Quote:
Originally Posted by
RexAeterna 
i found the SA5000 sounding fine out my solid state power amps speaker outputs(low zout). never found them bothersome unless at high levels. they have good amount ot air from 14k and above but the top-end(around 10k) sounds not too bad and thought the midrange was nice and clear(liked it lot more over the k601's). i think problem people have with these is most of the solid state gear(amp,soundcard/dac/interface,ect.) they use with them produces an annoying type of grain itself. the grain could be causing the annoyance lot of time. it's just an idea from memory someone mentioning something bout why never liking most solid state headamps or something cause of a grain issue or something like that.
when i used the sa5000 with my ipod once while it sounded really nice i think i heard type of grain in the midrange to treble area with them on certain tracks. wasn't bothersome to me but just tad weird. can any of you guys conform that?
Would have to be a bit more specific than "grain" - I think I follow you, but I'm not certain.

FWIW, between the VHP1, E9, and a few receivers/power amps they seemed fairly consistent. The higher Zout units tapped the bass up a bit, call it "warm" if you want, and they sounded niftier. Might've also had something to do with having hojillions of mW available or better volume controls (using the DAC's volume control which tracks better than pots - seemed to "open" things), who knows. They aren't as "friendly" or "happy" as the MDR-F1 but they certainly don't vacillate as much as the HD 580/6x0 between amplifiers.