If anyone is still looking for tips, I just got some of these via Amazon. They fit 4.2mm - 5.5mm bores, and work very well with the velvets w/o distorting the sound like the westones. http://www.amazon.com/Medium-Earphones-replacement-assortment-connector/dp/B00GCSFUIQ

There are a couple pair of new velvets available via Amazon for $599 USD, in case anyone is looking.

I'm suggesting good gear to drive the headphones, not suggesting cost-no-object solutions. The OP had already spent $200 on a teac dac/amp - so $499 is hardly a huge step up in price for the increased performance it provides. It sounds like you're more interested in arguing than solving the...

Meh - I've heard it off budget gear. There is a reason I suggested something better than a $100 fiio

lol - it's not like I suggested the chord hugo ;) Seriously though, if your shelling out over $1k for headphones, it's totally reasonable to spend $500 on a dac/amp combo.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but I've been pretty happy with the ifi micro idsd dac/amp combo ($499 usd) when paired with my th900's.

Massdrop drama? I bought my th900's in the last drop w/o any issues. Apart from it taking longer than say, Amazon prime shipping, it was painless. EDIT: looks like they've hit that $1099 price, and have five slots left.

Th900's are on massdrop once again. Pretty close to having enough folks for the $1099 price: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/fostex-th900

I love the look of the wa-2! You should be able to borrow a pair of th900's from http://www.thecableco.com/Product/NEW-Headphone-Lending-Library to give that combo a shot. I'd love to hear it myself.

Anytime you set out to build something new - you make your peace with the fact that it will never be all things to all people. Looking at the ifi micro from the top-down: We have a solid feature set, great sound, and plentiful power... for a $499 USD price tag. We all get that folks want the...

The earsonics velvet are an iem that appear to have many of the same qualities of the th900's (great bass response, solid technicalities). I struggle with whether I should even bother down that path though. Maybe I'll give 'em a try at CanJam later this year. Until then, the th900's are where...

I listened to the lcd-2/x/XC all on the ifi, and while the 2 needed turbo, the x and xc did just fine on normal. I don't know why you'd go Eco, unless you were just trying to save battery. I primarily used the lcd-x with turbo and it was great.

Personally - I'd order it stock and try out some others at meets & such. Unless the stock cable is complete garbage, adding a different cable will provide the least upgrade to sound.

If the rumor is that you can plug the hd800 into it and it will make sound, then it's true. What you're really quoting is their marketing spiel. As I said, you can do a lot better with your $699, but spend it how you see fit.

The specs on the Iqube look very.... unimpressive. 80mw @32 ohms?! The hugo will smoke it in all regards. You could do a lot better for $699. Something from ALO, ifi, Centrance etc.