I've been using Klipsch X11 earbuds for years now. They were quite a revelation for me, since I had previously found every other earbud I'd tried uncomfortable for long periods. The X11s, though, I could wear all day at work with no discomfort. While the X11s sound pretty good, their sound...

I'm looking for a music server to use while at work.   Ideally, what I want is something where I can just take a portable hard drive, plug it in via USB, and listen to the thousands of CDs I've ripped to WAV over the years.   However, the few music servers I've researched (Sony HAP-Z1ES and...

I'm looking for a DAC around $500 to interface between my PC (via USB) and my Genelec 8030A speakers.   The Genelecs are powered speakers with XLR inputs, so I'd like a DAC with balanced outs.  Also, a variable volume control on the DAC's output is a must.   It seems like either the TEAC...

I'm looking for an all-in-one solution for listening to music while at work.   Basically, I want to be able to hook up my 3TB hard drive full of music to a device and listen to the music via headphones.   I don't want to have to use a computer for anything because I don't want the company's...

I currently use Denon D700s for my home listening and I absolutely adore them.  However, I can't use them at work due to their immense amount of sound leakage and lack of isolation.    So, I'm currently using DT-770 Pros for listening at work.   I'm in the mood for upgrading, though, so...

I'm in the process of moving out of my house and into an apartment.  I don't think that my new neighbors are going to appreciate me watching Star Wars at 2 AM with my current 5.1 speaker system, so I think I'm going to be doing a lot more headphone listening while watching movies.   My...

I've been using Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pros at work for a few years now. I've been mostly happy with them, but I've always been conscious that there are better sounding headphones out there (especially after getting some Denon D7000s for home listening ). The thing is, the DT-770s are great for...

In the February 2009 issue of Hi-Fi Choice there is a comparison test between six different DACs. The units tested are: (1) Beresford TC-7510 (₤130) (2) Cambridge Audio DacMagic (₤200) (3) Heed Dactilus (₤300) (4) Apogee Digital Mini-Dac (₤690) (5) Lavry Engineering DA-10...

So, my brand new shiny CI Audio VHP-2 arrived yesterday. With eager anticipation, I hooked it up to my Anthem TLP 1 preamp, Panasonic RP-91 DVD player, and Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 ohm headphones. Pressing play on the Panasonic I soon heard... ...pretty much the same thing I'd previously...

I'm not a big believer in the audio improvements supposedly offered by expensive cables, but I am rather big on having my system look nice, and some of those cables with their braided cloth jackets are quite spiffy looking. So, I was thinking of giving some expensive cables a try. I would...

I'm looking at getting a preamp for the headphone listening space that I'm setting up at home. I'm looking at used units in order to save some cash. The preamp *must* have tone controls--there is just too much variability in the way that discs are recorded for me to do without bass and...

I'm thinking of setting up a second listening room at home, and I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive universal player to use as a source. I have the following requirements/wants: (1) Must play back CD, SACD, and DVD-Audio. (2) I don't care about the video performance, I will only be...

Did anyone else pick up the November issue of Hi-Fi Choice yet? In it, they compare six different headphones: the Audio Technica ATH-W5000, the Beyerdynamic DT880, the Denon AH-D5000, the Grado RS2, the Sennheiser HD650, and the Ultrasone Pro750. The entire article is well worth reading...

Unlike many folks here, I need tone control in my listening setup. I'm a bit of a basshead, and many recordings need a bit of boost to sound good to me. However, the amount of boost varies with both the recording and my mood. Plus, there are those problem recordings which need some twiddling...

I like my Beyerdynamic DT-770s pretty well, but they tend to sound a bit dark to me a lot of the time. I tried the Denon D5000 and thought that they were definitely an improvement, but they didn't have the level of isolation that I need for listening at work. So, is there a headphone out...

I recently purchased Pergolesi's "La Serva Padrona", and I find myself absolutely loving it. Can anyone recommend me some more Italian comic opera? Wikipedia says that Carlo Goldoni was one of the masters of the genre, but amazon.com doesn't seem to have any CDs of his operas, which I...

I decided to upgrade my listening setup at work a few weeks ago, so I bought myself a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros (80 ohm) and brought in my Marantz SA8001 as source. I plugged the DT770s into the headphone out on the SA8001. It sounded great in the highs and mids but the bass was a huge...

Despite what you might think from the title of this thread, I love my Marantz SA8001. But there are a few things that really tick me off about it. (1) No resume. A lot of times I'll be listening to a CD and get interrupted. I don't want to leave the player on pause for twenty minutes or more...

I brought my Marantz SA8001 into work this week so I can listen to my growing SACD collection. The thing is, the SA8001 isn't exactly small, so it's not like I can lock it in my drawer at the end of the day. And it's not the kind of thing that I want to haul back and forth from home to work...

I've tried a variety of IEMs for listening at work (I'm currently using Super.Fi 5 Pros) but none of them really do it for me. I tend to find them uncomfortable for long periods of use (I can be at my desk for a good chunk of my 8 hour day and spend almost all that time with my 'phones on)...

I'm looking to get a SACD player to bring in to work, and I was hoping to get one that has a smaller than normal footprint--maybe something like the Cyrus gear (except Cyrus doesn't make a SACD player as far as I can tell). Does anybody have a recommendation?

Now that my SACD collection is starting to grow, I would like a way to listen to hi-rez music while I'm at my desk at work. So, I'm planning on getting a second SACD player to bring to work along with a headphone amp. I'm using Ultimate Ears Super Fi 5 Pros for my headphones, so I don't...

I was comparing the specs for the SA-15S1 and the SA8001 on Marantz's website, and I was trying to figure out why the SA-15S1 costs so much more than the SA8001. They use the same DACs, and the specs seem pretty identical. In fact, the specs say that the SA8001 uses a toroidal power supply...

I'm in the market to create a new 2-channel setup, and, thus far, I've only been looking at gear which has XLR connections. I've been an amateur musician for many years now, and I always noticed a substantial improvement everytime I switched from unbalanced to balanced connections. However...

I'm in the midst of upgrading my audio gear and, as part of that upgrade, I'd like to get a mid-fi CD player that also plays SACDs. I'm trying to find a good compromise between sound quality and price. I'm thinking that I definitely want XLR outputs on the player in order to get the best...