For those of you who don’t know him, Markus is a “touch guitar” virtuoso, producer and composer from Austria.  He is a graduate of Robert Fripp’s Guitar Craft and is actively involved in multiple groups (Stick Men, Crimson ProjeKct, and Centrozoon along with collaborations too numerous to...

Has anyone experience pairing the LCD-2s to an EC Zana Deux?  I'm curious as I am considering these 'phones and wonder how they would work with my EC HD300.  Granted these are different amps but are close enough for generalization.   Steve

  Hi All!   I received a Wadia 150 A/D converter for Christmas.  I believe the original intent of this little guy is to digitize analog sources for input into a digital preamp.  As I do not have such a beast, I would like to use it to digitize LPs.  The problem I face is the Wadia has a...

Is anyone here using a Stax 006 or one of this series as a preamp in their system?  It appears as though  it is possible to do so if you only have a couple source components.  Is it neutral enough for this purpose?   Steve

Hi All! I'm traveling to Toulouse France next week for business. We'll be staying over the weekend and I'm wondering if there any audio salons worth visiting in the area. Best regards, Steve

Hi All! I’m considering purchasing the 1976 – 1982 Genesis box set and would like to solicit opinions / experiences with the available package options. As I understand it, the box sets and the constituent albums can be purchased in various formats. •Box set with red book CDs & DVD-V...

Hi All! I have a tough decision coming up although this isn’t a “Sophie’s Choice” type of decision to make: Eddie Current Zana Deux or Singlepower Extreme Platinum? Both are just a shade under $2K, both will drive my Sennheiser HD600s with ease, and both have that WOW factor to them...

Hi All! Is anyone using a Mapletree Ear+ or any of its variants to drive AKG 701 cans? I currently use mine to drive Sennheiser HD600 which it does very well but sometimes I would like a little less “polite” experience. The 701s reported have a lot of presence and drive. Grados don’t do it...

Hi All! I’m considering finding a pair of K1000s for use in an office system. Sad to say, I have more time available after normal working hours and on Saturdays for listening than I do at home. I’m concerned about sound leakage as the earpieces stand-off from the head and I’ve seen various...

Hi All: I made an inquiry to an online retailer about the availability of AKG K1000s. I know they have been long discontinued but they were still advertising them on their website. I received a prompt and pleasant reply stating their site was out of date and indeed they no longer had any for...

What was your first headphone experience? How has it shaped your approach to listening since? I’ll start. My first experience was really with an earphone, not a headphone per se. My brother and I built crystal radios which used the little, high efficiency earphones popular in the ‘60s. These...

Hi All! I know several Head-Fiers were having McAlister amps built. Any status updates to share? Best regards, Steve

Hi All! I will be purchasing a new disc player for use at work with my headphone system (MAD Ear+ amp, Sennheiser HD600 and Grado SR80). The ancient, portable RCA CD player I’ve used for a front end for the last 9 years is limiting the performance of the rest of the system. I’m considering...

Hi All! My wife has an Ipod that she thoroughly enjoys. She has used it primarily at work for the past year. I know the stock ear buds pretty much suck but she was satisfied with them until recently. We have moved our company’s offices and now her work environment has changed. It is now...

Hi All! What will it (or did it) take to make you buy an SACD and / or DVD-A player? I’m curious about the thought process and reasoning others have used to make this determination as I struggle to do so myself. I’m certain for some; it was the need to stay on top of technology or to have...

Okay gang, howsabout a little exercise. I spend about an hour and a half each working day plus usually three hours on Saturday listening to my work system. It consists of an ancient RCA portable, multibit CDP player (weighs about 2 pounds!), a Mapletree Ear+ amplifier, a pair of Sennheiser...

Hi Everyone! I've found that I do more listening at work than at home these days. Business is good for our group and in the ealy evenings and Saturday mornings, I have the time and peace to strap on the 'phones and have at it. I have plenty of options for 'phones and amps: - HD600s or...

Hi All! I've purchased a 5gig iPod for my wife's birthday. Ever since we saw one last year at the local Apple store, she has hinted from time to time how nice it would be to have one. I ripped all her favorite tracks and downloaded them to the little rascal. An aside: the Windows version...

Hi Everyone! My wife wants an Apple Ipod for her birthday in a couple of months. I would very much like to get her one and load it with her favorite music. Right now, I’m not set-up very well to accomplish this feat. I have a Dell Dimension 4200 desktop PC with no firewire port. I figure...

Hi Everyone! This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a little while. I do about an hour and a half of headphone listening each day at work. This is after my guys go home and I can get my work done! I alternately use Grado SR-80s and a 20 plus year old set of STAX SR40 / SRD4...