I am currently starting down a new path in life and discovering new things about myself along the way. Unfortunately, one of my coping mechanisms is to spend a bit too much time on the forum here and for some personal healing and recovery, I will be taking a break from Head-Fi. I would just...

Bleh, maybe another trip to audition the 3 is in order haha. I'll definitely try that subscription!

You won't want to double amp the signal, especially if your sound card is having issues because that'll just make it worse. Luckily you can always try an external stack or combo unit and keep your sound card in case you don't find the new gear to be worth the money. But essentially you will...

I recently visited a local audio shop to try out the Utopia and Elear, and ended up preferring my LCD2 and the LCD3 over all of them. However the LCD3 seemed to have a fuller sound and was the only thing that could possibly dethrone my LCD2 as my endgame headphone. I'm terrible at using the...

+1 on new cans, it'll make a much bigger difference in sound than upgrading gear. Maybe get a hard to drive pair to pressure "future you" into upgrading your amp ;)

AKG makes great cans for your tastes, I think those would be a better versatile pick than the X2 which I've heard is muddy and rough

The AKG K712 may be what you're looking for! For research purposes, you're looking for a headphone that is neutral, with wide soundstage, and accurate imaging. But you got most of the terms down already :) it's just a matter of wading through the suggestions and comparing them. I think it's...

If you're looking at Sennheiser, you have 3 options. The HD600: warm but neutral, small soundstage. HD650: Warmer than the 600, very smooth and relaxed with rolled off treble. Much more detailed than the 598 but far smaller soundstage. HD700: very bright and may have too much treble when paired...

External amps from reputable companies don't usually include "bass boost" features. The good thing is that you can just use a software EQ

As said, impedance has no effect on quality. For example, the HD650 is 300 ohms and the Audeze LCD2 is about 70 ohms and better than the HD650 in just about every way

You shouldn't need one unless you're getting distortion or static from your current setup. A better dac/amp has the potential to add some detail and tighten up the bass, as well as balance the sound a bit better, but your headphones dont need one at all. It would be a small improvement if...

Very true! I haven't had any experience with braided cables but I'm sure plenty of people use them for their 600/650!

If you don't care about surround sound effects that some sound cards have built in (all of which seem to ruin sound quality and sound very unnatural to me) then any external dac/amp will be fine for gaming

I'd take the Fulla 2 over the Dragonfly any day. Other than those two or a used Chord Mojo, not sure what else competes

Why not go with the HD650 stock cable? It's insanely long and the y splitter is not a problem for most