I started the thread and lost interest/patience. I'm all for healthy rationale debate but frankly can't fathom why people with such similar passions can't debate collegially and constructively …..

Not a great idea. Defender is Firewall, Anti-virus, anti-malware etc. It's doing what it's supposed to do by blocking installation of unsigned, and potentially unsafe, drivers. If you disable you are exposing your PC to all sorts of nastiness unless you have another Firewall/Virus/Malware...

Interesting read and tantalizing possibilities https://developer.nvidia.com/vrworks-audio-sdk-depth?ncid=em-ded-vrnr-14888 @darinf - Time to start playing with Dev kit

  I took it as a sign that I MIGHT be reaching adulthood when I looked at my office/portable/car stacks and said "I don't need anything right now, ignore the thread, ignore the thread ..."  Saved hundreds if not thousands

  I may have a bias but this is definitely not class A material.

NewEgg   $25 Statement Credit w/ $200+ Purchase (AMEX)   Log in to your Amex account and view the "Offers" tab to see if you qualify for a $25 statement credit with your purchase of $200 or more at Newegg when you use your American Express card. Get Offer Expires 12/31/16

  Give her some accessories and call it foreplay ....

  Friends enabling codependent friends.

$39.99 Bose® SoundSport® In-Ear Headphones Save $60. Promo Code: BOSEAUDIODEAL Best Buy

  To be fair I think it was a design issue vs. quality control.  The connectors where just too exposed and prone to damage. My He-500 is built like a tank (and weighs nearly as much).

Sennheiser HD 429S Over-Ear Headphones Headset with Mic for Smartphone $29.99 free shipping   Apply Promo Code "KWTGCW" https://www.vminnovations.com/Product_76693/index.html?code=KWTGCW   $4-5 cheaper than I see elsewhere when shipping factored in ....

$800 for "new open box" when used are selling for over $1,000? Yeah my Spidey senses are tingling ....

Headphone stands:  FYI, not on sale per se but cheap enough. Just search "headphone stands" for other similar offerings   Example: $20.29 + free ship   http://www.banggood.com/Wooden-U-shape-Display-Stand-Hanger-Holder-Rack-for-Headset-Earphone-Headphone-p-1032259.html?rmmds=search

These suckers are HUGE so not great for sticking in your pocket but otherwise totally worth $12.50   Amazon has the Kmashi MP836 15,000mAh Portable USB Battery Power Bank for a low $12.50 after Coupon Code: "BCU3HRSN" (Exp Soon). Free Shipping over $49 or with Amazon Prime.   Amazon also has...

That would be a pretty nice feature request - ability to quickly redirect discussion on "merits" of a product to  a new or existing relevant thread.  e.g. Yes you could search forums, find relevant thread, post link but could be much more seamless [And for sake of irony you can redirect me to...

  I'm with you.  I bought my wife a $160 BLU phone and comparing against my Samsung Edge 6+ I had the thought - aside from aesthetics and gee wiz features there's NOTHING my Samsung does that the BLU doesn't equally well (subjectively at least). And at the price I could buy a new BLU every year...

  And SOLD OUT ....  :-(

HD800   I have NOT been tracking prices so don't shoot me if ho hum but this looked pretty solid:   874.00 w/Coupon Code MPGAMER16 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA29P4WC8953&cm_re=Sennheiser_HD_800-_-0TH-0036-00067-_-Product

  It'll do the job but not sure it's a "Bargain" spec wise for use with headphones??   Signal to noise ratio: ≥90 dB • Stereo separation: 80 dB (1 KHz) • Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz ±0.5 dB • Analog audio output level: 1Vp-p (1 kHz @ 0 dB Fs) • THD: ≤0.03%.

Admittedly these 1st caught my eye purely based on fact they look like expensive custom IEM's but at $16.49 I'm tempted: http://www.banggood.com/KZ-ZST-Hifi-Armature-Dynamic-Unit-Wired-Headphone-Earphone-Headset-with-Mic-p-1085902.html

Alright so this is not super helpful but I just installed drivers (no prior installation) on my Win 10 laptop (with ann update) - set my Fiio X5 gen 2 to DAC mode - plugged in and after going through installation routine it's working just fine. I'd start with a complete uninstall of prior Fiio...

    Using latest driver?  https://www.dropbox.com/s/qqz14rnt6at8q1o/FiiO%20USB%20DAC%20Driver%20v3.34.0.zip   Firmware?  http://www.fiio.me/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=39932&extra=page%3D1   Latest drivers are digitally signed for Windows 10 so shouldn't have to go through all those hoops...

Klipsch RP-150M Monitor Speaker, Set of Two $300   Best price I see elsewhere is $335 - not super deal but .....   https://www.bespokepost.com/store/klipsch-rp-150m-monitor-speaker-set-of-two

  Checked with 16 year old daughter and she confirmed "You are way to old for that" 

  Hah!  If I was going to put that much effort in to it though I might as well clean out my desk and list the 100's of extra cables, tubes, and thing-a-ma-bobs lurking there.   My luck I'd get a pair of Hello Kitty headphones from AWS anyway ....