Yes, I'm using exactly the same golden crystal; the performance improvement (clarity) on my ST was rather minor, but still noticeable.  It's difficult to compare  without rolling back to the old xo.

Catx: your pictures made installation very easy, thanks.   Not sure if someone already advised to use small tweezers to hold the leg near the body while soldering.

I decided to keep my only available pci-e slot  for future usb-3 expansion card, so ST is the way to go.

I never heard 750, but for me 650 are not in the same league as 2500. On a main setup - less detail, bass is prominent and strong, but sometimes not correct. Mids are a bit funny, not natural. I had 70 hours of pink noise on them at the time of auditioning. Very enjoy them from laptop unamped...

1) If God says so the devil will easy take revenge tempting us poor head-sinners whith different sources, amps, interconnects, mods, tubes and opamps rollups and more and more.... 2) If God says so I would pray for advice which cans to keep.... 3) If wife says so it's time to ask God...

I was looking for office solution and made this mod a while ago, inserting px-100 to no-name $15 cans enclosures with plever pads. The result was good indeed. The bass became better controlled, no leaks. The sound quality was close to mdr-7505 (less details, but better highs) unamped from laptop...

Quote: 1. the HF-1 2. the W5000 3. the DT990 4. the E500 5. the K701 6. The RS-1 Oh no, this guy has no mercy: even w5k, even rs-1

Only stuff I used to have or still have: hd600/650, px-100, portapros k701, k81dj ad2000 Contrary to some opinions I have no problems with sa5k and ultrasones.

lol, there supposed to be 9 times more americans than canadians, not 1.8 times. What's going on on in this world and more important on this site?

It's sometimes possible to locate exact place where the wire is broken inside cable - bent the cable in different locations, trying to make it work (or not). If it doesn't work, I would unscrew plactic Y-joint and use meter to measure resistance from plug to joint and up. This way you'll be...

Well, I had or still have hd600, sa5k, w5k, dt880, dt770, 7509, k-701, dt2000, sr-125, sr-325, ms-pro and the winner will be dt-880, followed by mdr-7509. I avoided portables here.

Thanks for your input, guys. Looks like nothing really to worry about. Massage, there was thread some time ago about online canadian sites.

Do you guys know about the U.S. customs policy for the cans, cables, amps shipped from Canada? Does it make difference if the item was produced in the US? I started similar thread on cables forum, but there is not much activity down there.

Hey, does anybody from south of the border know your country duty policy? Here in Canada we can be hit for goods with quoted value over $60 I guess. I will claim that cable I am about to send to buyer is made in U.S. Does it make any difference? Basically the issue is - what item price to claim

One more vote for sa5k, I would only suggest recabling. Most likely you'll have less details but more weight. For me it was the perfect trade-in.