Ok so I have been bitten by this bug, actually it has always been there, just dormant for a number of years. It started with high end car audio (although not quite the DIY speaker point) then I met my partner who changed my priorities!

Fast forward to the future (now) and I am in a position to have some toys again. I have a high end system in my car again although only installed to a low end spec currently, but I am finding that with my new job I listen to music most of the time, it tends to help me concentrate when the office gets a little hectic and loud. To this end I purchase a set of Polk Ultrafocus 8000 noise cancelling headphones, the reason being that they will double as my headphones for travelling.

When I plugged these in to the laptop for the first time I was really impressed, then I plugged in the Fiio E11 that I had purchased god knows how long ago and god knows for what reason! Well then transformed the headphone from great to Holy Crap!

Well there are a couple of little things that bug me about the amp.

1, I can't charge it and use it at the same time

2, The IPhone controls on the headphone don't work through the amp

3, I isn't new and shiny!

I have contacted John at Sound Essentials and he has offered some options for me to think about, the one I like, but is a little out of budget is the Ciyan C6 how ever the reviews suggest this doesn't work off the laptop only via the IPhone or IPad.

My question is what is the best headphone amp / DAC I can get for around $200

If it had everything I want I could probably stretch this somewhat but would prefer not to.

My priorities are;
1, Excellent Sound Quality
2, Use while charging
3, Great battery life.