Having swapped out the power filter capacitor for a Blackgate on my X-Fi last weekend, I'm beginning to wonder about modding my HeadFive. Does anyone have any ideas on what mods can be done? Swap the caps for Blackgates? Can the opamps be changed to LM4562NAs?

Totally addicted to Head-fi. Not just the buying of new equipment, but the number of hours I spend trawling these forums. Anyone ever broken the addiction? How to get out of this??!

I've been comparing my X-Fi Xtreme Music against my Audigy2 ZS. The X-Fi has about 50 hours of burn in on it, the others are all well used already. Testing with the following: X-Fi Xtreme Music (has heatsink) QED Qunex J2p cable Meier HeadFive amp AKG K701 headphones Foobar 2K Creative...

How long do headphone driver units last? Supposing they are used at moderate volume, and driven by an amp that is supplying it clean undistorted power? If you don't abuse them, will they last forever?

I have my X-Fi setup in Audio Creation Mode - bit matched playback. It's playing MP3s in Foobar. The settings are Creative ASIO Front L/R. No DSP etc done. Strangely, the windows volume control mixer still has an effect on the sound volume. I remember on my Audigy2 ZS, the volume control...

I'm surprised that nobody is raving about the Arietta yet. The price is sweet, and it's got some ugpraded components over the HeadFive. Has anyone got it? Is its sound in Aria territory?

I've just bought an X-Fi to replace my Audigy 2 ZS. What do you guys recommend to do about the drivers and software? I really don't want to install all the tons of stuff on the CD - never use any of the bloatware anyway. The crystalizer and mode selector doesn't matter to me. All I want is...

My most commonly used setup is configured as: Foobar2K > ASIO > SB Audigy 2 ZS > QED Qunex J2P > HeadFive > AKG K701 Sounds great, but as usual, the upgrade bug is beginning to bite. Is the H5 the weakest link in this setup? Is it worth going to an Aria or Opera? Or should tbe Audigy be...

Merry Christmas everyone. Following everyone's advice, I went for the AKG701 and opened it this morning It's now paired with my HeadFive - replacing a HD595, which I'll be comparing it against. In the past I've owned a HD600, but I've never tested it with the HeadFive, so I'm be avoiding...

Christmas is coming and the upgrade bug is biting me. My current setup is a Meier HeadFive amp with Senn HD595. What's the most synergetic headphone to pair with the HeadFive? So far I'm looking at the Senn HD650 and Akg K701. Any suggestions or comments on these combos? Any others I should...

What's the best way to burn in a new pair of HD595 headphones? I've got a tone generator for the PC. Should I do lots of 20Hz frequencies or lots of 20,000Hz frequencies? Which type is better at loosening up the drivers? Also, I can choose from square waves and sine waves. Which should I use?

Which costs more? Your amp or your headphone? Just curious, because I'm sitting where with a ER6i (£75) plugged into a HeadFive (£148) - so the amp costs about 2x of the headphone. If I had spent £75+148 = £223 on a headphone, it would probably sound better. Not even counting cables here yet...

I've recently got a new headphone amp (RCA connectors) and am looking at the QED Qunex J2P to connect it to the mini jack on my soundcard (currently using an thin stock cable that came with one of my CD players). It's caught my attention because of the low price - about £20 (US$35). It has gold...

My Little Dot Micro+ just arrived! Bought it on the 30th May on ebay, and got it on the 6th - so that's 1 week build and shipping time to the UK. Notes on packaging: - came in bubble wrap, no box - there was a box for the ac adapter, but was rather mashed up in transit - items came through...

One of my new computers has an onboard Realtek ALC882 sound card. It conforms to the new Intel HD audio standard, and is certified as Dolby Master Studio. The computer reviews I've read all say this is a big improvement from the usual AC97 codec that's given onboard sound a bad name in the last...

What cable do you guys use to connect your headphone amp to the iPod / cd player / EMU 0404? I've seen cables going from about $5 (already with gold plated metal connectors) all the way to $100 (and some of these highend ones aren't even gold plated). Does it make sense to spend $100 on a...

What your headphones say about you when you buy tickets to go to a concert: GRADO: when you go to a concert, you have front seats in row A. The seat cushions here are a bit hard, but you can live with it. SENNHEISER: you choose seats in the middle of a big concert hall and lean back in a...

The Beyerdynamic DT770-80, Sennheiser HD595 and Grado SR80 are around the same price from my suppliers (almost, the DT770 is ~7% cheaper than the other 2). Which should I go for? I am using a Little Dot Micro+ amp and linked to a PC with an Audigy2 ZS (retail version with gold plated jacks)...

Does anyone here use Linux? I've got Fedora core 5 installed, and can't get the CD to play via the sound card's DAC. Instead, it uses the CDROM's built-in DAC, and the analog signal is transmitted to the sound card via the small 4 pin cable. In short, the sound is pretty horrible (very narrow...

I've been a long time fan of Sennheisers, starting with my first HD420. Since then I've owned 5 Sennheisers, including the HD600 which I really love. The natural openness, unfatiguing sound and bass are what really kept me with the brand. The problem for me has been build quality however...