Sorry the M2's weren't for you but glad you are happy with the NAD Viso HP 50

Hope you like them. :-) Post your impressions after you have a chance to give them a try.

I find it pretty smooth and balanced.

Have you considered Sennheiser Momentum 2.0's? I listen to the same type music (Rush is my favorite band) and use these un amped with my SG5 and ipod with no problem. Mids are full to my ear with the characteristic Senn sound. They are currently $249 on amazon for the android version in Ivory...

I have definitely used my E17 by itself when traveling with both my ipod and my laptop. It is surprisingly good by itself. 

I am using an E9/E17 setup with mine and they sound great. I will admit that I haven't tried any others, but I am happy with the sound.    BTW congrats on the great Christmas present. :-)

Quote: Same here. I know one person who is a huge fan as I am but I have been out of touch with him for years. :-(   I was the same about Headlong Flight! Still love it, and The Anarchist is probably in a tie with that one as my favorites on the album. The Garden makes me cry almost...

Quote: I checked out this thread to see if anyone had mentioned this release yet. I am totally smitten with the album and have already listened to it about a dozen times. I just can't get enough of it! I am the only Rush fan in my household and don't have anyone to gush on and on about it...

Quote: Definitely give "Never Going Back Again" a listen too...and crank it up :-)    

Quote: Yes. This is so true! Love listening to Rumours on my 650's.

Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed comparison. I adore my HD650's but you have me curious to try out some Denon D2000's one of these days.

Quote: I am far from an expert on it, but yes you can use the e9 alone and it should boost the SQ. I actually got the e7 first and used it alone for several months. The difference was remarkable to using the pc soundcard alone. I thought the PC soundcard was great before I tried the e7. I...

Quote: I thought the same with my 595's until I got an e7. Big difference. Then when I got the e9 to go with. Another jump in SQ. It was worth it IMO.  

Quote: This. ^ Only difference in my case is I am using HD595's and have HD 650's on the way.    

Sorry I didn't think to tell you that. Mine automatically becomes the default when I plug it in, but I am on Windows 7 and don't know Macs.