Dear All   I purchased an XM5 a couple years ago and I chose AD8397 Double Cat plus cooper bushbars as my standard set up. It was in my drawer for quiet a while till now. I have more time now and would like to get back to listening to my fav music. I bought Sennheiser HD25-1 II recently and...

Review: HeadAmp AE-2 portable headphone amplifier www.headamp.com retail price at press time: $349 originally published: April 27, 2008 re-edited & updated: November 30, 2008 - download a printable 6-page PDF version of this review Intro Released back in 2005, the AE-1 was the...

I’ve been reading through a lot of posts here and have learned a lot. I’m hoping y’all don’t mind if I ask a few newbie questions to see if I’m on the right track.   I’m using mostly my iPhone 4s (but sometimes my iMac) to listen to AAC files recorded at 128 bit rate, but also have a few...

Not sure if its the right section sorry in advance if not :) Hi all, All this adventure started with buying headphone for my iPhone and Will finally cost me an arm and a leg. My girlfriend dont like that i burn So much money For my sole person.... So my portable/desktop hybrid rig Need to...

Need to drive hd598 and bw p5 via laptop/iPod 5.5 Lossless files ALL kind of music+ gaming and movies. Eventually some d5000 Will be acquired E17 fiio alpen vs xm5 practical device with all the upgrades( can have both for the same price) Please help

hi Guys, I just recently started to use my headphones more freqently while listening to music and now that I am about to get the Beyerdynamic dt-770 pro (32Ohm) I thought about getting myself a DAC/Amp combination that wouldn´t hurt my wallet to much. I also am thinking about getting the Grado...

Please recommend me a portable amp about $200.  Thank you. E11, HiFiMan EF2A, PA2V2, XM5?

  Hisoundaudio Crystals Review   Thanks to Frogbeats for the sample     First Impressions:  I see they still have the tiny box barely bigger than the case they come in.  I rather like that, okay so a big fancy box might be nice too but I appreciate the efficiency of it.  It’s a...

I'm fairly new to Head-fi and whilst I've always enjoyed listening to music on my PC with Sennheiser HD555's more than my iPod I never really thought much about it until stumbling across this site.   Since then, I'm now usually listening to my Beyerdynamic DT1350's with the XM6 which is far...

  HiFiMAN RE-272 Review     Thanks to Head Direct for the samples.      First impressions:  Ohh the box is fancy, oh hold on once you touch it it’s actually not so much, even less so when you open it.  Fancier than the usual HiFiMAN boxes but nothing to get all frothy about, not...

It seems all the well known portable amp manufacturers are doing a refresh of their product lineup.  There are some really interesting possibilities coming down the pipe.  I have had some great experiences with Practical Devices XM4 and XM5 amps, allowing me to roll opamps and tailor the sound...

I'm transferring this over to the main Headphones forum. This started off as a search for Canadian manufacturers, but it has expanded since then. I'm mostly focusing on Canadian manufacturers/distributors/retailers of headphone gear and trying not to branch off into regular home theatre...

As in the tittle, i'm going to spend 300$ getting an amp for my ipod video (may be 5th). However, i don't know much about portable amp. I wanna try the arrow since i've seen a lot of mems using it. But i still need advice. My phones are w3 and triple fi. Please help me. Thank you!

Want most power for Sennheiser HD650.  Future purchase will probably be Denon D-5000,Tesla T1,LCD-2.  I have narrowed it down to Headstage Arrow,RSA 71A,Lisa 3{L3},and Stepdance.  Battery life or size, is not a factor or price. I'm looking for highest sound quality and power to drive future high...

I just recently bought a pair of Denon D2000s.  They are my first pair of decent headphones, and I know just enough to know that an amp is needed.  However, after researching options for hours on end I'm becoming hopelessly lost.  I'll be running them through my Mac and don't stay in the same...

I've just joined this forum and needed some advice.   I recently received some Monster Jamz for my birthday, and although the quality seems fine and they will need burn time, I'm not sure that my current mp3 player is powerful enough for them. At present I'm using a Cowon iaudio 9 16gb with...

Hello,   I am getting Nationite S:flo2 media player and Westone UM3X IEM as soon as possible. I would also like to buy an amp to go with. I would really like if it had bass boost option. I am considering these amps so far: Practical devices XM5 Headstage Arrow   but couldn't really...

hey guys (and gals). i just ordered a Sennheiser HD650 and of course now need an amp/dac. i have a PA2V2 to use in  the meantime with my portable, but i doubt it's going to be enough for the HD650's and i do want a DAC to use with my laptop.   i am completely torn between the Practical...

I have had the Practical Devices XM5 for just over a year now and am starting to have issues. With my Denon AH-D2000s no sound comes out of the left ear unless I fiddle with the volume. I have to turn the volume way up before the sound comes in. Also I'm getting static when I turn the volume...

I will buy MD series Denon 2000 from LawtonAudio soon and I am looking for an amp. I like small amps that can be brought along without to much trouble for smartphone use. Will be used quiet a bit with computer too, but I am just not sure I need the DAC USB feature?   I have read about RSA...

Ignoring the price difference in these two options, in a blind test, can you tell the difference between an XM5 with AD8065 and an XM5 with LME49710 op amps installed?  If so, what would the difference(s) be?

In the passing months, I've been hearing a lot of this new Arrow insanity going around, and never did any research on it--until tonight. In short, the thing looks like it could be a top-tier amp and even be far better than my much-beloved XM5 (or maybe just another FOTM ). So my question is...

I recently got my XM5. The XM5 is an interesting amp. So I will compare different music. Amps: XM5 & Total AirHead Player: 4G Nano iPod Headphones: Beyerdynamic Dt 770 PR0  80 OHM First my ipod is on full as was XM5. The XM5 in the experiment is on XFeed too. Rock Music...

Ordered a Practical Devices XM5 amp this morning. I'm very excited to get it. It will be my first portable amp. I'll be using it with an iPod (6G) 160GB, ZyCable Zn7 iPod LOD (from head-direct.com), and either the Denon D2000 or Sennheiser HD25-1 'phones. Do you own one? What are your...

Just a few minutes ago, I was using the DAC on my Practical Devices XM5 (as I normally do for computer audio), when suddenly it stopped working. First, it cut out a couple of times, and then it just stopped working altogether. I tried turning it on/off, listening through my DAP, and then...