Oh no! $995

Has anyone replaced the stock analog line-in cable? Suggestions?

What is this for?

Joined the club today:D What cables are people using to connect the KSA1500 amp to desktop DACs? I have a Mediabridge RCA male to 3.5mm male cable that I'm using to connect to my PS Audio DirectStream. It works and sounds great, but I wonder if there's anything else people recommend.

A special treat. A fellow Head-fier brought his Sony MDR-R10s for a visit. He's been searching for a while for an amp to do them justice and he asked to try the Stratus. He was happy and seemed set to place an order. I just listened briefly. They were magic on classical and female vocals. Less...

Thanks. Makes sense except for the "I want it NOW" factor. Put in a pre-order for Elear. (60-day return).

Given I currently have LCD-X and HD-800, what would be a good headphone add to get the most out of the Stratus? I was thinking about upgrading the HD800s to HD800Ss, (I'd keep both for a while then decide which I preferred), but then I wondered if I'd be better off getting HE-1000s or TH-900s or...

Trade offs. For now, I'm going with the Cryoset over the stock and the 6BQ7A. Best balance of immediacy and musicality, but perhaps a bit bright. On to the 2A3s.

Will be rotating stock 61NP, Cryoset, and an RCA 6BQ7A I found in drheadphones' goody box. Plus, the black-bottled 2A3s should arrive today. With three headphones, that ought to drive me nuts all day.

Actually, it was the HD800s I was using, but I don't want to make too much of it unless it is repeated. I have not noticed fatigue with LCD-X on any amp.

I'll give the stock a try, assuming I can find it. Feeling better now, so it might have been my own fatigue. Though I am using the Audezes now. Sometime I wish these amps didn't require so much tinkering and assessing. Sacrilege, I know. But I don't relax with the music when I'm analyzing...

Yes. Interesting reaction to the HD800S.. So far, prefer the HD800 to the LCD-X on the Stratus. Something is causing fatigue. I'm hoping it's just the fact that I am actually quite tired.

Thanks. Seems so. Do you recommend upgrading the HD800s with my amps?

"Nice looking setup. What kind of stand do you have for the equipment" Nothing fancy. VTI AGR.

I'm confused by the switch right of the XLR jacks which selects between single-ended and balanced headphone drives. I didn't realize XLRs could be used for single-ended. Why would you want a SE drive on an XLR cable?

Waiting for delivery of Shuguang Black-Bottled 2A3C-Ts. Now using stock. Ken Rad VT-244 rectifier. Drheadphone sent a variety of 6N1Ps. At his suggestion I'm using cryoset 6N1P-EV (circa 1970s from the Voskhod factory). Open to suggestions.

New home.

#17 due to arrive today. Can't wait to play.

Released this weekend.  Anyone try it yet?

Did. Didn't. Did.

BTW. It turns out artwork displays only if you have the Bridge installed. They are beta testing a new Bridge expected in spring. Among other fixes it will allow gapless playback.

Book?

The Absolute Sound has already weighed in: These initial impressions represented such an improvement that I wanted to document them right away. So to return to the questions I posed earlier: Was it worth it? Absolutely. Were the changes subtle and hard to hear? Neither the slightest bit...

The new "operating system" called Pikes Peak has just been released. (They've decided "firmware" understates the significance of revisions to a software-based product.) The improvements are breathtaking. You can read detailed comments from users on the PSA user forum. For me, the music has come...

I'm currently comparing my Taurus Mk II to my new Cavalli Liquid Gold and the process is difficult enough with both amps in front of me.  Different recordings, different headphones, different headphone cables are all factors.  I would never offer an opinion based on the memory of a departed...