State of the art performance achieved. The addition of the Audeze LCD 3 headphones in replacing the Senn. HD600 has tremendously elevated my system in terms of resolution, realism, and naturalism. I know my CD player is state of the art as is the Audeze LCD3 but believe the Bada PH12 ($500 USD...

The best Fantastique in terms of emotional communication is the live recording on Philips with Gergiev conducting the Wiener Phil.

Check out the one on Hyperion with The King's Consort from Robert King   My favorite so far.

Not my cup of tea since I like the hybrid (tube pre-amp plus solid state amp) headphone amp design.   Any one have any experience with this one? Could be a bargain at $2200 USD shipped internationally.  ...

yes, a fine one - I have it   However, you really should consider this one  (can download on the right torrent site)   2014 release by Anima Eterna Brugge

The Raptor was cold and clinical - a solid state sound - and no tube rolling could solve the lean tone body problem.   Plus it had a subtle mildly irritating quality after listening to it for 30 minutes or more.   I can make the Bada PH12 sound like the Raptor by using three Chinese Shugang...

2014 release by Anima Eterna Brugge   fantastic performance

Be careful of buying a used Audeze. They made improvement last November so make sure it is made since then.   All tube amps suck - rich musical sound but inaccurate. They sound nice in low budget systems where low resolution amps mask the defects in the system.   All solid state amps suck -...

There is no a priori way to predict sonic outcome from design.   A amp designing engineer has no way of knowing if his original design will work as well as hoped - some do and are used and other designs don't work and are abandoned.   As far as your emphasis on form instead of function...

    I have never owned or heard any Bada CD player and can't understand your reference to it here. What relevance does that have to the Bada PH12 headphone amp?   I have owned over a dozen headphone amps over the years. I had a Ray Samuels Raptor that was tube amp that sounded like a solid...

All tube amps suck - rich musical sound but inaccurate. They sound nice in low budget systems where low resolution amps mask the defects in the system.   All solid state amps suck - detailed, high resolution and accurate, sound but with a lean tone body and when the amp designer tries to add...

The headphone is most important. You can save on the amp if you get the Bada PH12 (about $600 from cattylink.com shipped worldwide) which competes with any amp under $2000.   I would take the Bada PH12 over any all-tube amp at any cost. A hybrid is the way to go in amps, as shown in the recent...

WOW

Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmoniker - Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique EMI 2013     is my nomination     previously loved the way Argenta conducted this work     Thoughts?

  No, haven't heard it. Looking at its design and parts I don't think it would be as good as the Bada PH12.   I owned the top Woo of 6 years ago, and the Ray Samuels Raptor, as well as other amps, and none were as good as the less expensive Bada PH12.   I plan to try the $4000 Audeze King...