I recently started spending more time listening to headphones when before I was listening almost entirely to speakers.   I noticed that this has affected my ears in some negative ways, including causing mild but persistent high-frequency tinnitus.   My SPL meter (with the cardboard...

I've been happy with my Stax SR-007 (Omega 2 mk1) and KGSS amp for over 3 years now. I used to have a few dynamic headphones and amps, but I sold all of my dynamic headphones and most of my amps when I started using the SR-007. There was just no point in keeping the dynamic stuff because the...

How good is the headphone amp in the I/O console of the X-Fi Elite Pro? Also, does anyone know what DAC it uses? Does the I/O console have an internal DAC, or does it use the one on the PCI adapter?

I find that I spend less and less time listening to my headphones, and more time listening to my speakers instead. A couple of years ago I put together a good speaker setup using Dali Helicon 800 speakers (not too expensive at $6.5K). I also have some good headphone setups (Sony SA5K with Meier...

I just hooked my Marantz SA-11S1 to my Corda Opera amp by both digital coax and analog, and compared the Opera DAC to the Marantz DAC. I was listening to a CD (not a SACD). My headphones are Sony SA5000. I also compared the Opera DAC to my SuperDAC 2496. These two sound very similar - I'm not...

I've owned my Corda Opera for 6 months now. I use it with my Sony SA5000 headphones. My previous amp was an M3 with the AD843 opamp. I still own the M3. The Opera sound is a little smoother and more laid back than that of the M3. It feels like some of the details are not accentuated as much...