Hi,

First post.

Wondering if anyone can recommend the best way to drive passive speakers and planar-dynamic headphones?

I have a pair of AR Red Box II speakers that have just been lovingly re-foamed. The suggested power rating for them is 20-100 watts.

My headphones are HiFiMan He400i.

I'm currently running a Topping TP30 (original not MKII) which is only 2 x 10w into 8 ohms so although it does work with the speakers they sound pretty whimpy.

So do the HE400i's. They're better with the Topping than plugged directly into my iPhone for example but I do wonder how much more they'd give me if they had decent power.

I'm not stuck on using an integrated amp if separate components would work and end up more cost effective.

I already have a good DAC that also has co-axial and Toslink SPDIF so would prefer a solution that didn't rely on USB input - either analog ins or SPDIF (or both).

Hoping for suggestions under $1000 Australian (US$750).

Thanks!