Finally got around to listening a bit more. I had to quit using my old opamp combination as it really was just too harsh. In fact, it was just kind of unnatural sounding all-around. The mids, bass, and treble all had this incredible agressiveness to them, but they didn't mesh well together. Now I'm using a pair of AD8065s with an OPA627, and although it didn't impress at first, everything sounds very natural and 'right'. Things have really opened up soundwise and while there's a noticeable improvement in soundstage, detail, and bass from what I'm used to with my receiver or the Bada, it doesn't seem to take away anything from the overall musical picture. The sound, overall, is very nicely coherent. Moreover, I've had quite a bit of fun 'playing around' with opamp combination to try and find the best one for my headphones, something I couldn't do with other amps I've tried.
The unfortunate thing is that while there's a good bit of improvement in the mids of the M-cubed in comparison with my receiver (and IIRC with my old Gilmore V1), and while it drives my cans with more authority and that almost every aspect of the sound is improved from any amplifier I own/have owned... I realize that I don't like solid-state amps. My Bada isn't the greatest amp, but it has something, and now that I've heard it I can't get past it. I was really hoping the M-cubed would be my answer, simply becuse I didn't want to deal with tube gear. I read posts about how it sounded more tube-like than other solid-state units. I guess it's not close enough for me.
