Whenever I'm at a live classical recital, I always think, 'Wow, this sure does have a tube-sound to it!'.   And the best part about amps with distortion is never having to hear the music as those pesky musicians and audio engineers who recorded it originally intended.   I'm still waiting...

holy crap, the op was from '10.   lolzzzzz

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What it really comes down to with all this is do you want to listen to your music or do you want to listen to your amp?   Are you into high fidelity audio or are you into the sound of whatever gear you happen to fancy/own?   Does classical music (or really any music) need to be altered...

Quote: Greatest. Website. Ever.     Ice King Power Accelerator 6m - $50,000 Ice King was designed to be used between wall and power strip. If Ice King is plugged directly into the component, it will sound too revealing. Ice King acts as a power accelerator to...

  Quote:   I'd also like to add that if after listening to the D2Ks you find the cable a major source of contention, than it's 100% obvious that you care far more about nit-picking inconsequential details than you do about listening to well built, well priced serious hi-fi equipment...

The D2K cable is bulky, heavy, and awkwardly long; as far as cables go, it's bizarre the such amazing headphones would be matched with such a cumbersome cable.   However, unlike other physical attributes like how comfortable they are on my head, in regards to how I actually rate/assess my...

I personally swear by my TV that runs on tubes... no color and not even in the same universe as HD, but that only makes the picture look that much better. I've noticed that the picture on all these new TVs look way too cold and clinical; I love that warm look of my tube TV!!

the term "hi-fi" is short for "high fidelity"   high = of greater degree, amount, cost, value, or content than average, usual, or expected fidelity = accuracy in details; exactness   hi-fi = very accurate   ... It's really amazing though; all the wonderfully erroneous descriptions...

As of this moment, my basic working definition of 'sound-quality' for equipment is the proficiency in which it can produce transparently. Additional presence or lack there of of warmth, tone, sound stage, etc, is, to me, a knock against 'quality', and the more transparent the piece of equipment...

Thanks for your thoughts. Yeah, the Music Streamer IIs are getting pretty popular.   There's a lot in your post I'm confused by, but I think I share some of the same general sentiment that modern DACs effect on the music is generally greatly exaggerated, and they are often, for all intents...

Quote: Well, first off let me humbly interject that using a recliner is an absolutely baller genius idea, especially if you have a busted back, but even if you don't it's still pure baller genius. The human body just isn't designed to spend much time in a seated position; if your gonna...

Quote:   Thanks for the kind words chief!   I know, no gaming, right? WhhaaAAAaaAaaTttt? I must be a total psychopath!   And btw, it's a ridiculously comfortable setup for all things computer; watching movies, listening to music, cruising the tubes, typing, design/art/photography...

  Quote: Thanks for the comments, man! Not sure I really understand all of what you're saying, but I'm actually pretty fond of my keyboard; 12 programmable F-keys, lots of other 'hot-button' keys (calculator, back/forward, play/pause, volume, etc), strong wireless signal, among other...

The D2K doesn't always need an amp. The Sansa Clip+, a cheap little portable player (which by the way also uses a respectable DAC), matches excellently with the D2K and does a great job driving them with plenty of volume to spare.   However, given the D2K's low impedance and high...

Just posted this in a thread in the Equipment/Headphones forum, but since my main rig is run via my desktop computer, I thought I might as well post it here as well.     My main headphone station runs through my desktop computer: FLAC - Foobar DAC/Amp - Fubar III [with Burr-Brown...

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Do the 598s sound similar to the 595s?   My first audiophile headphone was the 595s and I eventually upgraded to the 650s.   My ears tell me that there's not much of anything that the 595 excels at or can even match the 650 in, while on the flip-side the 650 has a decisive advantage over...

Extremely easy.

Quote: If the most important issue is his sensitivity to piercing highs, I find the approach of 'amp first, headphone second' highly dubious. Perhaps that's not what your saying, but I just wanted to share my opinion, which is that the headphones will have an exponentially greater...

Yes, the D2K are absolutely worth it, and yes, they will sound awesome without an amp. I mean, they will sound awesomer with an amp, but an amp is certainly not necessary in order to enjoy them. Also, I think the D2K pair-off especially well with the genres you listed, considering their robust...

Sorry for the super late response, I had to spend this last week moving out of my apartment.   Props for recognizing the pic of Hank. Yeah, big big big fan myself, but you probably could guess that in my choice of avatars. I have to say despite Bukowski's subject matter and rep, he was a...

  Quote: Thanks. Are you a Bukowski fan? Quote: Looking to step up from the Fubar III, I originally purchased Headroom's "micro stack" aka the micro DAC & amp combo.   However I wasn't hearing much of a difference between using the Headroom DAC and using the Fubar...

I've been hoping someone can step up and confirm with confidence what Blackbeardben is saying here with the explanation in tow.   Either way I'd like to say thanks to Blackbeardben for responding with his thoughts and experiences on the matter.   This last week I've spent a lot of time...