

Uh, Sure I suppose. None of this content here is something that I'm contesting. Well, perhaps the "enormous leap" part, I don't quite agree with that, at least for the headphone output. What I'm contesting is where you recommended an audio interface as an amp/dac in a vaccum. To me, It seemed that you were suggesting an interface would be superior to OP's stack as a headphone amplifier. I mean that's one way of going about it. If blind buying occurs for such 4 or even 5 digit products that's pretty disturbing. Common sense should prevail.

Other than for having the convenience of an all-in-one solution, None of those options will compete with standalone units such as a modi magni stack. Measurements- ie, noise floor- and power output can't really compete. Just Magni 3+/H with a apple dongle will be a blowout against an audio interface... and that makes sense. Headphone outputs in audio interfaces are only meant for monitoring a microphone. They're functional, not focused on. There's so much to do for $100 in an audio interface than a dedicated amp. Schiit is all about saving cost where they can and avoiding silly expenses. Companies like schiit, ifi, and jdbs labs that make affordable amp/dac options produce their products by the thousands. Schiit as a company, as well as its founder (jason stoddard) have gone on record multiple times explaining how they keep the costs down for their affordable products, and how large-scale manufaucting effeciency helps them.

Dac and amp measurements in particular are really what I dont get. Almost everything measured there has already reached the point of "good enough" by practically any product on the market, or the benchmark itself seems to be arbitrary. THD+N, Sinad, all way past the point of the ability to tell them apart even with "mediocre" units, IMD, Linearity, multitone test, almost always uneventful. Maybe the Jitter noise and spectrum measurement is somewhat useful, but I'm not well acquainted with it. Speakers I can get, though. There's a lot of useful information in those reviews, and they seem to be able to tell much.

I guess measurement purists would think that there's not much to gain above some decent monitors and a nicely treated room.

Did you proplerly configure your drivers (delete old, download/update new)?

Most commonly used in the audiophile hobby in regard to high-end cables. Snake oil was a scam cure to all sorts of disorders/diseases back in the 18/9th-ish centuries. It didn't actually work, and relied on the placebo effect for any positive effects that it generated. Essentially another way to describe a scam. Don't know what exactly demon is try to contribute, though.

umc202hd is a solid interface, functionally the umc22 will be the same, minus support for two mics and one or two small features. Yes, it will work, though.

akg k361, sennhesier hd560s, Sennhesier pc38x, all nice options.

You didn't mention the tuning similarities to 371, used 6xx as a crude comparison (... for what?) Also pulled a Sharur, you know how the headphones measure, so you know how they sound? Conincidentally, the m1 variant has bluetooth 4.1. Here's the m2, though.

It's bios flashback vs vrm performance. On a whim I went with the steel legend.

Lowend: Yeah, Basically what you get when you consumer-ize a headphone. Just... eq. Same or similar drivers and enclousre to the akg k371, and you can tell from the measurements. The headphone is bluetooth 4.2 and is $100-$160 depending on where and when you purchase it... ($99 on akg's website) and the MSRP is $350 so I don't know exactly how you came up with $300. As for the rest of your opinion on the sound, I'll just say I disagree for the most part. K371 for reference.

Just a quick message in case, since I saw you're active here. I've updated my post and list, please refresh!

I'd be shooting for a 12700 or a 12900 (any variant, the non-k variants will be cheaper as you would be fine on inexpensive motherboards and cooling solutions) and depending on how much you care about rendering and such. The 5900x is going to straddle the line between the 12700 and the 12900 for some productivity workloads (particularly 3d rendering), while the intel chips will beat the 5900x out in practically all gaming workloads. Let's go over what I spec'd out and what you can change: -I chose to go with the lowest-end 12700f in this configuration. You're losing a little, but not all too much over the 12700k, which would cost around $200 more for low single-digit gains (cooler+motherboard+chip). If you wish to have more power, I'd suggest upgrading to the 12900 (any variant), and if you decide to go with a k/f, a beefier cooler and perhaps motherboard (although the current one should be fine on it). -The cooler is a relatively performant and inexpensive, should absolutely be able to manage the 12700f, perhaps even the 12700k and 12900/f. - The motherboard is eh, has decent ports and alright VRMs, if you upgrade the CPU you'll also want to upgrade this. It should be fine and even has bios flashback, but not extremely good. - The ram is just the cheapest I could find. You could always upgrade to a more reliable, slightly more performant kit (crucial), or even go for 64gb if you feel like it. Lots of headroom in this build. - The NVME here is the team mp34- good value, performance, and lifetime/warranty. - The 6900xt is going to be around 3080ti-ish levels of performance in most workloads, cept' it has more vram, and is around $300 cheaper, currently. - Since you asked for a minimal case, I selected the Meshify C with a solid side panel. You could go for some nicer cases from fractal, phanteks cases, or even something like the corsair 4000d airflow, all just your preference of style. Finally, the PSU is an excellent unit and will be sufficient for any build with a 12th gen cpu and a 6900xt, unless you're doing some pretty heavy overclocking. lmk if you'd like to change anything. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rQKz78

There is one... the akg nc700 m2. Essentially a wireless k361 with ANC (Better transmitter, amp than the bt variants of the 361/371).

Budget, currency, what are you looking to do with it, and at what resolution?

This'll be a little rough due to the current market (not just for prices, mostly launches. Prices aren't too bad atm, and continue to get better). New (and seriously more performant) components are going to be launching 1-2 months before Black friday, and that's far enough into the future that it becomes hard to make a list that I can guarentee will be relevant in 6-8 months. A few things to remember: - Peripherals are very important. Don't skimp! - Windows can be transferred from device to device, no need to purchase another license (if applicable). - 2k for a computer is a very solid budget that can accomodate pretty high-end componentry. 4k is approaching Top of the line (and severe diminishing returns). I advise sticking with a build closer to the 2-3k mark and either saving the money or diverting it to peripherals. Due to the date in which you plan to build, I just selected a template that I made to paste here. Feel free to ask questions/request changes if you'd like, I'd be happy to assist. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FDrbhk

For your budget in the current market you'll probably want to go for the intel 12700f. It's up to the task. Building is a better value, gives you better warranty, and it's fun imo. I'd give it a shot

Few changes you might want to make to the list. Memory to either the cheapest, or crucial 3200mhz cl16 ram, saves $20-$40 at no performance loss. Storage to team mp34 2tb, saves like $14 or something while being slightly faster on the reads, with better reliablility (1.8 mil MTBF vs 1.5 mil, same 5 year warranty). As long as OP doesn't need Nvidia, they can get a cracking 6900xt for only $20 more. https://www.newegg.com/msi-radeon-rx-6900-xt-rx-6900-xt-gaming-x-trio-16g/p/N82E16814137628? Case is a flavor definitely a preference, personally I like the p360a, you get mesh, nice build, two fans and some rgb for $90 Finally, you can switch the PSU to the enermax revolution D.F 850w, It's around the same level of the RM in terms of performance and reliability, for a lill' less. Overall pretty minor nitpicks, just wanted to provide some feedback.

Unless the PSU's wattage rating isn't indicative of what it can actually handle... or something like power transient (spikes) make it go batshit... I don't see how that could happen. However, I'm not exactly the foremost expert on the front of power supplies, just what I know.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JvnDcb

This message has some constructive criticism, and some commentary for @Linkfyre 1. Yep, that is true. I like to overclock, but OP, if you don't plan to overclock (essentially only for fun) you can save around $150 by going with a b660 and a 12700/f, maybe even $200 as you wouldn't need as beefy of a cooler. 2. I'm not sure of the full specs (primarily IO in contrast to the asus) but the MSI pro B660-a is going to have better vrms at the same price (with a black colour scheme!) So I think I would go with that motherboard. 3. H212 is a solid little cooler, but you can go for better performance for the same price, or the same for a lill' less (se224xt, 225, 226, and scythe coolers). 4. Corsair RGB Ram is pretty, but you're definitely not getting the best value there. This is more of a flavor preference, but you can get the same performance for $60 less if you sacrifice the aesthetics, or for $40 if you go with a slightly better kit from Crucial. 5. 3080ti has it's advantages, but when you can get a 6900xt for $300 less, I'd go for it. OP, if you have specific workloads that you need an Nvidia GPU for, Perhaps consider it, but otherwise, AMD is what I'd favor. 6. The case is another flavor preference, personally I'd go for saving like.. $60? And still get RGB, and better airflow in the phanteks p360a. 7. OP, hardware unboxed (yt) and Rtings (website) are really nice sources for monitors, I would highly suggest going over to them and checking out their reviews/ roundups and seeing what suits you the best. 8. The keyboard is mechanical yes, but personally I'd advocate for spending some more for an overall better experience. Leopold and especially varmilo offer many great options, at a relatively affordable price. 9. I'm a bit of an audio snob, so take my comment with that in mind haha. Gaming headsets/headphones for several reasons generally sound pretty bad, and aren't something I'd recommend for most people. However, wireless (especially low-latency wireless suitable for gaming) is pretty hard to get for a headphone that sounds good. If you're fine with wired, the koss ur40 (kind of ugly, but for a very good cause) is quite nice, and for a little more the creative aurvana live! SE, and the akg k361 are nice headphones. For wireless, you have the Koss kph7 wireless, ksc35 wireless... and that's about it, until $180. All of these headphones lack a mic, so you'll need to add one on (either a dedicated, seperate mic such as the fifine k669b, a stick-on boom mic like the v-moda boom pro, or a laviler mic.)