Dusty Chalk

No, I think where I'm getting hung up is that I was probably taught by someone who was more "old school", and was more familiar with the 40-year-old technology that KG refers to in his post. I'll wander off and do some more research about the difference between balanced transmission vs. balanced drive, though. You are correct in that I could know more about that. That's pretty much what I've been trying to say, from the reverse (or "negative") perspective. I.E. we should be calling "things which are not 'bridged output'" something other than "balanced output". Do you have a term for that? 'Unbridged output'? 'Single-ended output'?

Wrong thread? Maybe? Perhaps? EDIT: Never mind, the other one appears to be in the Casino, he doesn't have access to that.

L, yeah, absolutely. The Musical Fidelity muscle amp I have is still better, but get this: the Pioneer was actually competitive with it, after the upgrades. It was surprisingly close. Pleasingly so. Even if you don't upgrade, at least get it recapped, as those caps dry out.

I want a headphone stand! Please, and thank you.

Actually, I think it looks good. Doesn't look like pretty much any other phone. I mean, for something that isn't black.

No. Here, watch, I'll say it: I have no problem being corrected when I'm wrong. Does it sound to you like I'm admitting that I'm wrong? 'Cause I'm not. First of all, thanks for dropping the personal attacks, and returning to the actual technical discussion. Secondly, we're going to have to just disagree. I mean, if you have a balanced pre going to a balanced power amp, and you have an XLR cable going between them, it's a balanced connection. If you have two sets of XLR->RCA adapters and you use single-ended interconnects, it's not a balanced connection, despite both sides being balanced. I'm not arguing against doing it that way, you'll still get some of the benefits of having the pre and the power balanced, but the terminology -- it's not a balanced connection you're making -- and its implications -- that there's a difference between the two, and if you lived in a community where everyone did it that way, one might forget that there is a proper way to do it in other contexts.

Would you want to wear a blindfold around a beautiful girl?

Withdrawn. You know, Dan, I fucking hate when people say that. How is any one of you perpetuating the argument any different from me perpetuating the argument? We just happen to be on opposing sides of the argument. You three are more guilty of perpetuating the argument than I am. You do realize, that by calling the K1000 not balanced, you're making me correct, neh? It's wired for balanced operation -- per your definition -- and yet you are the ones calling it not balanced. You guys can gang up to agree with each other, but by doing so, you jointly screw up. The only one who has come close to understanding what I had to say was KG, with his dual voice coil example. And even he will admit that it's (a) convoluted, ( the exception, not the rule, and © the closest one can come to calling a dynamic driver balanced. You guys want to call it balanced, go the fuck ahead, I won't pretend to not know what you're talking about. But don't ask me to call it that.

Whatever, I give up trying to convince you guys, but quit trying to get me to capitulate.

Yeah, that's pretty black. Actually, I have the SRS-3010 system, which consists of the SRM-310 (black) and SR-202 (also black). So of course it sounds pretty damn good. Now you're talking.

Alright, you know me -- black is beautiful. So what should my short list be? Besides the O2's, which I will be getting at some point, just because they're black. Second best? I think it's a toss-up -- until I get my customized DT880, I won't know for sure, but at some point, I'm going to go through all the options and buy one. There would still be two places that it isn't black -- the cover, and the personalizable tabs. Either that, or the Audio Technica A950Ltd. I already have that one, so I'll probably keep both.

You know, I'm just going to have to get this because it's black. I'm going to start a new thread: best black headphone. I think I already know the answer, but I'm curious what other people come up with.

Cap'n Crunch. I haven't had Cap'n Crunch in years. The roof of my mouth is bleeding.

Not as wrong as blinging up one of: HD580/600/650/HE60/HE90 -- at least they leave the top-of-the-line alone. Oh god, I hope they don't see this. Might give them ideas.

Thanks for reminding me: Crystalroc blings up Sennheiser headphones.

According to the ad copy, K530LTD == K530 + shiny black; K530 == K300 Xtra + updates. And I don't know about K300, so that tells me nothing.

Anyone?

Yeah, it must be just some headphones (Leatherheads; R10's, IIRC; DT770's).

I just liked the imagery.

Again, it's the amp that's balanced, the headphone driver still doesn't know whether or not it's being driven by a single-ended amp, a balanced amp, or a really big battery and someone who's really fast on an resistor...erm...potentiometer.* *Or one can think of the electrical equivalent of Maxwell's Demon -- call him Prisekin's Demon -- who lets current through at a rate subject to the whim of the demon, and which just so happens to be musical and corresponds to Bach's Two-Part Inventions.

Stephen left himself logged in at home. That's either his wife or his cat.

Nice. At first glance, it looked like a coathanger-sized headphone rack. Which is what I'm going to end up needing. Does anyone have any ideas on the problem of pads touching at the bottom, or being flattened against the headphone stand? I was thinking a little brace that may angle in, so that the farther back you push the headphones on it's "rung", they are pushed apart slightly more. That way, one can push them back just to the point where they're not touching, but no more. Has anyone tried anything like this?

Agreed. The transition as vocalist was seamless. The first x-many times I heard "More Fool Me", I thought it was Peter Gabriel. And on that live album, Collins does a wonderful job covering vocal duties for songs that were originally sung by Peter.

The Peter Gabriel-era Genesis is overshadowed by four albums: Foxtrot, Nursery Cryme, Selling England by the Pound and And the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I kind of really like the quartet period of Genesis the most: A Trick of the Tail, Wind & Wuthering and Seconds Out (seconded as a recommendation of "if you're only going to get one, get this one -- not only does it capture the live Genesis energy well, it's a nice cross-section of their music from both periods).

A speaker amp with a common ground? Methinks you were just backpedaling. And no, you just hate being in the wrong, and if someone doesn't capitulate, you start in with the antisocial comments. Fuck you (hey, you going to find me guilty of being antisocial, I might as well live up to it). I cited that example because I think it's a perfect example of meeting the requirements for what qualifies as "balanced headphones", and yet clearly is not. If I misunderstood the requirements for a balanced headphone, someone please reiterate it in a way that clearly explains how my example does not meet the criteria.