[MikeLD]

I'm a moderately old guy (early 50's) ... and have had reasonably decent hi-fi gear, but not what you'd really consider super good.  Currently I'm using an NAD Integrated amp and a pair of B&W601's.
 
After browsing Head-fi I decided to buy a decent pair of headphones ... after a bit of research I bought DT990's (250ohms).  I chose the 990's based on reviews, comfort and a very reasonable price.
 
For the past few weeks I've been playing them with the NAD amp.  Two sources -- a cheapo CD player, and my MacPro quad core with the speaker out connected directly to the AMP (No separate DAC).  I'd say I was modestly satisfied ... it was "nice".  
 
Last week I decided to go a bit further, I ordered a NuForce Icon HDP Amp/DAC.  I hooked it up to the Mac and have been listening for the past couple of hours.  I can't believe the difference.  The clarity and detail are amazing.  As a test I alternated listening to two rips of the same song, Liz Wright's "Trouble".  One was a 128k MP3, the other was Apple lossless.  Huge difference.
 
I'm not sure if the big improvement in quality for me is more the DAC or the dedicated headphone amp in the Icon HDP ... but I'm very impressed. 
 
I hope this isn't the start of an addiction.

 

[Equus]

Welcome to head-fi!  Hope you enjoy your stay.  It's always nice to have positive experiences with experiments like that.  Addiction or not will depend on what you want...and can reasonably afford, of course. 

 

[daigo]

Emphasis on reasonably afford

 

[Danz03]

MP3 128kbps isn't that great, you should use 196kbps at least. If you really want good sound quality, you could try FLAC format.

 

[hodgjy]

Welcome to the addiction.  My name is Jay, and I'm an addict.
 
When I first got into this, I told myself I was going to buy one amp, use the stock tubes until they died, and only buy one set of cans.  That lasted a week.  I now have more tubes than I know what to do with as well as another set of cans.
 
Quote:

I hope this isn't the start of an addiction.

 

[JIGF]

Quote:

Welcome to the addiction.  My name is Jay, and I'm an addict.
 
When I first got into this, I told myself I was going to buy one amp, use the stock tubes until they died, and only buy one set of cans.  That lasted a week.  I now have more tubes than I know what to do with as well as another set of cans.
 

 

 
 
Thanks for the idea!
 
<http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/508869/headphiles-anonymous#post_6877287>
 

 

[jdkJake]

Quote:

 
I hope this isn't the start of an addiction.

Abandon all hope. 
 
Welcome, your among friends.

 

[debitsohn]

congrats and welcome!  the HDP is mighty interesting!

 

[Happy Camper]

You gotta watch these fargin bastages. They'll have you balanced, rockboxed, re-wired, tubed and broke with complete abandon and not shed a tear as you sit on your audio journey's highway with a sneaky grin pondering "how did I get here".
 

 

[jdkJake]

You gotta watch these fargin bastages. They'll have you balanced, rockboxed, re-wired, tubed and broke with complete abandon and not shed a tear as you sit on your audio journey's highway with a sneaky grin pondering "how did I get here".


 

Yeah, ain't it great!

Well, at least the tube part....

 

[Xan7hos]

welcome, and say goodbye to your wallet

 

[KidCartaH]

Quote:

welcome, and say goodbye to your wallet

Haha yeah. This crap's expensive!

 

[BIG POPPA]

Welcome to Head-fi. Now if you can make it to a meet in your area, it will be a treat. Getting to listen to gear you only read about? The Seattle Head-fiers do this quite often if you are in the area?