This group has been a great source for me to learn about headphones, PCDP's and amps. Based on the info here, in a short time I have bought a few headphones all of which I am very happy with, each serving different purposes and each seem to be the best in their class with the exception of the KSC-50's.

Sony V6's- Easy to drive, good bass, fun to listen to, very punchy

Sennheiser 280- Great isolation

Koss Portapro's- Great overall portable

Koss KSC 50- Disappointed, maybe its the fit or the size of my ears

Koss KSC-35- Expecting anyday thanks to the recent heads up here. Really looking foward to this audition

AKG K 401 - Thinking of selling. Very balanced musical and comfortable, just dont get much use lately after getting the HD600's

Sennheiser HD600- Gets the most use with my portable Meta-42. Still burning in both if you are a believer that it takes 100-200 hours. Now of course I will need to upgrade the cable and probably will want to upgrade my amp in search of the ultimate, although everyday I am amazed by the continuing improvement in fidelity as they burn in.

Sony D66 Eggo- Expecting anyday. Had to audition them after reading all the overwhelming praise but what occurred to me was that the same folks that were raving over these phones just 2-4 weeks ago have suddenly and drastically changed their opinions.

Of all the phones I have purchased so far, as a group there seems to be lots of consistancy over the long haul of their merits. How and why have the tides of opinion changed so much on the D66 Eggo's so quickly?

In the search for the ultimate fidelity, this group has done a number on my wallet and whats scary is that it feels like I have just started. Thanks..... Next, a better source, interconnects, hard drive based portable and/or an MD player, a home based amp to best match the HD600's. What seems clear is that once you catch the bug, given the passion and the money available there can be no limit to the quest. Its a fun addictive hobby that serves us much better than blowing money on gambling, alcochol or drugs.

Hi Stevesolo...

I think the problem with the D66 is ~ that they're pretty accurate... no, they're no R10, or Orpheus... but the sound you get from them is very clean...

...A lot of people don't want clean, they want powerful... which the D66 isn't (on the most part)... it's natural sounding...

Although a lot of it has to do with system synergy... I can get one helluva kick out of them with the D311 if I want to

All of this is IMO... and i'm probably going to get flamed... ho-hum

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Yep! It's a great hobby, and for some reason, or another I haven't gotten sick of it yet. And from the looks of it I'm probably not going to stop anytime soon.
Now for the important stuff; what amp you thinking about for the HD-600s? Kiss your money good-bye!

I was planning on getting the new Gilmore V-2 but also considering the world of tubes,

Earmax Pro, MG Head DT/OTL MKII or Philly Audio Blues Ver2 Preamp looks interesting.

Maybe even a maxed out Meta, my current portable single 9 volt, 8620 opamp Meta sounds fantastic but I no basis of comparison. I thought that my first decent headphones, V-6's was as good as it gets until I heard other phones.

Some people like the Grado RA-1, although my instincts tell me that it will not provide enough punch to adequatly drive the HD600's as I like at times to listen at high volume levels but not for extended periods or I will run the risk of loosing my hearing.

My challenge is to find the best match for the HD600's and try to stay within a $500 price range. I am open to buying a used amp from a fellow Head-Fier here as it seems that most of the members have intregrity when selling or trading gear. I am very open to suggestions and feedback.

Of course what will happen next is that I will have the need to upgrade my current sources from a Denon DCM-320 and Sony D-25s to at least the new moderatly priced Philips 963sa as the flaws and limitations get reproduced through better amplification driving the HD600's. Lets not forget the Cardas or Equinox cable upgrade, interconnects and a hard drive based MP3 player or an MD player. I know, one step at a time.

It seems odd to me that todays modern receivers, surround sound units and intergrated amps do not provide a good amplified headphone out source so that a dedicated headphone amp would not be a necesity. I guess it comes down to dollars and the typical consumers needs. Why not intergrate a good headphone amp out section on a CDP like the Phillips 963a? I know that some of the older Marantz and Fisher units accomplished this with good impedance match.

Well either people noticed the eggos faults from the start, but didn't want to speak up (for fear of getting flamed?), or some people noticing, causing others to look harder.. I don't know. What I do know, is that my Eggo has deeper and better bass than an EX70. . In fact, it stomps on the EX70 in every single respect.. (Yet i'm still going to get an EX71? heh).

Possibly, people's expectations change. As Duncan said, the D66's are very clean, relatively natural sounding (all disclaimers about the word natural applies ) phone. They are a sort of an inferior portable version of the HD600 if you will. Very broad brush there but that's the fundamental taste of the D66. They don't have huge bass, they don't have ear-killing treble extension and they have the general tonal balance right. The problem is of course that they can't be everything to everyone. Some may say they lack bass. Some may say they're boxy, some say they're too big, some say they're not bassy enough, some say they've got no isolation, and some say they're uncomfortable. Those are definitely faults that could be levelled at the D66 depending on your use, but the fact is that it's still one of the best compromises between portability, convenience, sound quality, isolation and comfort. Some of us may want to shift that compromise in which case you get a different phone. My shift is towards isolation for general travelling, but a different kind of isolation froma closed phone, which is why I've now got a PXC250, or my other shift is towards portability, which is why I have a ATH-EM7. In winter I use the D22 if I'm walking outside. If I was forced to go back to one phone for everything, I'd choose the D66 again without question.

I so not have the Eggos but the change in mood has been interesting to observe. I do have the Audio Technica ATH-EM7's that went through a similar pattern. I think there are quite a few members that enjoy them on a regular basis but are not as vocal as the few that found them inadequate. I think it is the same with the Eggos. As a matter of fact you will hear bad things and good things about most of the amps and headphones. The Cary and Orpheus both received criticism after Headroom's World of Headphones US tour. In the end I think it comes down to what your ears tell you. I have also found that there are certain people that hear things in a similar way to me. I put more stock in their comments than I do the other perhaps more vocal members.

To add to the above theories,we all have different tastes and preferences has different tastes. And when more of us get our hands on a certain set of phones, we're going to hear more and more impressions. As more impressions are given, you're bound to see more "negative" impressions as a broader range of people with different tastes check it out.

One of the amps that I am intrigued by is the Mapletree Ear+ tube amp - they have kits you can build for $275. Here's a review:
http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/NDreview.pdf I don't know anything about amps, but would like to try out a tube amp; I, too, have caught the Head-Fi bug and can't shake it.

I don't know how this amp in particular would work with the HD600s, but you might want to check it out as a relatively inexpensive step into the tube amp world.

I bought my partner a set of the Sony D66 Eggos; she likes the headphones but hardly listens to music since I got them for her so I guess her recomendation can't carry much weight. (Had to add this to my post so I can stay within the bounds of this thread instead of going off on a tangent. )