tribestros -- thanks for the notification.  The selection, while not massive, could help those of us who are just getting into higher-head-fi at least do some comparative listening, get some perspective on comfort issues, noise isolation, etc.    I'd like to echo an earlier post's question...

  Quote: No, they still have the update from Dec. 1 -- that they're not taking any more pre-orders until they know more about when they'll actually have the 550s.  Unfortunately, the price has gone from $250 to $300 in the last day or so...

A PM5004.  Originally thought it was a PM8004, and thought the deal was spectacular.  But it's a PM5004 and the deal is only decent.  Still...would be interested in your take.  I'm pretty new to all this, and am working on improving my home loudspeaker setup as well.  If the Marantz can do both...

I'm interested, and would be coming from Dallas.   I'm a complete noob -- although, in some ways, I don't feel like so much of one since I've been reading head-fi for months now.  (I totally get the "sorry about your wallet" cracks, even though I haven't spent anything yet.  The future looks...

Ditto -- saw a good deal on a Marantz amp and wondered if it might be a better (or at least comparable?) solution to a dedicated amp.  I, too, have been considering the Fiio combo or Valhalla.  If you have further thoughts on the Marantz, please let us know.

Here's a little more info from Headphone Bar's website:   "Update Nov 16 - Word from AKG is the AKG K550 is a bit later than initially expected and are scheduled to arrive at the store about Nov 30. This is one of those times when a new product unfortunately experiences a wee delay on the...