If anyone is look to buy one of these I have one for sale and would be willing to accept any reasonable offers. http://www.head-fi.org/t/668026/hlly-smk-iii-dac-eu-uk-perfect-condition

Quote: I find a lot of monitors are overpriced, but there are some great deals and I think you get better value for your money. I also like to use an EQ to colour the sound rather than have the speakers do it.   I can't understand what you dislike about active speakers there are some...

Quote: There is no way you can hear the difference between usb ports. Also unless a usb source is broken all dacs will work perfectly with them.   I don't understand why people seem to think that usb cables/ports would effect the bass or soundstage. It is undeniable that usb sends...

Any integrated amp with a headphone jack works great as well. Tripath amps are also great.

I voted differences are of a nature not described above. I know exactly why I hear differences, because I am tricked into imagining them due bias , visual cues, hype, etc. There is even evidence to support why I hear the differences 

Quote: Very true. Diy bass traps are a great investment.  

Quote: No need to really, the d1 has an excellent built in amplifier.

Quote: Why, do you like the hd800 for metal? I found them too bright and the soundstage was too large for metal.  

Quote: True, but I was using jh13s.    

Quote: I tried one for a few weeks.  

  Quote: No No I used to use an iriver h140 (160gb flac) with an ibasso db2 + pb2 and jh13 but I found it provided very little improvement over an unamped sansa fuze. I also hated the issues with charging everything, weight and size, it just felt really pointless and I now use a...

Quote: The ad900s are definitely better, they have much better sound staging and seem faster and more transparent. They are how ever brighter than the hd25s. The comfort is also much better on the ad900s although they provide no isolation. I actually found both of them brighter than...

Quote: What? I found the ad700's excellent for metal, they have a nice large soundstage and have nice forward mids. They also have excellent clarity which I found excellent for metal.   Also by the way the ad900s are fairly bright, so if you find your srh840s too bright the ad900s may...

In that case, be happy as you have got pretty much best sound you can get in your situation.

Quote: I completely agree, but the hd800s aren't brighter than most other phones e.g. dt880, dt990, pretty much any grados, etc . The only thing that makes people think the hd800s are bright is the treble peak. Loads of headphones have treble peaks that are much larger the hd800s is...