I realised when making a post just now that I haven't written much anywhere on comparisons I've done with my Phoenix to other high-end amps. I've only had experience with 3, including the Phoenix, so I wouldn't regard myself as knowledgeable. I bought an Audiovalve RKV from another Head-fier because I was keen to find out what high-end tube amps were capable of. At present I'm using it as a speaker amp of all things, using the impedance adaptor, and the Phoenix as a pre-amp to it (and a kind of...

I remember a while back finding information in the forums on this DIY amp was troublesome, as searching for "M^3" doesn't work and, as well, it's referred to as the "MMM" and "M3". So, without further ado, courtesy of a couple of other Head-fiers, here is a list of M^3 threads:

...

There have been a few of these threads, and we're pretty burned out on them I reckon, but I think David nailed with his comments pretty well. I've thrown in my comments in the thread, as have other some of the other, well-known "usual suspects", so it mostly makes for good reading.

...

Analog has given us a nice write-up of the low-end Grados alongside the RS1 in his thread: And The Winner: Grado 325is Review (and Compared w/60i, 225i, RS-1)

...

Could it be that we've been barking up the wrong tree with the whole Denon mods thing? lmswjm went a rather opposite route to normal, cutting a large hole in his D7000's cups, then taking off the earpads and placing them back on with a vent. The result, he reckons, outclasses the Hifiman HE-5s from which he got the idea.

...

I was lucky enough to get my HE-5s on Boxing Day (there are no Christmas holidays in Japan or China) -- a Christmas present to myself. Out of the box, plugged single-ended into my Phoenix, they were rather peaky in the bass and treble, but with beautiful mids that may rival the Stax 4070, Sony R-10s and HD-800s as the best on my list. Certainly more "full" sounding than my HD-800s, which sound mid-forward after listening with the HE-5s, and I hardly consider them mid-forward as I do...

Not by far my best quick review of a pair of headphones, but allow me the excuse of doing it in an electronics store. It should give Audio Technica fans some idea of what they are like though:

...

Edit: Here's the pre-order thread. Now the first 250 will get the lifetime battery warranty, which is basically the entire first batch.

In case you missed it, since it's buried in the thread:

...

An interesting thread from 2007 was bumped on this very subject.

Short answer seems to be: Stax in 1960 with the SRA-4S, as electrostats require a special amp:



but for dynamic phones, excluding pro gear with headphone outs, probably the Sure Solo-phone.



After that, Grado designed the HP-1 for the HP-1000s just before HeadRoom...

It seems that the eXStata DIY electrostat amp is already exceeding expectations, using only $350 or so of parts, including the case. HeadphoneAddict has provided us with a short review mid-thread thus:

...