Cables, in my opinion, are a stupid investment. The differences between the conductivity and sonic properties of the various metals used in cables are so minuscule, why bother with anything other than a well-shielded copper interconnect? If you're not picking up EMI from the sound card's...

The HotAudio DAC linked to has non-variable line-level outputs. The headphone output has its own output stage, but you can simply not use it, and that stage has no impact on the RCAs.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sutton Just a few days after getting them they have developed a really annoying squeaky hinge on the right hand side driver, Every time I turned my head left/right it would squeak completely wrecking the quiet parts of my music and can still be heard over...

I find it varies widely from headphone to headphone. With the HD650s I find if you're off-axis from the headphones (That is, behind or in front of the listener, not beside.) they don't leak much, at normal volumes. However, what I consider to be "normal volume", acquaintances of mine...

MrSlim makes some good recommendations. Personally, I would pick up a line-out dock for $10-15 off of eBay, and find a mini-to-RCA or mini-to-mini cable elsewhere, for much less than $77 total. Given your price limit, you have a ton of options. Given your circumstances, however, you're...

Quote: Originally Posted by Sutton OK that saved me a head ache of importing an official Grado adapter! Just so I'm 100% clear, The SR225's will sound good from an iPod But even better and with more bass when I use a decent amp? If so then thats the perfect headphone for what I'm...

Quote: Originally Posted by Sutton Where can I get the jack adaptor for my iPod though? Apparantly they only come with the massive connector. Does it have to be the official grado adapter or will any be ok? Anything will do. The adapter provided with the 650s will do very well...

Quote: Originally Posted by djork I'm doing just that, i control the volume with foobar (though that's not the ideal way). I consider software volume control dangerous. One misclick and you've got volume at 100%, blowing your drivers out. On the other hand, a volume knob takes a...

Quote: Originally Posted by subtle No not at all. Grados sound fantastic out of an iPod, possibly more so than any other manufacturer. I would go with either the SR-80's or save up a bit more and go for the SR-225's. With the 80's you get the better pads over the 60's, and the 225 is...

Grados are easy to drive to volume, but difficult to drive well. Due to their low impedance, the amplifier needs large amounts of current to throw around, which the iPod certainly does not provide. The Grado sound signature works well with rock, and as for Grado versus Sennheiser, you're on...

Consider how well vocal-only tracks compress, they're very simple and lack the multiple layers and other intricacies of music with instruments. A headphone with bloated bass and harsh treble will do fine if it just has a decent mid-range, for vocals. Of course, you might mind the sibilant "S"...

Quote: Originally Posted by gtiboy Would that combined with an upgraded aftermarket soundcard improve that source? Like a Creative soundcard costing over a 100? When going digital with a separate DAC, what feeds the DAC the digital signal is irrelevant. There's no difference...

What amplifier you choose is entirely subjective. Personally, I am partial to the transparent sound of Kevin Gilmore's designs. Your sound card inherently has a digital-to-analog converter built-in, but it is less than ideal. Firstly, it's made with lower quality parts than you'll find with...

Quote: Originally Posted by effectic Hmm explain something to me then. a HD600 sennheiser which is 300ohm obviously requiring an AMP. Why would it require an AMP? And without am AMP what will the result be? Lower volume or lower sound quality? Meaning by a significant margin...

Quote: Originally Posted by Kurotetsu The Cambridge Audio DACMagic is the cheapest DAC I've seen with balanced outputs: Cambridge Audio http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets...Magic_rear.jpg Sells for $399. Its an upsampling DAC though. I know some people don't like their sound...