[Big G]

my vote goes for the Portaphile!

a whole lot of sq for the price, I think the portaphile stands up there with its counterparts in the $350 range.

Can drive beyer770 - 990 with ease even with minimum gain setting of 2.

Grado SR80 and especially Hf-1 sound outstanding combined with this amp.

beutiful fleshed out midrange, with subtle, slightly recessed top end and authoritive deep, yet attacking bass.

I had a pair of 770's literally shaking my head to metallica's "sad but true" at the Melbourne meet recently.

 

[kukrisna]

wow - great feedback thanks

so yeah - i donno from what i've heard they both sound similar to hornets/sr-71s and they both do really great jobs with whatever - xin is more portable with more features and longer battery life but the portaphile is just plain cool looking so i donno heh though im leaning towards the xin

also - im just getting IEMs for now b/c the majority of my listening takes place outside the home (commute, etc.) and im going to greece in feb so IEMs would be great on the plane - otherwise i'd opt for the HD595 but that's a future buy