[Chrome Pumpkin]

I got my Purity Audio Caliente today, and have been listening most of the day. For the first time since getting into this headphone hobby I have finally experienced the disappearance of the gear, that point at which there is nothing to hear but the music.

I was sitting on my couch, lights off, listening to Mozart's Requiem, just immersed in the sound. I started to doze off a bit, and then suddenly snapped back fully awake during a huge crescendo of choir and orchestra. Instantly I reached out for the volume knob to turn down the music before I woke my parents down the hall! I couldn't help but laugh. The music was so huge, so real, so present, that I felt like the whole house could hear it. Just amazing.

What was the first setup that you ever heard that simply vanished? Or, perhaps more simply put: what was the first headphone setup that you did not hear?

 

[Landis]

My K601s did wonders to propel me deeper into this hobby and were quite easy to forget as they have a nice distant soundstage quality and were physically light enough that I've actually stood up and begun walking away from my computer before I realized that they were still on.

Upon seeing the thread title, I thought someone had stolen your equipment!

 

[Chrome Pumpkin]

lol, I suppose I could have used a somewhat less misleading thread title! I've got to say, I'm so incredibly pleased with my system right now. What I'm worried about though, is when I start to wonder about more expensive gear. If this sounds this good, then what does that sound like?!

 

[Eagle Eye]

One thing I can say is that the KICAS is a great sounding amp for sure. Along with the HD 650 headphone the sound was very good. To improve on the sound look into good DAC's I guess. The PS Audio DLIII really opened up the soundstage.

 

[Chrome Pumpkin]

Yeah, I was thinking a DAC upgrade might be my next move. I'm going to try and hold off on that for awhile if I can, at least until the money tree sprouts some new growth!

 

[omendelovitz]

I hope the mods don't delete this one, b/c it's fair game, I think - I heard looser101's Cambridge Audio 840C (had a VDA-2/VAC-1 at the time that I LOVED). Well, I sold the DAC and bought it. I wish I had the time/money to get a pair of T1's or HD800's to perfect my system, but man! what a difference source makes. what's more? I use the unit's DAC 100X more than the CD player using streamed lossless - and the CD player sounds cleaner than the DAC alone (Peter says it's due to lack of jitter in the CD connection).

And this is all through a pair of modded D5000's, not the most transparent headphone by far (trust me, check my sig to understand better).

 

[Chrome Pumpkin]

The only DAC that I've ever heard (outside of onboard DACs in CD players) is my Firestone Audio Spitfire. When I ordered it I was half expecting to not hear much of a difference at all. However, when I hooked it up and gave it a listen I was quite impressed; the sound was much cleaner and more detailed than what I was listening to before. I'd love to hear some more expensive DACs to see what they offer, but that'll be sometime down the road.

 

[heynice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrome Pumpkin /img/forum/go_quote.gif lol, I suppose I could have used a somewhat less misleading thread title! I've got to say, I'm so incredibly pleased with my system right now. What I'm worried about though, is when I start to wonder about more expensive gear. If this sounds this good, then what does that sound like?!

i thought this thread was gonna be about hardware disappearing..like getting stolen or something ><