Quote:   It's really sort of the opposite:  headphones need to "burn in" or "break in", which can take anywhere from a few hours to a few hundred, depending on the headphones. So the more you use them the better they should sound, up to a point.  I wouldn't worry about wearing them out...

I use this FLAC to MP3 Converter.  It's free, easy to use and does a good job of converting FLAC to 320 bit rate MP3:   http://www.flacmp3.net/

Rickie Lee Jones  St. James Infirmary from her excellent new album The Devil You Know  

Quote:   Yeah, well. The Dude abides.  Obviously you're not a golfer.

Dream of the Drowned Submariner  Mark Knopfler  Privateering.   Absolutely gorgeous.

  Rickie Lee Jones  The Devil You Know   My favorite singer's brand new album of covers.  Most excellent!     1.”Sympathy For The Devil” (Mick Jagger-Keith Richards) 2.”Only Love Can Break Your Heart” (Neil Young) 3.“Masterpiece” (Ben Harper) 4.“The Weight” (Robbie Robertson)...

Quote:   I agree wholeheartedly.  He sounds like Dylan, just older.  But then I tend to like singer/songwriters with less than ideal voices.  Like you said, I always thought they somehow compensated in their delivery, that they're more expressive.     I haven't listened to Dylan in...

Chan Marshall.  New Cat Power album "Sun" out today.    

Quote:   I think in your case to hear a difference between the MacBook Pro DAC and an external one you'd probably have to go to something like an ODAC, which is $150 assembled without an amplifier.  I'd go with the e9 and just use the built-in Mac DAC.

Quote:   Since your budget is limited to $300 I think you'll be fine with the MacBook Pro DAC.  You can always improve the sound later with an external DAC.  Since the e9k (I'd go with that model so you could pair with the e17 later) costs about one hundred, that leaves you, if my...

Quote:   Sorry if I missed this, but what is the source of your music?  A PC with a sound card or a laptop?  If all you have is a headphone out then having something like an E17 that you can connect by USB will result in a cleaner sound.  If you have a PC with decent onboard audio, then...

           The Orb.     From Rickie Lee Jones in the 1991 Little Fluffy Clouds to Lee Scratch Perry in the just released The Orbserver in the Star House's Golden Clouds

Lee Scratch Perry  Rise Again      

Bonnie "Prince" Billy.