Classical, Jazz, Calypso, My Bloody Valentine all in FLAC or V0 direct from Sony Vaio sound card. 

I know the LD is not ideal for planars, but what do you think the ideal gain setting would be for the HE-500's or the LCD-2's?

How much in your opinion does the sound improve with a balanced amp? Do you also need a balanced source? 

My friend really enjoys his ATH-M50s and I was wondering whether it's appropriate to recommend a headphone amp for such low impedance cans. Would something like a cmoy noticeably improve performance?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/138377/how-long-is-the-life-span-of-tube-amp   "Depending on how often you turn on and turn off your gear, but tubes should last about 5,000 to 10,000 hours. For most people, they only need to be replaced every 2-3 years at most. But it's good to have at least a spare...

I've only demoed these with HE-500s which I know are not ideal with the amp; however, I hope this will be useful information regardless.   Tubes tried so far: Hytron JHS 6AK5: tl;dr: “tubey,” incredible soundstage depth, rolled off highs RCA Black Plate 6AK5: tl;dr: Textured, clear...

Why is it that I cannot find one of those mini balanced jacks ANYWHERE online? 

First post! I have a pair of HE-500's and I've been amping them with a Little Dot MKIII with pretty solid results. Certainly I've never heard a better pair of headphones, though I haven't gotten to audition the classics (HD650 etc). I've already invested a fair amount in tube rolling it and it...