Is it worth it to get the Cardas cable for my HD580s considering that I'll be driving them from a NAD3020 receiver or Marantz 2020B.

Both receivers have a good reputation for their headphone jack, but would it be a better investment to get a dedicated amp (ex. META42) rather than replacing the stock cable on my HD580s?

Thanks!

ehh, I prefered the headphone jack on my Marantz 1060B to my Creek OBH-11... from what I understand, the circuitry in your reciever should be very similar/identical... Either way, I think the cables were a nice upgrade with both jacks... personally I'd go with the meta first though

but the META would probably more expensive..

I could get the cardas used for ~120$, while a good META42 if I build it myself would cost me what, 200$?

Plus, it's less trouble to change a cable than to build an amp

well then it looks like you've made your choice already

if you're happy with using your receiver as an amp then go for the cables first - then Meta42 or maybe even a better source...

personally I think Im going to with a nice amp first (ASL or may Cayin) and then cables - my 580s sound good out of my CMOY amp and it wasnt until I listened to them out of the ASL through the Shanling that I noticed that the cables were a problem.

I guess what I'm saying is that you might not notice a big difference after upgrading the cables now until you get better sources (and/or amplification)

my 2 cents

I do have a good source, a Sony DVP-S7000 DVD player.

I guess I'll go frist with the cables...

This is just my opinion, but an amp upgrade definitely improves the sound much better than a cable upgrade. Get an amp first, then the cables. That is what I'd do.