Fancy meeting you here @Paladin!
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welcome to the community @TheHeedHunter , @DivineCurrent , @Interceptor69 , @madjoman and @Paladin
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Have always had a love for music and have always had a middle of the road set of headphones. Recently Iāve been trying higher quality components and better hpās. My favorite so far is the Focal Elex.
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Hi I am GM of a corporation and have 40 years experience in electronics design and implementation. I have modified headphones, designed tube type headphone amplifiers, and headphone cables. I own most Schiit gear that uses tubes and some of my early work included modifying Dynaco equipment as well as speaker design. FLTWS told me about this site and I find it to be most cordial and welcoming.
Paladin
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Hey David,
I had no chance to audition the Elex, here in Europe. Just know the Clear and Utopia as open back Focals.
From what I read, they are a great set of cans and scale with higher grade components and sources.
So have you found changes in synergy with changing your AMP or even with a DAC swap?
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Hey Gang -
Like many guys āof a certain ageā I started in audio when the available mediums were 8 track, cassette, open reel and vinyl. I did them all, competing for space in my bedroom.
Since then I have been in and out of audio depending on circumstances. Sometimes with fairly high end gear (BAT tube amps, the legendary SCD777-ES sacd player which I regret selling), and sometimes with just a plasticy all-in-one mini-system sitting on a shelf.
Something unexpected I discovered along the way is Iām much happier with mid-fi mass market gear that exceeds my expectations than I am with high-end gear that somehow feels like it didnāt deliver on its promise.
My current situation does not allow me to freely set up speakers as there are other people to be considerate of. That brings me to the start of my headphone adventure and this site.
Iām using JDS Element II and AKG K702, streaming hi-res with Qobuz. No complaints but with the crazy situation in the world right now I find myself drawn to see what the next level up might bring. Itās a combination of excitement and dread because I know how previous āhigh endā adventures have turned out for me.
I try to answer more questions than I ask but since I donāt have much headphone experience I probably donāt have much to add over the super knowledgeable people here.
Thanks for this civilized site, you have already helped in my journey.
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Not yet. Only have the D70>THX 789 and a Hiby R5. They really shine with more power.
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Oh so quite similar to my chain 
RME ADI 2 DAC > THXAAA789 and I had the R5 but kept the ifi xDSD, which I also compared to other solutions.
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How do u like the RME? Iāve heard good things about it.
The comments about Dynaco make me wonder if you were a friend of a friend. Iāve many a fond memory of PAS-2, PAS-3x and PAT-4. Paired with Mark IIIs and later modded Tigersaurus. All back in college. A friend was a grad student in engineering acoustics, and he claimed prior to that to have had a roomate (before he returned to college) who was a design engineer at Dynaco.
PM me to discuss further, if theater organ and barbershop might have been in any of your formatative background.
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IĀ“m perfectly fine for now - itĀ“s like a good place to start for me, I guess. Using quite some EQ, it won for me before the Chord Quotest.
would love to add a R2R DAC and a warmer amp, to my options
here is our RME ADI-2 DAC fs - Official Thread
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Wow, this thread moves so fast!
Welcome to all of the recent additions to this great forum!
I am sorry that I canāt name all of you individually as I canāt find the @ symbol on my keyboard.
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Still? You should pick up some new keycaps from Drop. I"m sure if you replaced them all with @ signs, it would solve the problem.
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I thought I recognized your ID lol and I am glad to be on a site where I do not get yelled at for mentioning purple cables lol, they are the prettiest as I recall. 
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Welcome, NEW peoples 
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Hello everyone! I am new here from Boston, Iāve been reading these forums for a few months now and I finally decided to join up. I have been a headphone nut for a few years now and already been through a bunch of gear. Started with a K7XX to an Elex (which I loved) and now I am happily content with my LCD/X / Aeolus combo running out of my RME ADI DAC. I also started a vinyl collection with a UTurn turntable (made right here in Boston) and Bottlehead crack for that ultimate analog warmth. I really look forward to chatting with you all.
Cheers,
Shaun
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Hello, iām back my 25th wedding anniversary gift took the wind out of my headphone hobby for a while. I survived back to the grind of learning and listing.
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