Thanks! I will come up with something once I get some time with it. There has been a lot of intersting talk about the whole tube vs solid state on this forum lately so I thought I would try one out and see for myself (something I don't need but oh well). The thing I like about this comparison for me is that room interaction will not be an issue since we are dealing with headphones. IMO room acoustics have a bigger impact on sound than anything else (speakers too of course). If we can take out the room acoustics I think I can gain a better understanding between the whole solid state vs tube debate and gain a better subjective opinion for my own sake.

O.k..now I have decided I am going to use a dedicated headphone setup. I want it compact so I need a MP3/video player. My #1 choice so far is the Cowon iAudio D2+ 16gb. I am also looking at Creative Zen, Sony Walkman and the Microsoft Zune models. Has anyone used any of these?

So I put an order in for a Cowon iAudio D2+. It should arrive around the same period as the LD MK III.

My setup will be as follows

Flac,mp3 --- Cowon D2+ ---- LD MK III --- Alessandro MS1

Sounds like a portable heaven! One more week to wait?

My MK III arrived today, slick looking amp . My first impressions after a little over an hours worth of use, from a sound standpoint is why do people call tube amps "warm". In fact what I am noticing is better seperation between instruments, greater dynamics and a bit punchier bass. So in fact what I am getting is more detail and a clearer presentation (over my solid state Denon avr headphone section). It really makes my MS1's sing. It kind of reminds me of those posts by Jakewash comparing his Denon to the Axiom amp with his Axiom speakers but this deals with headphones and a headphone amp ...just my initial impressions.

Pics coming soon....

I noticed these 4 little square thingy's came with the 3.5mm to rca cable. Can someone enlighten me what those are?

Cool!

Here is a picture



I have to say the Cowon iAudio D2+, LD MK III and the Alessandro MS1 makes for an awesome combo. I am still in shock at the dramatic improvement (totally subjective mind you) I am noticing in the sound quality with the MKIII and no it is not making my MS1's "warm" sounding

How about the cheap white, plastic banana stand .

No, no, that's an ultra expensive audio-quality headphone stand!!

That looks like a very nice set-up, Dr. House. Those Little Dot amps are very enticing and a good price, too. Enjoy!

I'll have to get a nice headphone setup one of these days. I really will.