yes. The Dave is meant to complete with DACs costing $20,000 to $30,000. It is a true reference level DAC without the reference level price.

Been living with this combo for a week. Works great for all kinds of music. Very neutral as each recording sounds a lot different. Neither is fully burnt in (if that is a thing) but so far so good.

Can't believe that Stax will finally release a proper amp for their headphones after all these years! About time!

what kind of rock music?

Shure makes great earphones, IMHO.   maybe the Shure SE215-K might be the best for metal. They are just shy of $100 however. Sometimes you can find them for $89.   The Shure SE112m+-GR is more in your budget at $59   I would strongly suggest listening to these 1st before buying as with...

I am looking into getting a pair of Sennheiser HD650. The amp that I have is fairly cheap, you can get it for about $229 and it is a nice big heavy powerful Class A/B amp.   As long as you have enough space for it and give it plenty of breathing room it should work with a PC as well.    I...

I just saw the prices... holy moly!   Accuphase DP720 CD player $27,000   eek

It has that sublime 70's look that I think is the best. But you are paying a lot extra for the built quality and looks.   I haven't heard them but I am sure they sound great from their reviews.

What will be using this amp with? Stereo? PC? Portable?

The original ones cost $16,000 back in 1991. They are the very best headphones/amp combo that I have ever heard.   I am sorry but $55,0000 seem insane for these.   These are just for the billionaire who has everything type of gift.

If I remember, these were only released in Japan, right?   I never heard them myself, I think Audiocubes were selling them at one point, might be confusing these with the wooden counterparts.   A luxury item for sure!

  Nice review! BTW, I have heard the MDR-R10. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember the sound to be honest, I just remember that they were super comfortable. LOL.

As for what I'm looking for, I want clarity and detail and I don't want loose or boomy bass and with a good soundstage (I think that's the correct term).  With regards to low end, I want to be able to hear kick drums and bass lines.  I don't like headphones or earbuds with overly exaggerated...

  Really? How many have actually heard it? It was pretty rare back in the old days, it must be even rarer now.

You will only need a DAC if the sound from your laptop is not very good.   A good DAC will make your laptop sound a lot better, as long as the audio files are of high quality.   However a cheap DAC will sound about the same and will be a waste of money, and if you have a great sound card it...

The HD650 just like the HD600 can be "used" with any amp, but they will sound veiled unless you hook them up to a powerful amp, the more powerful the amp the better they will sound. basically any amp that can run hard to drive Planar Magnetic headphones and other hard to drivewith ease from the...

Lots of legendary headphones, like the Sony mdr-r10 that was considered a holy grail for awhile there.   I am enjoying this series btw. Keep it up!

Last time I had a turntable was in the early 80's as a little kid. Everything old is new again!   I been thinking about getting one now that it has gotten so easy to get records again on-line. Plus I live just a few minutes from a legendary vinyl store... next town over and all. Seems like a...

These wouldn't be considered audiophile quality by today's standards but they started it all. There were other Electrostatic headphones around during the 60's and 70's but Stax is the only ones that are still around today.   The original Lamaba earspeaker released in 1979, a great headphone...

I used to have the HP2 without the switch with a powerful amp these things were a joy to listen too. Sadly i was forced to sell them at the time for personal reasons, My only regret.   They are much more liad back than modern Grado headphones and the built quality is off the charts good. No...

I heard these and their big brother many years ago. I felt that the amp was under powered (same issue that the Koss ones have) I think most people there felt the same way, I always wondered how much better they could sound with a better amp. I recall that they had a plug that was different from...

I love the love of old gear, btw. It looks so great. Only a few companies like Luxman still look like that.   I would suggest trying out some tube amps. However, be careful as many budget tube amps are fakes.   This one is really nice but it is twice the price. Can you save up to buy it...

BJC is really good, I got my HDMI cables from them, back in the old days when they were super expensive everywhere else.   Still the best HDMI cables that I own. Their cables are about as good as you can buy. Anything beyond them you are just paying for more expensive connectors, sliver/gold...

 I am sorry if you took it the wrong way, I did not mean it that way at all. I am not talking about people, I am talking about gear. I am not passing judgement on anyone, just giving my 2 cents on different gear just like everyone else.    Listen to whatever you want, i really don't care. As...

  It pretty bad compared to the high end "Stax" amps, you don't get to really hear what those Stax phones really sound like until you give them a LOT of power. I wish you could hear what these phones can really do so you would understand. Even the top of the line Stax amps are kinda not that...