When you received the following items for Christmas:   Yuin PK2s 6x DMD acoustic panels & bass traps Western Electric speaker wire (The wire you received has asbestos in it but it's worth it for the SQ.) And nothing else.   Happy Holidays!

Hello, I'm not sure about the amps you mentioned, but I can vouch for my LD MK III.  It's a superb value and would leave you with over $100 left to budget on a DAC.  Mine is currently for sale if you are interested.  Feel free to send me a PM :)

I got the Teralink-X1 to work.  I installed the ASIO driver.  Here is the link for a download if there are any other Windows 7 users having the same problem:   http://www.usb-audio.com/download.html   This driver is a trial and it will beep every 30 seconds.  Kinda annoying, but hey...

I received a pair of AKG 702's two days ago I bought from ebay for $250.  Even after listening for only 10 hours, I am extremely satisfied.  The first thing I noticed was an incredible attention to detail.  I was hearing things that I have never heard in songs, even through my $3k stereo setup. ...

I would have to go with a laptop (FLAC) -> Headroom Total Bithead -> AKG K 701s.  Not too costly considering you can grab a HR for $150 and pair of 701s on ebay for $250 now :D