http://www.hardwood.timber.net.au/species/ironbark_grey.htm I have a stack of ironbark in my parents garage, I was thinking of using to to woody my set of Grado sr60i. As far as i can tell it is a VERY hard wood. Is this good or bad in terms of sonic qualities for headphones?

I am looking into getting a pre-amp for my record player as neither my record player or receiver have a phono pre-amp. I am not sure which turn table i have but, its a B&O and has a MMC5  cartridge. would this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A36XZS/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk work? If not can...

I currently have this set up, Audigy -> Nakamichi av-3s receiver (I found it in my parents basement, used just to switch sources between computer and vinyl)-> speakers/Grado SR-60i would a d3 e an upgrade side-grade or down-grade in terms of SQ?