There are plenty of people who like RSA who aren't dismissed in general. But you dismissed headphones based on a setup that would have very little likelihood of sounding good.
Start at balanced mini3, go through balanced millett max, continue through balanced m3, then on to 4 and 6 channel beta22s. I think there are a number of variants of gilmores amps that can be had balanced for under $2500 as well.