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| Portable Headphone Amps Discussion of portable headphone amps. |
01-26-2007, 04:17 AM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 64
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i think i will spring for one of these. if only they were a little more attractive 
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01-26-2007, 01:43 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus:
Reviewerus Prolificus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 11,312
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lectorcito
Skylab, have you ever listened to the Total BitHead? I am curious as to how it would rank in your list.
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My first portable amp was a Total Airhead. But that was over 2 years ago. I have not heard the newer version. So it's very hard to say where it would rank since I haven't heard it in such a long time.
w/r/t the Xenos, I will try to get to the full review on it next week.
__________________
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the volume of PM's I have been receiving in connection with my reviews, I no longer have the time to answer PM's from people with zero posts. Please read head-fi first before asking questions.
Team GO-U-NORTHWESTERN
Pics: Main Home Rig; Bedside Rig; Office Rig; Portable Rig;
Headphones: JVC HP-DX1000, HA-RX900; Headphile Deep Cup Darth Beyers VXD3,VXD4; Beyerdynamic DT990/600 (Manufaktur) DT770/600 (Manufaktur), DT880/600 Balanced (Manufaktur); HiFi-Man HE-2 Planar Magnetic; Sennheiser PXC-350; Shure SRH840
Home amps: Ray Samuels Audio Stealth (Mullard ECC32/CV4003); Decware Zen CSP-2 (Amperex BB 6DJ8/Sophia Princess 274B); Darkvoice 337 (GEC 6AS7G's/Tung-Sol mesh plate 6SJ7GTs); Wheatfield Audio HA-2 (Mullard ECC32/GEC 6AS7G/GEC U52); Ming-Da MC84-C 07 (Mullard CV4004/EL84/EM87); Audiotailor Jade (GEC 6AS7G/Sylvania 5751); J. Sound Lab Headphone (Mullard 12AT7); Audio-GD Phoenix; Musical Paradise MP-301 (Ken-Rad 6V6GT/Mullard 6AU6)
Portable Amps: Ray Samuels Audio P-51 Mustang; Decware ZenHead; Meier Audio 2Move, XXS; Qables iQube
Sources: Denon DP59L table + Benz Micro Wood L2 cartridge> Audio Electronics PH-1 DJH Phono Preamp; Music Hall 25.2 DAC; Denon DVD-5900; iPod 4G 60GB & 5.5 80GB (Apple Lossless) w/ Red Wine Audio iMod & ALO VCap dock; iPod Classic 160GB; Sony SCD-555ES SACD player;
Loudspeaker system: Krell KAV250 Preamp>Sunfire Signature II Power amp>B&W Nautilus 800 Signatures + Velodyne FSR-1500/Martin Logan Descent
Tube testers: B&K Dyna-quick 650 & Dyna-Jet 606
Head-fi feedback
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01-27-2007, 07:11 PM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 18
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This thread was very informative. Thanks for all the great posts!
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01-27-2007, 11:14 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Peoria, AZ
Posts: 718
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vo328
Thanks for the review, Skylab! Have you ever listened to the Headroom Micro amp? If so, any thoughts on how it compared with the amps you reviewed?
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x2
by the way great review we need more of these types of reviews. I would also really enjoy a desktop type of review instead of portable :-D
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01-28-2007, 01:26 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus:
Reviewerus Prolificus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 11,312
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RasmusseN
x2
by the way great review we need more of these types of reviews. I would also really enjoy a desktop type of review instead of portable :-D
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The biggest problem with a large home-amp review is that if I wanted to buy them all (like I did here) it would cost many thousands of dollars...
__________________
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the volume of PM's I have been receiving in connection with my reviews, I no longer have the time to answer PM's from people with zero posts. Please read head-fi first before asking questions.
Team GO-U-NORTHWESTERN
Pics: Main Home Rig; Bedside Rig; Office Rig; Portable Rig;
Headphones: JVC HP-DX1000, HA-RX900; Headphile Deep Cup Darth Beyers VXD3,VXD4; Beyerdynamic DT990/600 (Manufaktur) DT770/600 (Manufaktur), DT880/600 Balanced (Manufaktur); HiFi-Man HE-2 Planar Magnetic; Sennheiser PXC-350; Shure SRH840
Home amps: Ray Samuels Audio Stealth (Mullard ECC32/CV4003); Decware Zen CSP-2 (Amperex BB 6DJ8/Sophia Princess 274B); Darkvoice 337 (GEC 6AS7G's/Tung-Sol mesh plate 6SJ7GTs); Wheatfield Audio HA-2 (Mullard ECC32/GEC 6AS7G/GEC U52); Ming-Da MC84-C 07 (Mullard CV4004/EL84/EM87); Audiotailor Jade (GEC 6AS7G/Sylvania 5751); J. Sound Lab Headphone (Mullard 12AT7); Audio-GD Phoenix; Musical Paradise MP-301 (Ken-Rad 6V6GT/Mullard 6AU6)
Portable Amps: Ray Samuels Audio P-51 Mustang; Decware ZenHead; Meier Audio 2Move, XXS; Qables iQube
Sources: Denon DP59L table + Benz Micro Wood L2 cartridge> Audio Electronics PH-1 DJH Phono Preamp; Music Hall 25.2 DAC; Denon DVD-5900; iPod 4G 60GB & 5.5 80GB (Apple Lossless) w/ Red Wine Audio iMod & ALO VCap dock; iPod Classic 160GB; Sony SCD-555ES SACD player;
Loudspeaker system: Krell KAV250 Preamp>Sunfire Signature II Power amp>B&W Nautilus 800 Signatures + Velodyne FSR-1500/Martin Logan Descent
Tube testers: B&K Dyna-quick 650 & Dyna-Jet 606
Head-fi feedback
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01-28-2007, 02:21 AM
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1000+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Derby, United Kingdom
Posts: 1,147
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Heck - I bet that just doing the portable roundup cost a fair amount in total as well! However I suppose there's always the chance of, seeing as so many seem to love your reviewing style and opinions, that some people might be willing to lend you an amp or two to review ... just an idea.
And no - I'm not offering mine. I've only got the one desktop amp (my Aria) and it's not leaving me as I'd be left with nothing!
__________________
Speaker Rig LAME v3.97 MP3 -V 2 --vbr-new --> Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro --> Creative 5.1 Speakers
Headphone Rig FLAC Level 5 --> USB cable --> Corda Aria --> DT880 or A900LTD or MS1
Portable Rig LAME v3.97 MP3 -V 2 --vbr-new --> 80Gb iPod 5.5Gen LOD --> Fiio M5 --> KSC75 or CX400
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Beauregard
The mere existence of newer, better, and more expensive gear doesn't mean that your current rig sounds any worse than it did last week
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01-28-2007, 03:12 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 1,951
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m_memmory
Heck - I bet that just doing the portable roundup cost a fair amount in total as well! However I suppose there's always the chance of, seeing as so many seem to love your reviewing style and opinions, that some people might be willing to lend you an amp or two to review ... just an idea.
And no - I'm not offering mine. I've only got the one desktop amp (my Aria) and it's not leaving me as I'd be left with nothing!
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Well..I think it would be really cool if some people would. But the main problem with high end desktop amps is that you've got to murder about ten people before you can afford just one of them. And I think that is the reason that a lot of people will not part easily with them.
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01-28-2007, 03:22 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus:
Reviewerus Prolificus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 11,312
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Yeah, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable borrowing expensive amps from people, even if they really were willing. It's just not in my nature. And I definitely don't want to "borrow" them from their makers (not that any have ever asked me  ) - that is too much pressure. I like being free to say what I really feel is right.
So for the time being, a home amp roundup is not likely, I'm sorry to say. My home-amp budget is shot after buying the (wonderful) Meier Corda Opera.
__________________
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the volume of PM's I have been receiving in connection with my reviews, I no longer have the time to answer PM's from people with zero posts. Please read head-fi first before asking questions.
Team GO-U-NORTHWESTERN
Pics: Main Home Rig; Bedside Rig; Office Rig; Portable Rig;
Headphones: JVC HP-DX1000, HA-RX900; Headphile Deep Cup Darth Beyers VXD3,VXD4; Beyerdynamic DT990/600 (Manufaktur) DT770/600 (Manufaktur), DT880/600 Balanced (Manufaktur); HiFi-Man HE-2 Planar Magnetic; Sennheiser PXC-350; Shure SRH840
Home amps: Ray Samuels Audio Stealth (Mullard ECC32/CV4003); Decware Zen CSP-2 (Amperex BB 6DJ8/Sophia Princess 274B); Darkvoice 337 (GEC 6AS7G's/Tung-Sol mesh plate 6SJ7GTs); Wheatfield Audio HA-2 (Mullard ECC32/GEC 6AS7G/GEC U52); Ming-Da MC84-C 07 (Mullard CV4004/EL84/EM87); Audiotailor Jade (GEC 6AS7G/Sylvania 5751); J. Sound Lab Headphone (Mullard 12AT7); Audio-GD Phoenix; Musical Paradise MP-301 (Ken-Rad 6V6GT/Mullard 6AU6)
Portable Amps: Ray Samuels Audio P-51 Mustang; Decware ZenHead; Meier Audio 2Move, XXS; Qables iQube
Sources: Denon DP59L table + Benz Micro Wood L2 cartridge> Audio Electronics PH-1 DJH Phono Preamp; Music Hall 25.2 DAC; Denon DVD-5900; iPod 4G 60GB & 5.5 80GB (Apple Lossless) w/ Red Wine Audio iMod & ALO VCap dock; iPod Classic 160GB; Sony SCD-555ES SACD player;
Loudspeaker system: Krell KAV250 Preamp>Sunfire Signature II Power amp>B&W Nautilus 800 Signatures + Velodyne FSR-1500/Martin Logan Descent
Tube testers: B&K Dyna-quick 650 & Dyna-Jet 606
Head-fi feedback
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01-28-2007, 03:59 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 343
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The worst part of borrowing is that shipping is not kind to electronics.
__________________
Amps: GoVibe Home Vibe (OPA2227) C&C Box (AD822BR)
Minibox CL (MAX9722) Xtra X-1 (OPA2134)
Phones: ATH-A900 - Senn HD485 - Koss Pro3AA Ti - Sony EX90
Portables: Creative Zen Vision W - Iriver T30
PC: Audigy 2 ZS - Go-Vibe Home Vibe - ATH-A900
PC 2: AV-710 - AT-HA25D (DAC/Amp) - HD485
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01-30-2007, 04:58 PM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: South 34º 57' 32" | East 138º 36' 32"
Posts: 770
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Thanks for the review
__________________
Name's just KrooL
EMU 1212m -> Grace Design M902 -> Pass Labs Aleph 3 -> Equinoxed K-1000
iAudio X5 -> Emmeline Hornet M -> ER4S
Photography-Fi: Nikon D2Xs | Nikon D200 w/vert grip| 10.5mm f2.8 fisheye | 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 | 50mm f1.4 | 70-200mm f2.8 VR | 200-400mm AF-S VR
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02-02-2007, 03:51 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Posts: 200
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@Skylab
May I ask how well a job the Headphonia w/ USB DAC does with driving your dt770/80s? I am getting a pair for portable use, and I also want to get an amp/DAC combo for them. I really like the Headphonia in almost every regard, but I'd like to make sure that it will do a good job in utilizing the dt770/80's full potential.
I noticed that you give it a very nice review, and this encourages me.
Thank you! 
__________________
ॐ nrwilk - www.nrwilk.com
"There are only two industries that refer to their customers as 'users'." - Edward Tufte
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02-02-2007, 02:46 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus:
Reviewerus Prolificus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 11,312
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nrwilk
@Skylab
May I ask how well a job the Headphonia w/ USB DAC does with driving your dt770/80s? I am getting a pair for portable use, and I also want to get an amp/DAC combo for them. I really like the Headphonia in almost every regard, but I'd like to make sure that it will do a good job in utilizing the dt770/80's full potential.
I noticed that you give it a very nice review, and this encourages me.
Thank you! |
Yes, actually, the Headphonia is a very good match with DT770/80's.
__________________
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the volume of PM's I have been receiving in connection with my reviews, I no longer have the time to answer PM's from people with zero posts. Please read head-fi first before asking questions.
Team GO-U-NORTHWESTERN
Pics: Main Home Rig; Bedside Rig; Office Rig; Portable Rig;
Headphones: JVC HP-DX1000, HA-RX900; Headphile Deep Cup Darth Beyers VXD3,VXD4; Beyerdynamic DT990/600 (Manufaktur) DT770/600 (Manufaktur), DT880/600 Balanced (Manufaktur); HiFi-Man HE-2 Planar Magnetic; Sennheiser PXC-350; Shure SRH840
Home amps: Ray Samuels Audio Stealth (Mullard ECC32/CV4003); Decware Zen CSP-2 (Amperex BB 6DJ8/Sophia Princess 274B); Darkvoice 337 (GEC 6AS7G's/Tung-Sol mesh plate 6SJ7GTs); Wheatfield Audio HA-2 (Mullard ECC32/GEC 6AS7G/GEC U52); Ming-Da MC84-C 07 (Mullard CV4004/EL84/EM87); Audiotailor Jade (GEC 6AS7G/Sylvania 5751); J. Sound Lab Headphone (Mullard 12AT7); Audio-GD Phoenix; Musical Paradise MP-301 (Ken-Rad 6V6GT/Mullard 6AU6)
Portable Amps: Ray Samuels Audio P-51 Mustang; Decware ZenHead; Meier Audio 2Move, XXS; Qables iQube
Sources: Denon DP59L table + Benz Micro Wood L2 cartridge> Audio Electronics PH-1 DJH Phono Preamp; Music Hall 25.2 DAC; Denon DVD-5900; iPod 4G 60GB & 5.5 80GB (Apple Lossless) w/ Red Wine Audio iMod & ALO VCap dock; iPod Classic 160GB; Sony SCD-555ES SACD player;
Loudspeaker system: Krell KAV250 Preamp>Sunfire Signature II Power amp>B&W Nautilus 800 Signatures + Velodyne FSR-1500/Martin Logan Descent
Tube testers: B&K Dyna-quick 650 & Dyna-Jet 606
Head-fi feedback
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02-02-2007, 03:00 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chi town
Posts: 101
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Skylab,
I know this is apples and oranges but I have the Hornet and wanted to know if I would gain anything sonically if I bought Xcan V3? I am very new to all of this and would like to know some of your thoughts?
__________________
Phones: K701, E500PTH, E2C , PX100
Amps: Hornet M and ALO Copper Dock interconnect
Dac: EMU-0404 USB
Sources: Intel Macs, PS3 (SACD), Elite DV-45A , IPOD 5.5G 30gb, Nano, New Orange Shuffle
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02-02-2007, 04:15 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus:
Reviewerus Prolificus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 11,312
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojo777
Skylab,
I know this is apples and oranges but I have the Hornet and wanted to know if I would gain anything sonically if I bought Xcan V3? I am very new to all of this and would like to know some of your thoughts?
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In general, I think home amps offer better performance for home use, but I have never heard an XCan.
__________________
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the volume of PM's I have been receiving in connection with my reviews, I no longer have the time to answer PM's from people with zero posts. Please read head-fi first before asking questions.
Team GO-U-NORTHWESTERN
Pics: Main Home Rig; Bedside Rig; Office Rig; Portable Rig;
Headphones: JVC HP-DX1000, HA-RX900; Headphile Deep Cup Darth Beyers VXD3,VXD4; Beyerdynamic DT990/600 (Manufaktur) DT770/600 (Manufaktur), DT880/600 Balanced (Manufaktur); HiFi-Man HE-2 Planar Magnetic; Sennheiser PXC-350; Shure SRH840
Home amps: Ray Samuels Audio Stealth (Mullard ECC32/CV4003); Decware Zen CSP-2 (Amperex BB 6DJ8/Sophia Princess 274B); Darkvoice 337 (GEC 6AS7G's/Tung-Sol mesh plate 6SJ7GTs); Wheatfield Audio HA-2 (Mullard ECC32/GEC 6AS7G/GEC U52); Ming-Da MC84-C 07 (Mullard CV4004/EL84/EM87); Audiotailor Jade (GEC 6AS7G/Sylvania 5751); J. Sound Lab Headphone (Mullard 12AT7); Audio-GD Phoenix; Musical Paradise MP-301 (Ken-Rad 6V6GT/Mullard 6AU6)
Portable Amps: Ray Samuels Audio P-51 Mustang; Decware ZenHead; Meier Audio 2Move, XXS; Qables iQube
Sources: Denon DP59L table + Benz Micro Wood L2 cartridge> Audio Electronics PH-1 DJH Phono Preamp; Music Hall 25.2 DAC; Denon DVD-5900; iPod 4G 60GB & 5.5 80GB (Apple Lossless) w/ Red Wine Audio iMod & ALO VCap dock; iPod Classic 160GB; Sony SCD-555ES SACD player;
Loudspeaker system: Krell KAV250 Preamp>Sunfire Signature II Power amp>B&W Nautilus 800 Signatures + Velodyne FSR-1500/Martin Logan Descent
Tube testers: B&K Dyna-quick 650 & Dyna-Jet 606
Head-fi feedback
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02-02-2007, 04:17 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Posts: 200
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Yay!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab
Yes, actually, the Headphonia is a very good match with DT770/80's.
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Thank you, Skylab. This has pretty much sealed the deal for me. I just need to find out if the DAC will work on Linux systems. If it does, I'm going to get one.
Yay! I'm excited.
__________________
ॐ nrwilk - www.nrwilk.com
"There are only two industries that refer to their customers as 'users'." - Edward Tufte
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