The best AIO I've heard so far is the Questyle QP1 or QP1R. That should get you pretty darned close to the 450+Leck. Haven't heard what the Geek Wave will do yet either but it could be an equal or better. Remains to be seen.

For any owners of a Balancing Act: does the amp function as a preamp via RCA?  It seems the preamp is XLR only and the RCA outputs are fixed? Or just loopouts? I have long wanted to hear my Zana + BA together.

I was finally able to try my pair with my Mjolnir (had to wait for a fit tweak AND for the cable to arrive) and there is a lot of background hiss. Has anyone else experienced this with the Mojo and IEMs? Does the Mojo simply have too much gain to use with the UERMs?

As a "recovering audiophile," I'm a bit extreme on the cable issue. I don't doubt that it is possible to manufacture cables where the basic electrical paramaters (which I don't claim to understand) are changed, which might have an effect on the sound, but I now think that the whole trade, at least in expensive cables, is evil-scam crap.

This is my latest thought on the issue: Why would audiophiles want to make arbitrary, and often expensive, shot-in-the-dark attempts at correcting or enhancing the sound of the sound of their system using cables when they could easily use non-arbitrary and undeniably-makes-a-difference tools such as tone controls and EQ?

We have a snake-oil thread. Do we have a specific cable thread where believers and non-believers can load chain and grape shot and cut each other to pieces with their broadsides?

 

 

I've been out of headphones for a while now, just have what I've have had for some years and stuff.

Is $250 for a PM3 a good deal?