I don't know much about tube amps as I haven't really heard any.  I am somewhat of a purist and therefore prefer the dynamic range of SS amps although at times the bass is somewhat lacking (but well defined and punchy).  I think without my wire amp the bass was lacking, and with the amp the bass...

I spoke to the designer of the O2.  I think that the amp will clip if you try to get to the highest volume levels for the k340, but for regular listening would be perfectly fine.  I use the balanced version of the wire which seems to do a very good job for amplification, but I would believe that...

1. Assuming you have no deep scratches in the rubber or your connection, no it should not affect your cord.  Rubber is hydrophobic and non-porous so it should not affect your cord.  The connection is gold plated so it should not oxidize.   2. Water vapor will probably lead to quicker aging...

DAC - Digital to analog converter.  Essentially does exactly what it says.  This converts a digital signal (1s and 0s) that comes from optical, coaxial etc into an analog signal that can be used to play sound waves (superposition of waves).  This is essential and you cannot do without it.  The...

  Quote:   Mostly very true indeed.  You should not put a price-tag on the amplifier as many users have mentioned the O2 amp is quite good and cheap and none of the amps that I use are expensive amplifiers and it doesn't make sense to require a large amount of money to amplify a signal...

Popping sounds like you are reaching the limitation of the receiver or that you are pushing the limit of the headphones and is not noise from the rest of your system.  Noise from your system will be obvious.  If there is nothing playing and there is sound coming through your headphones that is...

I have a buffalo->wire->K340 sitting in my office, and work as a grad student which is pretty over the top.  In general, I feel it makes my time that I'm sitting in my office (not in the lab) more enjoyable.  I previously had hd280s in the office which bugged me since they sounded really unclear...

I built mine as well.  Have yet to upload pictures for owen, but performs exactly as described and is sound controlled by the buffalo it is connected to.

Portable amps don't have to have a built in torroid as it runs off of batteries.  A properly designed portable amp should be able to have a clean sound, but there will always be a problem of power vs battery life vs size.  For higher power and the same battery lifetime, more batteries will need...

Sorry about your misfortunes.  I've never heard of an electret dying although it is possible to happen.  To decouple the problem with the electret vs pcb I would swap in another electret and see if you have the same problem.  If the other electret doesn't work then you probably have a damaged...

I don't disbelieve that you take great care in taking your measurements to make sure that everything is as similar as can be.  I think that the most valid area for us to be looking is the upper bass and midrange for channel imbalance.  Indeed in these areas the HD800 and sr-009 (innerfidelity...

I think this is something that is very expected when taking measurements.  While you are using the same microphone and setup there are a lot of small parameters that can change when you are taking measurements which can cause differences in this frequency response.  Simple examples are the...

High gain is fine for ipods and portable sources which have lower voltage capabilities compared to desktop sources.  A higher gain for a weaker signal of portable sources at 0.5-1V is fine as this will get to you similar voltage swings of desktop sources.  However, when you are using a desktop...

The e11 will probably be fine in all regards for your headphone use and can drive the hd650 to extremely loud volumes.  I wouldn't use high gain if you don't plan on using it with a portable player as the signal will likely end up clipping.

Digital is right, and math suggests that you likely damaged your drivers due to the volume.  See the below charts:     Weakest sound heard 0dB Whisper Quiet Library 30dB Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB Telephone dial tone 80dB City Traffic (inside car) 85dB Train...

If don't care too much about the cord length of the denons you could probably just reterminate the cable if you're up to it.  With the ATHs, you could simply just resolder the connections to the original cord which is chewed in half and then cover it with electrical tape and probably not seen a...

Sorry to thread hijack; how much would one of these cost.  I might be interested in recabling my k702s into dual mono, and sell my SE equipment, and not having to drill my own hole would make it much easier (the mini xlrs would be mirrored right?).  On this note this is what 6 moons had to say...

Some people really like the K340 after some modifications, but nameless is right that some people find the k340 intolerable due the cross-over.  High end custom IEMs have multiple drivers as well.   Quote:  

I don't really think that picking up noise from the outside is a very big deal in terms of noise which is what the shielding in the lines are for.  I think the bigger deal is your source and your amp.   Quote:  

:) it's all about preference.  Honestly zombie I like your silver wire paired with the K702.  I think the bass seems to decrease because everything is more forward, but I generally like and find it nice.  However, I used military grade (w/e that means) silver plated copper when I recabled my...

I can't really do A/B but I can do a side by side somewhat.  I feel the silver cable (don't know who made this cable seems to be teflon, techflex, furutech terminated, mini 3pin xlr) seems to move everything slightly a bit more forward which gives the feeling of more detail, and it also seems to...

Warbeast, I suggest that you look at the mod thread from KT88 http://www.head-fi.org/t/214619/k340-kt88-mod-guide.  You can get new earpads for the K340 and removing the plastic grill will allow your ears not to touch the plastic grill (it can possibly touch the electret though but you can put a...

Should be simple to do.  The denon d7000s are already dual entry headphones, so there should be no connection between the two sides (you might want to check to make sure).  Therefore if you don't care about keeping your original cord you can technically cut off the current termination and...

Using the microphone cable which would save you a bit of time in terms of keeping the 4 cords of your cable together for part of the line and should work for both balanced (L+/-, R+/-) and unbalanced(L, common, R, common).  You don't need the nylon mesh unless that is the look you're looking...

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