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There are distinct sonic advantages to taking an approach of DAC/DSP+Amp+headphone transducer designed as a system--if high fidelity or active noise cancellation are goals. You can put specific frequency and phase adjustments in the DSP to get nearly exactly the aural response the designer was after. Not all headphones are designed with sonic high-fidelity as the primary goal. The vast majority are designed to hit a price point and "reasonable" frequency response (which can be and usually is quite horrible).
Those that have significant fidelity goals cost money, the best usually hundreds of dollars and most require more power than is typically put in a portable audio device to drive effectively. Above a certain price point, putting the DAC + amp in the headphone makes sense as an option. There are companies that have taken the same approach with standard loudspeakers. (Google NHT Xd system for an example.) The problem is that it is more costly to design and produce a system that incorporates a DAC/DSP component so the buyer is going to pay more. They also require a noise-free power source in addition to the digital signal.
Those that have significant fidelity goals cost money, the best usually hundreds of dollars and most require more power than is typically put in a portable audio device to drive effectively. Above a certain price point, putting the DAC + amp in the headphone makes sense as an option. There are companies that have taken the same approach with standard loudspeakers. (Google NHT Xd system for an example.) The problem is that it is more costly to design and produce a system that incorporates a DAC/DSP component so the buyer is going to pay more. They also require a noise-free power source in addition to the digital signal.
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