Quote: thanks for the reply,   confirmed after getting audio info...   itunes download... first track on tron legacy (overture) - 256 kbps   recent CD rip ALAC... first track on abbey road (come together) - 819 kbps   DB power amp was one of first mentioned and came up a lot...

BTW,   a source question (hopefully not OT, but ultimately, source can impact on the sound coming out of our grados :) )...   i want to do a comparison with a recent itunes download, and compare it to an ALAC CD rip of same title (daft punk's tron legacy)...   what would be the audio...

Quote: silver is the new black. :)   * awesome pictures, congrats frank, i believe you in stating this will be your last tube amp.

Quote:     http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/13/03/22/178213/can-you-really-hear-the-difference-between-lossless-lossy-audio   above link to slashdot first hit after simply googling can you hear difference between lossless and lossy mp3, an interesting discussion with a range...

i have heard disagreements about things like cables and power supplies, whether thay make a difference or not.   that said, the highlighted sentence and the one that follows immediately above seem to have almost opposing connotations.   expectation bias implies doesn't exist and is in...

the subject of acceptable volume raised a good point... for me, it wasn't out of the ipod classic. of course, there are are probably many applications when you don't want a WOO WA-6SE strapped to your belt if you are on a hike, but for home applications (based on the dealer audition, still...

I can't speak to anybody else's setup, but when I compared some SR80s at a dealer, first out of my ipod classic, next out of a $3,000 Rogue Audio amp, on a scale of 1-10, the difference was about a 10.  

Thanks for all the replies.   SoundFreaq, I'll do my best to be eclectic (see below).   Avincent52, I agree, the PS500s are admirably versatile (I enjoy a lot of the same music). Also, I forgot to mention above, but part of my thought process in the decision to get these were multiple...

Just got a used PS500 in nice condition (estimated 150-200 hours use, so pre-broken in) from a fellow Head-Fier, my entre to the world of Grado.   A local dealer only had the SR80i and SR225i models for audition purposes, but based on that, it seemed like there was enough of a difference...

First post, not just in thread, but at head-fi, seemed fitting to be here...   About to get first Grado's, and though they are reportedly efficient and don't HAVE to have dedicated headphone amp, sounds like they benefit and really shine with one.   I've never had a tube amp, but after...