Moode 6 sound quality

[TheOldPresbyope]

@rallychief

Hi, Chris.

Sorry, I doubt I'll be much help. I can't know what "the very best sound, for the least cash" or "is that likely to be good enough" mean for your ears and your pocketbook. I can't know either whether using a battery pack will be a win for your ears. 

I do know that I don't like to spend money "betting on the come". I haven't paid more than US$100 for a DAC (several different I2S HiFiBerry DACs and a USB Khadas Tone Board), use only typical, up-to-snuff power adapters, and at various times have run moOde on everything from an RPiZero to an RPi4B. 

I've been very happy with the results listening to a wide range of music genres.

The most expensive single item I have is my pair of Sennheiser Bluetooth (aptX-aware) earphones and Creative Technology USB-BT (also aptX-aware) adapter to drive them...and I bought them at a sale price for those times when my SO disagrees with my music selection   

Were I in your shoes, I'd employ what I had in hand first and then selectively upgrade only as I identified audible deficiencies; even so I'd focus directly on the sound chain---the DAC and what comes downstream.

Regards,
Kent