“At $13,500 as a stand alone unit, and $16,250 with an integrated headphone amp, this is not an inexpensive investment.”
Yikes, $2,750 for the optional Bartok built-in headphone amp … ouch. I assume the Bartok’s HPA sounds great, but I would be pleasantly surprised if it beat out a standalone/dedicated HPA in the $2K-to-$3K price range.
I am happy with the balanced output on my Monolith by Monoprice Liquid Platinum Balanced Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli, which retails for $800 but is on sale currently for $627.42. If I were going to buy a Bartok, I would get it without the HPA and connect it to the Monolith. And if I were planning to spend the long green on a HPA, I would start by looking at the Violectric HPA V281 and the Benchmark HPA4.