JDS Labs Element IV

The Element IV is basically endgame worthy and I no longer have any desire to upgrade my dac/amp situation.

Save a bit more for a Audio Technica R70xa or Sennheiser HD600 and the Fiio K11 for cheap or JDS Labs Element IV with intergreted PEQ.

I love my JDS Labs Element IV. Built in EQ through the Core web app, saves directly on the unit if your into that stuff. 3.3watts of clean power. Awesome build with a HUGE knob. Top class customer service from an amazing company. Can’t recommend it enough

the JDS obvs has the PEQ, which works a treat and has loads of community made ones you can download. So that’s where the sound would change. But also being one unit smaller form factor too so easier to place.

The Element IV is my daily driver, because of its excellent parametric EQ feature. It's replaced every other combo and stack I've owned in the last several years. Because I EQ every headphone in my collection, having that flexibility baked into the device is a boon.

I used to run the classic Magni/Modi combo and currently run the Element IV. On the one hand, I've downsized and retired many of my desktop stacks due to how compact and capable the Element IV is; I wanted something with a smaller, more compact footprint, but more importantly I wanted something with onboard 10-band parametric EQ. The Element definitely checked all of those boxes, and is my current daily driver as a result.

Very happy with the performance, the footprint, and the support their team provides -- many of my suggestion with their team regarding their app and parametric EQ feature were quickly patched in after launch.

However, I recently shifted to the JDS Labs Element IV. Another user recommended this as well, and I second that recommendation. It is clean and powerful, and covers most of your checkboxes, but the part that appeals to me most is that I can run my EQs, onboard, completely segregated from my DAW.