[tbonner1]

Thanks Skylab and everyone else for the feedback.

Ooztuncer-Great ideas and I appreciate it. I will add HTML formatting to make it more pretty and readable. But I am working on a large project now and, to be honest, have had enough fun and need a headphone break.

QUOTE 1st question > you described it really well; within my limited sources, cans, amps, etc. the depth of listening with headphones is simply not satisfactory enough.

It sounds/seems that most if not all instruments including vocals are on the same plane (2d) and just in front of my nose, or worse, above my head (especially compared to listening music with speakers). Only sometimes I can dream/hear that it has a depth (probably due to recording). What would be your amp recommendation to help maximize the depth?

TOM I would go with an all tube amp and find tubes that gave your headphones the best depth of image. We spend too much time talking about amps, but it is really the tube COMBINATION that determine the sound synergy with your headphones more than many of the passive parts in your amp. I prefer sharp defined tubes such as the Raytheon 6SN7 vt-231 that sound closer to solid state. I find opamps such as the 2604 I use in my modded Kenwood tuner give pinpoint image specificity, but lack the airy floating in space depth of image than many tube lovers like. Be careful as many tubes have a deep and wide image that sounds spectacular at first, but can sound too diffuse for critical listening.

The high end Stax and AKG 1000 are capable of good image depth. I might choose your headphones first and then find an amp to drive them.


2nd question > what did you use (as an amp) for your rts-3's

For those who don't know, these budget speakers were highly reviewed by Harry Pearson of the Absolute Sound a few years ago. They sound incredible through my Prima Luna/Cayin tube amp with EL34 tubes and much better than solid state amps.