Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
Thanks, Ajani,

And there's really nothing I can take issue with in the least ... except I basically hate headphones. They are all (1) more or less uncomfortable and (2) incapable of delivering the realistic soundstage you get with decent speakers.
1) requires a lot of searching... and not all headphones feel comfortable or uncomfortable to the same people... for example, I find the K701s to be comfortable to the point that I could sleep with them on... but I've heard a few persons complain that they press down heavily on the top of their head.. Some people say that Sennheisers have a vice like grip on your head, while others think they are very comfortable... So I think you really just have to try out a lot of different options to find one that works for you...

2) I can't argue with that... My Previous setup consisting of a Rotel RC1070 Pre, RB1080 Power, Marantz CD5001 and Mission V63 Towers was capable of throwing a pretty decent soundtage... I could pinpoint Bob Marley's location (just a touch left of center) and where his background singers and drummers were... it gave a decent feeling of being in the middle row of a live concert... Whereas my headphones give the impression that I'm on stage with Bob's lips pressed up against my forehead as he sings "Could you be love"... which can feel a tad uncomfortable if you close your eyes and visualize it... I'll hear detail like never before though.... so it's really a trade-off of better detail versus more realistic soundstage...