HiWire

It's a subtle sound distinction between the two amps - I think both are chip-based. Unfortunately, Norm isn't really making the Classic any more, but he must have some of the parts and circuit boards lying around... with the improvements he's made in the Go-Vibe series, one can only imagine what he could do with a home-based amp design I doubt the Classic would completely change the character of your K701s, though... I did try GlendaleViper's set on my Classic and portable source, and couldn't get it to rock out on the guitars and drums like the HP2s (on Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend). It was actually kind of surprising - I turned the volume up, but it just made things louder, not more distinct. I really did want to like the K701s, but I've been listening to Grados for more than 3 years now. Before that, I spent 9 years listening to my Sennheisers. Best of luck on your new setup - don't let my listening preferences get you down. I think that the K701s have a lot of potential, but they haven't met their match yet. A really fast, slightly forward source or amp might complement the AKG's strengths. They don't seem to be the kind of cans that like to get down and dirty, however. Wes Phillips of Stereophile seems to be a big fan of the K701s.

My HP-2s sounded OK on Rhydon's GCHA... even and well-controlled, but I thought it was missing the richness, depth, and dynamics of my Headsave Classic. Give it some more time to burn in, and test it on other sources. I found that the burned-in K701 wasn't a particularly lively or impactful set of cans... neutral overall, but missing exactly the kind of kick you're describing. I didn't test the K701's on the GCHA, but they couldn't rock out on other amps either, in my opinion. It just wasn't happening, kind of like my experience with my old Sennheisers. You keep reaching out, but you never touch it (Aerius, stop thinking it). I'm curious about how a set of PS-1s would sound on the GCHA or my amp. \

For some reason the Magnum's name reminds me of Zoolander: Mugatu: Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look for Christ's sake! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigra? They're the same face! Doesn't anybody notice this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! Now if it was a ThunderCougarFalconBird...

Congrats... very nice

My computer is my HDTV right now... courtesy of the ATI TV Wonder 650.

Somehow I don't think that punishment equals what his patient is going through.

I respect the vinylist's love of their unique analog sound, but there are too many technical and practical reasons against it, in my opinion.

I remember the original posting about this... Magnum sounds like a condom size. The builder has a pair of HP-2's to use as a reference, so fear not, citizens. I always suspected some of the drivers in the Grado/Alessandro lineups were identical...

The Mazda 3 would definitely be the cheapest to insure... as for the rest, at your age ... not so much.

Very positive impressions from Stereophile. Go and read

I thought this was a thread about amp-porn? Entertaining... I like this place. I hope there aren't any net-nazis coming to mess with our fun. Pretzels, anyone?

Jane Monheit... both her current Sony album and her back-catalogue, including the new hits collection.

How about a video forum? I'm sure a lot of our members are interested in the emerging HDTV, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, Satellite, even iPod/PDA video, etc. technologies - both screens/projectors and sources, converters, and composition (for our aspiring and pro auteurs) etc. I like movies as much as I like music, but they are enjoyed in a different way. I'd like to get my browsing time's worth, if I am going to be on Head-Fi and Headcase... too many forums