Quite a mess right now since I have a number of new headphones/amps moving in and out lol.

    I just purchased a G109-A earlier today. Serial number 012/300. I couldn't resist the draw of a limited edition... But even though I was initially curious because of the limited edition factor, it was really the sound that had me going for it.   The G109-A is fantastic, and has...

I was able to try it out earlier with the HD 800 and T1.  Mostly the HD 800. Drove them effortlessly, and the sound was quite clean. Didn't have much of the distortion typical of cheaper tube amplifiers. Amazing soundstage, not as deep as some solid state amps, but incredibly wide. Very lush...

255 USD service charge for applying a wood stain and etching D&G on the cups. At least until someone actually bothers to get a pair and see (hear) how it sounds

  >Esterbrook SJ Schiit guys confirmed for good taste in pens.   Sexy design as always; the ridiculously low price point of these has really got me curious. Definitely interested, and keeping an eye out - they'll make awesome recommendations to budding headphone/PC audio enthusiasts.

  >Esterbrook SJ Schiit guys confirmed for good taste in pens.   Sexy design as always; the ridiculously low price point of these has really got me curious. Definitely interested, and keeping an eye out - they'll make awesome recommendations to budding headphone/PC audio enthusiasts.

Quote:   Generally speaking.   Although among the people I know, I am generally the go-to guy for anyone who's in the market for headphones and is looking for advice/recommendations.

Indeed. It's actually nice that you don't have upgrad-itis like most of us!

Quote: Hm, I didn't know that - not very familiar with soundcards so that was a surprise. That being the case, I guess moving up to around 200+ USD would be the next step, assuming he's thinking of getting something beefier to drive them with?

You may want to toy around with getting the HD 600s amped off a nicer amp now - something like the FiiO E9 would be pretty good, and reasonably-priced too. From what I heard, it can drive them decently. While many recommend tubes to go with the 600/650, I find that they're an unnecessary...

Quote: People wonder both ways on my pens and headphones too, although while I can easily convince them of the value of headphones, pens are a wholly different matter. But performance-wise alone, diminishing returns certainly affects pens earlier than headphones. Which is why forking...

Quote:   Indeed, the line of Iroshizuku is my favorite; perfect lubrication, and it's never too wet or too dry even if the pen writes wet or dry - like it auto-calibrates or something. The colors can also very vibrant, or very subtle when they have to be; Asa-gao is one of the richest...

This is a pretty cool thread.

Just my unsolicited 2 cents:   I think you'll be just fine with your onboard audio for now - while I've heard some seriously terrible onboard audio-outs (Acer comes to mind...), I own an HP Compaq with a fantastic audio-out that at least somehow drove HD 595s semi-decently. Of course, it...

More accurately, it ought to be something like "Music sounds the way it should - the way we want you to think it sounds like" then.