[BlackbeardBen]

That's interesting.  However, for the price of the LA2000, I feel like I might as well get the HE-5 and a beefy amp to power them.  There's a pair used here for sale and I might just go for them.
 
I'm a big planar driver fan, so that's definitely a factor that's attracting me towards them.  I don't listen at very high volumes with headphones (I don't listen in loud environments ever), so I think I may be able to get away with a less powerful portable amplifier.  The Little Dot MK I+ Portable Amp can put out 500mW @ 32 ohms, so I might give that a try.
 
Oh, I got my uDAC today.  It's definitely an improvement over my CD player (duh), and although I haven't compared it yet to my Carver preamp and the Marantz receiver, my guess is that it is better than them as well.  I like the slightly warm sound quite a bit - it is easy to listen to.  In particular, highs are a lot smoother.  For $75 shipped, I couldn't be happier.  It's supposed to be refurbished, but it might as well be new - and I got it from NuForce with a full warranty.

 

[andysor]

I have the D2000s hooked up to a Total Bithead (listening to them as I type). They have given me a lot of pleasure over the year that I have owned them, but then I don't have anything in the same league to compare with as my previous rig was hd201s straight from the sound card.
 
The D2000s are very fun 'phones and make you want to dance when you put Jamiroquai or similar boogie music on. The one thing that does sometimes grate me is the slightly overblown bass and the recessed mids for more vocal music, like opera and choral stuff. I recently got a tip to try EQ them up a bit in the 1000-2000Hz region which has made them far more pleasant for this type of music.
 
I wasn't looking for boring, dry 'phones, so these have served me well.

 

[elcamel1216]

BEST. GIF EVER

 

[BlackbeardBen]

Well, I made a decision.  Ultimately I would have liked to get the HE-5 or HE-5LE, but between their price and the amp I would need to power them (an iBasso D4 Mamba at minimum), I decided that I really needed to go with something more affordable.  I just need something to hold me over for the next year, not a lifelong system.  That's what my speakers are for.
 
Well, buying yet another amp and pair of speakers as an impulse buy didn't hurt my thinking process, either.  I got a third (yes I now have three of them) Carver TFM-15CB in perfect condition for $80, and a pair of ugly but perfectly working Polk Monitor 7's (the ones I mentioned before) for just $40.
 
So I bought a pair of the original phones I was looking at - the Sennheiser HD 600s - on Amazon used for $200.  I figure for the price I can't really go wrong.  I plan on getting an 18v CMOY kit off eBay to power them - considering the cost I think it's worth trying just to compare with the uDAC amp.
 
I think I'll be happy if the HD 600s even come close to the Polk+Carver setup.