"Best" is relative based on what factors are being considered, but plenty of people in the cheap Chinese earbuds thread prefer other $5-ish shipped buds to their Monks. Or if they don't outright prefer them say they are comparable just different sound signature.

Bump. Looking for more reviews hopefully comparing this to other common DACs. Even the Massdrop page has few newer comments.

I don't know what you searched for, because I tried, including picture search. Thanks, guys.

I was thinking Ultrasone of some kind, but I guess not.

Regardless of whether someone thinks the stock tubes are bright or thinks the stock tubes are warm and muddy, I think we all agree the most important thing is that the stock tubes can be improved upon even with cheap replacements. And for people just getting the amp who don't want to mess with...

More than anything, I think my stock tubes are too bassy. Or to be more specific, too warm and muddy. I probably wouldn't mind the warm if there was less mud.

My non-stick sheet has plastic on both sides. I assume the dull side would stick better, though maybe the shiny side would transfer the vibrations better. Since the most annoying part of Sorbothane has been keeping it stuck on, I'll go with the dull side and will clean it good with the alcohol...

ok, I'm tired of searching, and I think the answer is actually in a T50rp thread, and was never asked or answered in this thread. For sorbothane that doesn't come with self-adhesive, which side goes down? Shiny side? Or dull side?

$180 for an HD598? See if you can get a Beyerdynamic for a similar price. Though the 250/600 ohm versions will need an amp. HD598 doesn't "need" an amp, but it does benefit from one. Or just get a Philips SHP9500 or Superlux 668b or something and pocket the rest of the money until you more...

"Entry level" = 150 euros. lol, ok. Headphone price inflation. I wouldn't bother with the Senn 380. HP151 supposedly improves the weak spots from the HP150, but I'd have to have quite a bit of convincing done for me to put HP151 and "durable" in the same sentence. And it sounds kind of weird...

Never! Since I don't really even consider the HD598 "hi-fi." Anyway, regarding all this... I know even just saying this stuff is sticking my neck out and makes a lot of people roll their eyes. And I know even mentioning this stuff means I will be criticized and have to spend even more time...

I have HDMI cables that work fine for a month but then suddenly turn the monitor screen black. The signal gets lost I guess for some reason. Removing it and plugging it back in multiple times sometimes works after many times. Sometimes after many many many times. But plugging in a different...

It's around $20 new. Tests weren't blind, though they sort of were since many times I forgot which cable I had plugged in and could guess which one it was before looking again. As others have posted, maybe it's because the "just 1s and 0s" are a form of electrical current and current is...

Maybe if people want to argue about $500 DACs, but for more normal stuff, I think many people are just stubborn. They haven't taken the time to really listen or think about what differences they are listening for, things they would later start hearing automatically, and so they just wave off...

It's fine to say preference of sound is personal, but it's something else for the person to say they can't hear any difference. It's like getting television reviews from someone who can't tell the difference between 720p and 4K even up close.