I'm surprised there isn't a review yet for the DAC1 since it was a popular purchase choice just a couple of years ago. This is a great little 24/192 unit that provides an excellent step up from nearly all CD players that I've heard and certainly from integrated decoders in sound cards and the like - this is in another league.   Impressions are obviously very personal and subjective so you should know up front that my review system is: Squeezebox (FLAC) -> DAC1 -> HD650s (w/APS V3 recable) where the DAC1's integrated headphone amplifier is being...

There's plenty of debate around here as to what makes a headphone "high end". Putting price aside for a moment, I have no doubt that the HD650 marks the beginning of the high-end range. I've auditioned many headphones over the past few years and while many sound different only the electrostats such as the HE60 truly sound superior in every way to the 650s.   In terms of sound the HD650 is what I would call a "natural" headphone. Very rarely do I get the feeling that any part of the spectrum is being over-emphasised and the result is an intimate...