recommendation of amps

I have the LA4 preamp and I had someone over yesterday to buy a DAC. He loved the LA4 and CODA #16 combo so much that he went home and ordered the LA4. He has a Pass Labs amp (maybe the 250.8).

The CODA #8 is $6K new and I also owned it and listened with the LA4. It was very good, the #16 is great.

The amp that I also loved with the LA4 was the KRELL Duo 175XD. I have seen some Duo 300XD on the used market. I sold my 175XD to buy the CODA #16. I figured the #16 would give me more power for some new speakers.

The Parasound A21+ was also rather good with the LA4. Not as good as the other amps mentioned but a great value.

I use Benchmark AHB2 monos with the LA4 and they are my fav amps. They could have more oomph for difficult to drive speakers, but I have them on not too hard to drive KEF LS50 Meta monitors.

@robshaw Sanders sells used Magtechs for $4k with 1-year warranty. I got the amp from him to use with the LA4 preamp and Magnepan LRS+ speakers. Sanders even gave me a 30-day home trial period. I told him I was keeping the amp after 2 days. It is a great amp with my LRS+.

Only issue for me with the Sanders is that it does not have a Stand By power switch. I have 2 amps connected to my LA4 and this means I need to hard switch off the Sanders when I use my headphone amp, a Schitt Aegir. 

I have the DAC3B and it is rather good, but a little hot on the top end. I had a $15k Lumin X1 to replace it and it was really good for the year I owned it. In fact, it was the best DAC and 2nd best streamer I had.

I traded the X1 in to buy speakers. I could not wait the long time needed to save up the cash for a second DAC I am planning on getting. Since Schitt Audio is 70 miles away from me and they have a 15-day home trial I thought I would try the new Yggi+ Less Is More DAC (1 of 3 new Yggi+'s and the worst measuring one).

I use the Yggi+ with my Sonore Optical Rendu streamer and feel that it is a better DAC than the X1, definitely better than the DAC3B. I notice the difference in the top end where the X1 seems a little rolled off to me. They Yggi+ is more like the DAC3B but not hot. 

I was so impressed by Schitt that I also bought their Aegir 'Class A' amp for my headphones, and I love it. Yesterday, I ordered a new MJOLNIR 3 preamp for the Aegir.

Schiit Audio: Audio Products Designed and Built in Texas and California

I was using the Benchmark LA4 with both the Aegir and Sanders Magtech, but I came close to messing that up by being a bit careless, so I bought a second preamp.

@robshaw This was the reason I took a flyer on the Yggi+ Less is More DAC (my mistake it is not the worst measuring).

New Schiit Yggdrasil Blind Listening Comparison - Bits and Bytes - Audiophile Style

The reviewer has listened to tons of gear, so he has a good frame of reference. He also uses the same headphones as me and considers them as good as mega expensive 2-channel. I concur on that too, so I gave this review a lot of credence.

Though my headphone setup was better than the mega expensive setup he eventually went with. In a fit of mental instability, I sold my better setup and I am now going with an all-Schitt headphone setup (about 90% as good as what I sold).

I love this Schitt.