Well, I got the HD 600 for a good price, so I went ahead and ordered Schiit Magni + Mobi. Just a tad over budget, but seems like the best bang for my buck at this price range. Thanks a bunch for the helpful advice!

Quote:   Considering the fact that I can go slightly over budget, would you recommend the Magni/Modi pair?

Quote:   Thanks, I'll go for the HD-600 if I can find a good DAC & amp for them.   As for the DAC & amp: Desktop. Nothing unusually large, and it must be reasonably light-weight: up to ~4 pounds, including packaging (not including the headphones). I like balanced, clear sound and...

AccessoryJack are selling the HD-600 for a good price of $310. Does anyone know if they are trustworthy?

Quote: Hello again,   It turns out that my budget is significantly lower than the $1K I thought I could afford when I first posted here. :( I can afford $500 now, preferably even lower than that.   Besides the notes in my original post, I need the equipment to be relatively...

Quote: Thank you very much, that's very helpful!

Thanks for the info. As you can see, I'm new to this! Sorry to ask again, but could you suggest an alternative amp or dac/amp in my price range that would work well with the He-500?

Ouch, that's a $100 cable! And at 25 feet, it's about twice as long as I need it to be. Finally, this (just the cable) won't be used for music listening, so quality doesn't have to be top-notch. Any chance of a recommendation for a shorter, much cheaper, extension cable?

Hi Steve, Thanks for the recommendation! Reading up a bit on the HE-500, I see some very enthusiastic reviews, and they sound like something I'd like. Thanks for the pointer! I see that their impedance is relatively low, 38 Ohms. Is that made up for by high sensitivity? And does this mean...

Hello Head-Fi-ers! I've been spending endless hours reading reviews and other forum posts, but haven't managed to decide on anything yet. I could really use some guidance! For my 30th birthday I'm looking to buy a new pair of headphones (plus perhaps required equipment) for home listening. My...