Am struggling with this: Even if I only add +2dB to 120 for a little kick--and leave the other frequencies alone--it seems to suck some of the life out of the music. If I use any of the presets, it sucks even more life out. Is that due to the EQ's limitations (e.g., no adjustable Q factor and...

I have a Burson Soloist SL MKII. Great amp that I use with AK100 II and EL-8 while at work. However, occasionally I find myself wishing I had a portable amp. Original plan was to buy a desktop amp for work, then pick up a Mojo later for running.    How much will the sound suffer if I downgrade...

I have an old pair of FutureSonics Atrio M5s. The foam tips are good, but will other tip materials create a different sound signature? What type of materials change it, and how?   Thanks.

New to custom-made cables. Can you help? I have an AK100II and a Soloist SL MKII. I'd like a cable to run from:   -- AK's BAL OUT to the amp's LINE IN   Running the signal that way would give better sound than the following, correct?   -- AK's LINE OUT to amp's RCA IN -- AK's LINE OUT to...

I own EL-8 closed headphones. Strongly considering the Burson Soloist SL. How would that amp compare to the Woo Audio WA6? What else would you consider? I listen to rock and electronic, so would like a little punch...and an energetic amp that can "keep up". I have heard that tube amps like the...

For under $1K, what's your experience w/ these (and other) amps? I'm planning to power LCD-XCs with a quality desktop amp at work. How is low bass? Soundstage? Microdetails? Outputs/inputs?   I' m not sure whether I should go balanced. Also, a DAC is not important to me--thanks IT guys, who...

The quest continues: I am running Audeze EL-8 closed with an Oppo HA-2. Soundstage could be wider, midbass could be punchier, subbass could be more powerful, so am looking for that next step up from an HA-2. Budget for the amp is $800 max.    So I'm thinking, "I have Audeze headphones...surely...

I'm using EL-8 closed with FiiO X5II source and Oppo HA-2 amp. If I can get a more native bass and a wider soundstage, I'll upgrade. Upgrading EL-8 to LCD-XC not an option right now. What would you upgrade next to achieve these goals?   HA-2 amp (am thinking a Deckard)? FiiO X5II (am thinking...

I've never upgraded cables, but am considering. Have you upgraded your Oppo PM-3 headphone cable from stock? I'm playing FLAC files on my FiiO X5II --> Oppo HA-2 amp. Online, I found the following. Will these give an upgraded sound?  ...

I need your help; I'm dissatisfied: I'm using the Oppo HA-2 amp powering the FiiO X5II with Oppo PM-3 headphones. To rid background hiss, I figured trading in my FiiO E12A for the HA-2 would have fixed it (you know, using same amp brand as headphone brand...figured Oppo tested this). I was wrong...

After testing PSB M4U2 and Oppo PM-3, I chose the latter. So, here's the current setup"   FiiO X5II DAP FiiO E12A amp Oppo PM-3 headphones   The E12A is optimized for IEMs. Because of that, I have to use the H gain setting when I want to make the PM-3s shine. Because the PM-3 are full-size...

Before I plunk down hundreds, I really need your expertise. I recently bought a FiiO X5ii and FiiO E12A amp. Next: The headphones...the big spend.    I mainly listen to FLAC files from HDTracks: rock-n-roll (80s, 90s, 2000s...Huey Lewis, Linkin Park, etc.) and *especially* FLAC files in the...