OK sorry about the typo they are ATH-ES55's. After playing around a lot, I recommend NOT using crossfeed. I get distortion out of it, despite trying a fair number of recommended settings. I am now running stereo width at 110%. Dithering ON

I'm really liking my new setup, but being a "budget beater", it's not perfect. I've been getting some help from FLACvest (thanks!). These settings for the EQ seem to be pretty close. Anyone with reactions, suggestions, etc....?   bo +8db 40hz Q 1.0 (LS) b1 -5db 250hz Q .6 b2 -4.5db...

About 20 hours on them now. Wow, so nice! Diana Krall or Madonna, either way, they sound so nice. Worth the wait.

I suppose a certain amount of what we hear is the mastering of the music, and the DAC of the player. In my own case, I've worked around loud noise much of my life, but I found the OP analysis to be exactly what I got. The "harshness I mentioned was "shouty" vocals. This has cleared up. I agree...

I just got a new pair today. They were a little harsh for 30 minutes or so, seem to be smoothing out already.How long is the break in? So far I'm really impressed with the sound and the comfort, especially for the price. Bought from HK and am pretty sure they are genuine.

The size is the clincher. You need SS.  The Sansui and the Sweet Peach are not in the same universe. BTW it's old enough that the caps are probably bad. That could well be the cause of what you don't like.

I have speakers also, so looking at the Sweet Peach FU50 tube amp. Has "MP3" in on the front, onboard DAC, and the FU50/GU50 is a great tube.

Introducing too many unknowns on both ends to have a meaningful test, but I aplaud the effort. If you really want to understand the tube sound, go listen to a pair of Klipschorns, or A7's driven by a decent tube amp, hopefully from clean vinyl and a good mc cartridge.

Although the files don't download, I can tell you that even with stock earbuds, the difference between a 10meg and a 100meg file of the same material is too obvious. So what's the point?

From Wikipedia:"In electronics, impedance matching is the practice of designing the input impedance of an electrical load (or the output impedance of its corresponding signal source) to maximize the power transfer or minimize reflections from the load." The issue of air loading of bass...

Impedance is a result of 2 different situations: resistive, or reactive. Resistive impedance is the result of components which act like resistors. Resistive impedance is the same across all frequencies. Reactive impedance is caused by components that act like inductors (coils) and/or capacitors...

I just bought them too! Postman, hurry! Would be interested as to how they change over a break in...

ATH-ES55....? Pleather, Great sound. More money, however. I'll have soon, let you know how they play.

Come to Thailand, its $130 here. :-)

As much as I enjoy hearing this scrap play out, as it has elsewhere many times, let's face it. It's all relative. When cd's first came out, I was pretty impressed with the obvious advantages. It took me a long time to get around to committing to a high end table and MM (happy I saved my vinyl)...

Your amp puts out max 10w at 8 ohm.  Since transistor amps clip above rated value, they need to be sized for the peak above a desired listening level.  Sound, like light, drops to 1/4 every time you double distance. Without going any further into this,  you aren't going to get what you want...

I too am on a search for the right cans. After spending a lot of time reading various reviews I had it narrowed down to the Senn px-200ii or the Audio Tec. ATH-ES55. As the originator of this thread asked for help choosing among several models, I find it interesting that he chose to dismiss one...

Getting back into audio after moving halfway around the planet. I just ordered a Sansa Fuze v2 and will rockbox it upon receipt. I understand these work best with low impedance cans. The first choice was the PX 200i, based on reviews, my budget, and music preferences (ABHH).However more study...