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Welcome to team Truth.

As for the Stefan AudioArt Hardwired cable, you should try Nordost Valkyrja instead. 320 kbps mp3 with that cable sounds better than WAV did with Stefan AudioArt. I have been listening to a lot of 192 kbps mp3 lately!

I'm getting very good results with the stock cable. Today I sent this message to SAA...

Hi James,

Now that I’ve lived with the stock AKG cable for a few weeks, I’m finding it to be a surprisingly good match with my high-power, balanced amp.

Knowing cable selection comes down to personal preferences and system matching, I’m reluctant to make a big jump to hardwire without first hearing it in my system. As a result, please cancel my order for the Equinox K1000 hardwire.

Thank you for your patience and guidance in this matter.

Best regards, Kent

P.S. Several Head-fi members have Equinox hardwires, so hopefully, at some point I’ll have an opportunity to hear this combination in my system.

Had a nice chat with Michael from Ayre Accoustics about updating my V-3. He indicated the upgrade will improve transparency, and make the amp more stable -- leading to better long-term reliability. The upgrade is only $250, and the price includes return shipping. There's a waiting list; mine is scheduled for the end of July.

Michael also highly recommended their myrtle wood isolation blocks as one of the most cost-effective and better sounding ways to isolate their amp. Good news is they only cost $5 each. Ayre is sending 6 blocks for me to try under my CDP and amp. Sure a lot cheaper than butcher block. Will be interesting to hear how they sound. Link to blocks... http://www.ayre.com/accessories.cfm?accessID=7

Interesting link by a satisfied K1000 user... http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...=1#post2164383

So far I've found ten K1000 tweaks. Add your here... http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183974

I've been working on a primer for balanced rigs. Here's the link... http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183323

Wadia said my 830 will be shipped back tomorrow (with P upgrade).
I've ordered XLR connectors, so I can try K1000s directly from the Wadia.
I've been researching removal of K1000’s printed circuit board (I’m pretty sure I’ll try this).
Got two sets of Ayre's wooden isolation blocks to test under the CDP and amp (only $15 per set!).

And Patrick82 has graciously offered to lone his custom Nordost cables (for K1000s) for me to review.

Lot's of new toys!!!

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How are you gonna attach them to your K1000s? Or is he loaning his recabled K1000s?

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Glue and staples shouldn't be that hard to find

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My K1000s using toothpicks and bubble gum.

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My K1000s using toothpicks and bubble gum. Here's the cable... http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=183507 My offer to Patrick in post 103.

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Interested to hear how that will be, but in my experience K1000 needs a lot of current to sound its best.

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Agree. This will be an interesting experiment in that the Wadia can drive them balanced, which might make a difference (think of HD 650s balanced). That plus I'm pretty sure I'll be removing the printed circuit board in the near future, which will bump efficiency be a dB or two. If it works, great. If not, nothing lost -- I've got my Ayre V-3 which does a great job (although it is a bit overkill!).

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Definately looking forward to hearing your impressions after the removal of the circuit board, as well as with the Nordost cable.

I've recently come to believe that K1000s were NOT designed to be run in balanced mode (see Balanced 101 in sig for more on how balanced works). Why not balanced? And how much impact does this have on SQ? I'll get to that, but first a review...

My logic

- K1000s sound best from a good 2ch amp
- I have a good 2ch amp
- At least with my system, balanced drive sounds better than single-end
- (IMO) many headphones benefit when driven in balanced mode

My conclusion

My best bet is to buy K1000s and drive them balanced. In fact, my amp ONLY runs balanced, so going single-end would mean buying a new amp, or running K1000s from the RCA outs on my Wadia.

Let's review my impressions to-date

So far I’ve found K1000s to be amazing. The sense of detail and soundstage are well beyond anything I could have hoped for. But there's always been room for improvement:

1. If you've been following this thread, you already know that I've been struggling to get the bass right.

2. I had reported a problem in this thread [ http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...=168561&page=2
] that I now believe is a standing wave. Quote from post #36...

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3. The soundstage is expansive, but as stated in earlier posts, mostly 2D.

Bottom line: My rig sounds great, but not perfect.

[size=medium]Here's my NEW discovery...[/size]

It (appears) K1000s were not designed to be run balanced. Huh?

Here’s my latest thinking...

1. Balanced drive assumes both the '+' and "-" terminals are driven by “equal but opposite signals”.

2. AKG's printed circuit board attaches to only one lead (likely the '+').

3. The PCB has a handful of components that change the signal.

4. The signals hitting the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ leads in my earphones can't be EQUAL.

How much does this impact SQ?

Don't know yet, but I'm about to find out. Even before this discovery, I had come to the conclusion I should try removing the PCB. Now, I'm convinced I need to give this a shot.

This is best info I can point you to regarding pros and cons of removing the PCB (this from Larry at Headphile)... http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=57848

Can’t wait for my CDP to get back so I can play with this.