Absolutely agree. I have a pair of Grado SR60e headphones. They were my first open-backs. Although I prefer circumaural/full-size cans, the on-ear nature of Grados weren't as uncomfortable as I thought they would be. That said, he'll need to try them and decide for himself.

Thanks for all the good advice. Need to get a feel for his preference with open vs closed. For instance, if he prefers open, then I think grado might be a good place to start. But would also depend on bright vs warm. Lots to suss out.

Thanks. What if he increased his budget to $300? Is there a worthy DAC/AMP that would pair well with most headphones including the ones you mentioned?

For a family member looking to dip his toes into the ocean of some good Head-Fi. His tastes in music mostly revolve around classic rock. Source is most likely a computer. I think he might prefer closed back but not sure how effective he would be at limiting sound should he venture into open...

My ears slightly touch the material over the AMTS. Also, I sometimes hear light planar crinkle when my ears are hot and I turn my head (nothing playing or quiet passages). That said, the Stealth is a fantastic headphone that gets a ton of use. Especially when it's too noisy to use an open-back.

Looks like the swivel broke on one side of my pair. . .😞

Thanks...I think I'm at 200 GB now. I'll have to check. Regardless, I'm out of space...

Anyone here using a TB card with it successfully or know if it will work?

There might be. I'm not sure. You'd have to dig through this thread or elsewhere. Hope you're enjoying it!

If you're ok with local file playback, I think it's a fine device. I have mostly FLAC files in CD quality and higher. Also have some DSD files that decode well albeit not in 'native' fashion. Playback sounds analog to me regardless of format. Wonderful sounding device. My battery (knock on...

Is that typically preferred over no equalization and straight 'wire with no gain'? Seriously curious.

Bare with me as I'm not as versed as a good deal of you in regards to articulating this stuff. I'll give it my best. . . You're right. I could shift the sound around via the parametric EQ of which I'm a total novice. That said, I never really intended to do so with these cans since they're...

After running these out of my RME ADI-2 DAC for quite a long while, I decided to try running them out of the Drop THX 789. Not sure why didn't notice it the last time I tried it, but I feel as though I hear an improvement. And this is using RCAs out of the DAC into the amp. After that, I...

Congrats! They're a great set of cans. Have fun rediscovering your library...

I use them on both the Empyrean and Elite. Same situation either way.