The boost is needed for the HE-6 depending on the music you listen. I had ordered a M11 without and found that especially for some dynamic classical music pieces, I had to crank the volume sometimes past 90. So I ordered a booster upgrade. 

  Can't judge yet on the M11 as I noticed with the NFB28 that also the USB receiver needs a burn-in period. What I noticed on the NFB28 is that the USB (on a PC with JRiver & JPlay) made a larger projection of the sound but with some minor digital glare. The Rpi SPDIF combi sounds smaller but...

 Originally Posted by bimmer100  Last week my Master 11 arrived (USB32 version). I had a NFB 28 loaner for a month. Even with very few playing hours on the M11, I agree with Bimmer100, it's a big step up. Although I was already impressed by the NFB28, the M11 betters it on most points. Music...

  You do realise that the devialet is a way to piggyback a class A line-stage without huge power consumption and heat ... none of which are factors with headphones.   For headphones and with a huge budget I'd look into a real multibit DAC like the MSB's and a tube amplifier with a large...

I don't think you'll need it unless you have something unfathomably hard to drive     Of course you do not need the full power, however 3-4 W of power for a headphone amp is not abnormal, especially when you have magnetostatics to drive like LCD-2 or the good old K1000 and the amp can be...

This amp had some impressive reviews. I heard it on Wilson speakers. Big advantages are: - ultra high end digital resolution, very revealing, excellent macro and micro dynamics, very impressive spacious resolution. - compact size, containing DAC/preamp / amp system - will be fitted...

I rewired them with silver.gold wire to use with a Rudistor balanced amp. After modification they sounded initially very bright. Now, after approx. 100hrs burn-in, things get much better and they show much more microdetail then the orginal onces. Imaging is good, as if you are in the frontseat...

Hi,   I agree, it is ridiculous difficult to find any real reviews on the new Chroma. Not sure why. Personally I have 2 headphone amps made by Rudi. They sound great.   Some information can be found in this forum on the link below.  ...

Just wondering what's the difference in sound when driving the Chroma's balanced vs. unbalanced. I've a RPX-300, so can drive both. However, getting the Chroma's balanced adds some costs (about 100 Euro). So will that be worth it?

  Any word on the technicalities of the USB DAC section?   Good question, I was also looking at this amp to combine with a HD800 / T1 /HE-6 or so.   Although you can't find much technical info on the DAC at the MF website, I managed to find text below.     Onboard 16-bit, 48 kHz DAC...

Yes, I would say that it has two–one is that the treble is a bit etched, similar to the way that the M50 has a slightly metallic weight to its treble, and the other is that while it does have authoritative bass and a full-bodied sound, overall it doesn’t feel as connected to your body as dynamic...

It took me a couple of evenings and a sunday afternoon, so approx. 8 hours. It's not really difficult to build, but I guess you must have some DIY experience. When you follow the manual Guido wrote, little can go wrong. And in case you get stuck, Guido's support is very good. Unfortunally I...

I finished the Tentlabs CD player a week ago, so it does not have long playing hours yet. However, it really is magnificent already. By far the best I ever heard. Tonal balance is neutral and yet very musical. Probably the tube output stage helps on that. Instruments feel natural and you can...

Quote: Originally Posted by Davesrose I know, I know Problem with this hobby is there's so much to buy and try! For me, it's if I get yet another set of headphones......should it be a k701, or should I go to STAX? Oh the decisions!!!! Well at least now I'm just at a point where I really...

I recently bought the AKG701. I'm using it now with my Benchmark DAC. Initially it was not impressive but now after 120 hours it starts to get more involving. I understood that it needs over 300 hrs burn-in to reach its full performance level. It is now already very pleasent with good recorded...

John_M, for more information on the "audible" effects of compression, please see the link. I never heard the HE90 but I can guarantee you that I hear the difference between MP3 and CD/lossless clearly on my Stax rig. http://members.chello.nl/~m.heijlige...mpression.html With 20+ year...

Thanks all for your inputs. I initially excluded Mapletree as I thought it was a DIY kit, but I see you can also buy it assembled so it should be on the list. Although I agree with Hi-Finthen that ranking amps is a highly subjective matter and listening yourself is the final judgement, I...

Hi Digitalmind, yes I live in the Netherlands so this seems an interesting opportunity to hear a couple of these amps. Now just make sure the AKG701 's have a 300 playing hour on them before that time....

All thanks for the many recommendations. As I'm in Europe and in a different timezone, it was a bit difficult to reply directly but I'm not scared off that easily. On the budget question, around 1000 Euro's, which is about the same in US$ after import taxes. So summarizing the...

I was thinking to setup a rig with a dynamic headset. From different reviews the AKG K701 seemed to be quite good so I ordered one. However, to get the best sound out of it, one should buy an amp with it. Any recommendations on what's a good match? I listen to classic rock, blues and some jazz.

Personally I enjoy listening to the O2 with all kinds of music. They have great dynamics, soundspace and provide tons of information (micro and macro). However, they are very sensitive to the quality of your source, cables and power. Also, I would advise to consider not to buy one of the Stax...

The guys at empiricalaudio fit a M-Audio Transit (a USB audio card) with a Superclock3. Kind of wondering if that might be the same as the Tentlab XO-3? Did some looking around on the net but did not find much technical descriptions of the Superclock3. Does anyone know? The XO-DAC is definitely...