Since those were, until recently, my cans I am now absolutely confident they've gone to a better home. Great job!

While I'm asking specifics, what about the ASL mg head dt (not otl)? Thanks again, y'all.

The asl MG head sounds do-able. Ay thoughts on the Vincent Khv-111? There's one on audiogon at the moment.

All right I don't really want to get rid of the 340s-- Philodox's cat might bite me. I expect I could sell the current amp relatively quickly for about $300+/-. So, to change the question: Is the darkvoice 336 (?) my only highly recommended amp at or below about $400. Any solid-state options?

Again, thanks for the thoughtful comments. Am I missing something amidst all the acronyms or is the consensus that most of the "affordable" amps are tube-based, and a lot of the others, as well?

Thanks for the thoughts... My wallet is trying not to listen to the siren song for more power. My main problem is that I really like the vhp1/vac1 combo for it's clear sound and very black background. Crazy though it is, I can enjoy lots of cans for what they are, but have a harder time...

I'll follow eagerly on the grado mods thread.

So that's what you had in mind for my former SR80s....that's adventurous.

I looked into the 336i when I was choosing an amp. Spec-wise the vhp1 says it has more current available and was "rated" for higher impedence, like 700 vs. 600 ohms. But then again power from tubes is not, as I recall the same as power from solid state. I am trying to avoid tubes though so as...

After much lurking it's time for a first real post. My office set-up is a decent sound card into a Channel Island vhp-1/vac1 running an APS-modded and V3 recabled k340. While the sound is technically all there and without noticeable faults, overall, it somehow fails to satisfy, especially at...