Recently I noticed a good bit of dirt and hair build up on my pads, and the inner foam liner. I removed the pads, gave them a rinse, and picked the hair and dust out of the foam liner. However, looking at the liner, specifically the area where the pad supports click into the main earcup, I...

So, my interest in headphone audio began in 2003, or so. I checked out Head-Fi briefly, but my interest waned as at that time I didn't really have the funds to get into the hobby. In late 2004 my interest resurged, and I picked up a pair of HD212s from a local dealer (At an outrageous price...

So, I have a Fiio E5 as of about a week ago. I've been fiddling with it, and it's neat - But obviously it has no place in my home rig, and I bought it mainly as a curiosity. However, I have found a purpose for it. I'd like to know if my math is correct. To go in order of my signal path, my...

So, being a Linux user I have no idea how OS X's audio subsystem functions. In time my friend will likely have a USB DAC/Amp attached to his laptop, on a permanent basis. If it's kept plugged in, will audio output be routed to it instead of the onboard output (Including the Mini-to-Toslink...

I've been searching for budget headphones for a friend. Likely to be driven by an iPod in the short term, and a Fiio E5 after that. I extrapolated off of figures given for the Fiio E3: 70 mW @ 32 ohms, 12 mW @ 300 ohms. Formula being: Output mW = 70 - (Resistance - 32) * 0.21641. I...

So, in past I've read Headroom's articles on balanced headphones, but I was recently told that due to dual-XLR3 terminated headphones only using two pins per connector, they're not balanced. That, and, so he says, recabling the headphones will not make the driver balanced, it will continue to...

So, I'm getting a friend into headphone audio. He's had a pair of SR60s and PX100s for a year or two, and is likely to buy either an AD500, K240S, or 7506 (with Beyer pads). Keeping in mind that the AD500 is not the easiest to drive, and the K240S is a downright pig (91 dB sensitivity), if he...

I'm looking to have an adapter made so my balanced 'phones have a degree of portability. I know XLR3 as used in headphones is pin 2 positive / 3 negative, but I'm unsure of how they're be wired to a 1/4" TRS.

So, I've got some vintage gear that I inherited. Firstly, a Marantz 5220, Pioneer SX-535, a Meridian power amp/control/receiver/tuner combo that I can't identify, and a pair of Braun speakers. The Brauns are bookshelves, black, weigh around 3-5 pounds, and have the following lightly (To...

A few days ago I received 10' of Black Dragon for my HD650. The cable produced odd hiccups at first, making everything sound awful, but that seems to have gone the way of the dodo as of today. Must've been something going on with my source, which happens to be an Audigy 2 right now. (I know...

I'm looking for something that would comfortably run a high-end PC, GS-X, and DA220. I've looked around at some Shunyata and PS-Audio conditioners, but none seem to indicate how much they can power. Budget's essentially unlimited, but I'd like to keep it within the $500-$1000 range...

I'm a total jazz newbie - Love the sound of it, but have absolutely no jazz collection asides from some acid jazz from Jamiroquai, Jaga Jazzist, and Massive Attack - But that's simply because of my offshoot from electronica. So, I'm looking for some recommendations, preferably a few pieces...

I'm going to be ordering a HD-650 with Cardas cable, and a Headroom Max Amp from Headroom in late April. I'll be getting Headroom's DAC along with the amp. I've currently got an aging Audigy 2 ZS, so would it be best to connect to the DAC via USB or through the soundcard's digital-out?