I struggled with this question for a long time. Traveling with amps and a DACs. It was heavy and bulky or a mass of interconnections.
My solution was to switch to highly efficient headphones designed to be driven by low power. I bought a pair of Ultrasonde Edition 8 that sound great driven directly from the iPhone.
The best solution depend on the circumstances you use the system. In particular, the ambient noise you will be experiencing. I enjoyed this solution for many years. But I realized I was fine leaving “high end” sound at home and traveling in comfort (+200,000 miles a year) was more important and switched to Bose QuietComfort. Not highly accurate but really enjoyable (like your favorite inexpensive wine as opposed to a $250 bottle of Bordeaux) to listen to and incredibly comfortable and could be worn with noice cancelation only in airports and airplanes.
So, depends on your usage.
My solution was to switch to highly efficient headphones designed to be driven by low power. I bought a pair of Ultrasonde Edition 8 that sound great driven directly from the iPhone.
The best solution depend on the circumstances you use the system. In particular, the ambient noise you will be experiencing. I enjoyed this solution for many years. But I realized I was fine leaving “high end” sound at home and traveling in comfort (+200,000 miles a year) was more important and switched to Bose QuietComfort. Not highly accurate but really enjoyable (like your favorite inexpensive wine as opposed to a $250 bottle of Bordeaux) to listen to and incredibly comfortable and could be worn with noice cancelation only in airports and airplanes.
So, depends on your usage.