Assorted

In my opinion, JVC XRCD remastered albums have generally superior recording to most albums.

He's quite famous isn't he? If he's already one of the more famous people in the music world... he's pretty darn famous as a Canadian isn't he

No, I haven't listened to many post-classical Gould recordings, but I'll definitely take a look if they have it in the library, thanks

Really? I thought many consider other works by Schiff and Landowska to be definitive of the WTC. At least I think so I can only say that Gould has some tight interpretation on select Bach's, while not so much on others. I can enjoy listening to his WTC II for example, but I don't like his Bach clavier concertos, and I have mixed feelings on some movements of his famous Goldberg recordings. I think this set is a valuable resource for any keyboardist, or a music collector.

I agree reading oicdn's posts crack me up. I also dislike how some people mentions the Cowon D2 on every damn "what's the best dap" thread. These people haven't even heard other great sounding daps by Kenwood, JVC and even Sony's HD series. I personally think even my iRiver H10 trumps the D2, and various other daps that people claim to have best SQ. I'm not disputing the fact that people have different hearing, but we're talking whole steps in the SQ spectrum. I am similarly annoyed by snob attitude some of the MOTs/sponsors give. I won't finger-point names, but some of these MOTs actually give attitude on a public non-sponsored thread - he even actively broke the forum rules once! Does anybody remember that rant thread made by the famous cable maker known for making the proprietary iMod cables? It was deleted within minutes, but this sponsor MOT actually started a rant topic on how every line-out cable makers are copy-cats of his company! In fact, the company this sponsor MOT was directly referring to, was another sponsor of HF!

Thanks everybody! So looks like... $1400 HR Desktop w/ Home DAC $180 used HD 600 $300 balanced cable ... fits right into the budget!

Sorry, I realized I can't edit my posts... I am looking to zero portability, strictly home-use, as I already have a portable rig.

For the type of music I listen to - 70% Baroque chamber 20% orchestral and 10% new age -, I am finding my current equipment almost lacking. FYI, Denon DCP-150 > CEC HD53R > Ultrasone Edition 9. Perhaps I have been misinformed in how to properly develop a rig, since I was trying to go all portable and dropping $500 on a vintage PCDP, another $1000 on a full-sized closed headphone with tons of isolation and foldability, and $400 for an entry level AC-powered amp, just to get in the game. Yes the amp was bought while Head-fi was down - buying in the dark for kicks, and before I discovered head-case. I recently discovered that my current CEC HD53R amp isn't exactly the best synergy with the ED9, compared to other headphones like the GS1K, or even the AKG K701. It also seems like a lot of ED9 users have extremely expensive tube amps which I'm not quite in for, yet. I have tried other headphone amps, mostly Japanese one's, and to my ears, I feel that the ED9 tone is only good for new age genre's. In general, I'm not very satisifed with my rig now. I love everything about the ED9's except for the strangely presented mids, which almost slaughters any vocal or warm violins I listen to. It does sound very nice with my new age collection though. I'm in a little debate of letting go of the ED9s for more suitable headphones, in fear of missing its nice soundstage, bass, smoothness and transportability. Should I sell some of my components? Maybe go for a proper source? Or another headphone for the 90% of my listening time? Let's say I sell everything I currently have: $270 in limbo for new DAP, $150 for my ATH-EW9 since I already have portable cans, $400 for my Denon DCP-150, and even my ED9s for $900. Total $1720 for a fresh start with right source + headphones, sounds about right? Maybe even add in $400 if I want a new start with a different amp. I am currently eye'ing on the HeadRoom Ultra stack to use with my laptop and an undecided headphone(s) for mainly chamber and orchestral classical. I'm confused, but would like to make an informed decision. All suggestions appreciated! I tried the AT W5000 which was recommended for me in some other threads, but I didn't find the right fit, and I didn't not immediately like its tone.

Using an SPL meter, I generally listen around 70-80 dB. Study music is around 50 dB.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, the head-fi "mess" was about what was happening now. I wasn't claiming any devastation/armageddon/natural disasters. My message was thanks for working hard to get the mess sorted out. I don't understand what's so difficult about that.

Postjack describes exactly what I'm hearing, in my rather low end SS rig, compared to the considerably cheaper and more neutral headphones. Everything about the Ed. 9s in my opinion is superb, except for tone color. I've heard the worst of it when the violin literally sounds recessed until the harmonics layer reaches you. (xD condom sound) Looks like a nice tube amp like what slwiser suggested is my next step.

Yes I noticed that too. I think my Ed 9s do well for new age that's heavy on the synthesizer, at least compared to the $300 range with my new amp. Seems like the iMod isn't received as well here... especially that new guy with a big "home source = iMod w/ vcap" in his sig from HF.

I 'refugeed' over here from a wiki link in Head-fi article. First impression: every thread here with a reference to HF/RSA/ALO is priceless

I just discovered that the HD53R doesn't work with IEMs, because volume pot is unbalanced around 7:00~7:30 (which is the lowest), and this seems to be a common problem, so I'm assuming it's not an isolated case. I had a great opportunity to listen to this with the RS-1 and GS1000 in Japan with some... gold colored Marantz CD player. I didn't have Edition 9s with me at the time, but everything did seem more natural with Grados. Looks like I answered my own question there :/ Nevertheless, $400 with 4 HP outs and LR speaker outs, I think I'm pretty happy with it

Thanks for your efforts, to all that's involved in the head-fi mess. Looks like I won't even exist if the speculations are true. btw, everybody who's had a transaction with me can PM me here, and restructure each other's feedback threads, since I have all of my PMs emailed to me

Yes, thank you I was always an all portable person, but I decided to have a go at home amps. It felt like buying TriPorts as my first +$100 headphone.

I bought a CEC HD53R for exactly 40 000 Yen in Japan (which is around $370 USD), to pair with my Edition 9s. While it does sound nice, I have some lingering after thoughts... Unfortunately I only found one reference to this amp in this forum. I'm hoping somebody with experience with the HD53R can help me. For it's price, did I make the right choice? Are there any other headphones that magically synergizes with this amp?