My daughter sent me a $50 gift certificate to Musician's Friend for Christmas. I don't really need any guitar gear, but it wouldn't be bad to have an alternative pair of cans to hang next to my Senn HD580s. Thing is, I don't want to spend much over the $50. Closed would be good. A different...

...before they sold out? I'm really curious about this piece. The design is as a DAC should be IMHO - as simple and straightforward as possible, well-executed. I'm very curious about the sound. Tim

I have to admit that this really appeals to me. I'm looking for a source that just changes the bits to volts and doesn't add or subtract any tone in the process. This seems like it would deliver. But I'm about the furthest thing from an engineer you're likely to find. Here's the basic...

Those amps that have variable gain switches...is it like a very simple version of a stepped attenuator, with the maximum gained stepped back through resistors for the various settings, or is it more complicated than that? Tim

Anybody know of a plug-in or download that would allow me to loop pink noise in iTunes? Tim

Pardon me for not searching through the huge LD V thread, but I've been there before, and I'm not sure this is in there. I don't mean is it Class A or Class A/B, but where would those of you who have used it and other more established headphone amps place it in the foodchain? Is it of up there...

Have fun. Take pictures. Report back on all the great toys! Tim

While some folks don't seem to think my system is resolving enough to detect the subtle differences between electronic components (and they are probably right) it is quite resolving enough to bring the not-so-subtle and often annoying differences between mastering techniques into sharp focus. To...

This is where most of the music is -- horns, strings, the human voice. It is manifestly important, IMO, so as I look to the next set of cans to add to my Ety ER6 and Senn HD580, what has the most transparent, detailed and just plain beautiful midrange? No mud allowed.... K701 K601 DT880...

Just wanted to let you know that I tried your "de-masking' eq setting. I cut a couple of db at 500 and 1000k, then boosted the preamp volume just a gnat's ass to equalize the volume. Veil lifted. Tim

I went looking for this once before without much luck. I've switched from my little Headroom Airhead to a vintage HK integrated amp for use with my Senns, and the results are good. Headroom is a powerful thing. I miss the crossfeed a bit, though. I didn't use it much, but on older recordings...

Can you tell I'm on a roll this morning? I'm sitting here letting iTunes roll through the entire hard drive at random, and the volume shifts from cut to cut are getting annoying. I've turned Soundcheck off and on, then equalized the volume as quckly as possible and listened. I think I'm hearing...

This elusive distortion seems to be the bane of digital audio. Much is done to minimize it, mitigate it, move it to someplace where we can't hear it. But every description of it I've come across seems to boil down to harsh trebles, and there is so much bad mastering in the present and so much...

I asked this in another thread, but I can't seem to find it, so could anyone who has heard both give me a comparison? Descriptions I've read of the K501 sound like my kind of alternative to my HD580s - Detailed and neutral, with a smooth, open midrange, and slightly rolled-off highs. Sound about...

I asked this in another thread, but I can't seem to find it, so could anyone who has heard both give me a comparison? Descriptions I've read of the K501 sound like my kind of alternative to my HD580s - Detailed and neutral, with a smooth, open midrange, and slightly rolled-off highs. Sound about...

When they are there, they confuse me. In the world of amps that are measured in watts (rms) into ohms and speakers that are measured by load (ohms) and sensitivity (which will give you a pretty good indication of the overall power requirements of the thing), I can sit here on the internet, where...

When they are there, they confuse me. In the world of amps that are measured in watts (rms) into ohms and speakers that are measured by load (ohms) and sensitivity (which will give you a pretty good indication of the overall power requirements of the thing), I can sit here on the internet, where...

All of the stuff that has it all -- deep, punchy bass, smooth, open mids, clear, sweet trebles, great soundstage, oodles of detail, etc, etc -- seem to be inefficient, hard-to-drive cans like the Beyer 880, Senn 600/650, AKG 601/701. What is out there that is a truly reference quality...

We see a lot of talk here about amps with dacs -- the Pico, products from Corda, Headroom, CanAmp, etc. There isn't nearly as much talk about the opposite approach, though -- products that seem to focus first on the dac, then add the headphone amp in as an extra. Examples would be the DAC1...

In the K-601 thread, someone said the K-701 has an absolutely insane sound stage. I don't doubt it, but on the other hand, I don't think cans are capable of laying the instruments out in front of the listener, as if they were on a stage, like speakers can. If they are, I haven't heard the combo...

This was inspired by the Slee Solo vs GS1 thread, but I thought it might do better on its own. I'm somewhat of a neophyte here, but the more I read, particularly about folks' attempts at creating system "synergy," the more I'm coming to the conclusion that what they're actually doing is...

I just ran across a 6 Moons review of the Benchmark DAC 1, one that interested me because it underscored something I've thought about quite a bit. Take it as an example; I think it would be much the same in the assessment of any top-flight pro component by a high-end home audio enthusiast. There...

First, the history: Last year, I was putting together a system to play in the den/kitchen area of the house so I could have tunes going while cooking, etc. It was not really meant to be a serious, critical listening system, but still, I wanted it to sound good. At one point, I had a set of...

I'm not going to trade up my 580s; I really like them. But if I were to add another pair of full-sized cans, looking for a different sound, what would the the best alternate/mate to my Senns the AKGs or the Beyers? Tim

This is all hypothetical, of course , but let's assume that someone would prefer to keep most of the variation in sound signature in the transducers, so he could experiment with phones for different levels of warmth, detail, agression, laid back, etc, etc. Let's also assume that he's bought into...